How a Professional Trade Show Presenter Will Help You Succeed

Mark and Sally Have a Problem
Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales have many customers at the trade show that need their attention constantly. Their colleagues also want their frequent input on other issues, and they feel the need to walk the floor and check out the competition. They also feel a lot of pressure to get face time with others in the industry, and they have just been signed up for “booth duty.” On top of that, they just got the news that they are to do presentations on their product, 8 times a day!

“Great,” thinks Mark and Sally. But they are team-players and they will suck it up. It’s too bad the results from their presentations will be, ahem, mixed. After all, they’ll be thinking about all the other things they should be doing while they are presenting, which is not what they want to be doing. Mark and Sally are idea and implementation people, not crowd-pleasing spokespeople.

There is a better way.


Introducing the Professional Trade Show Presenter
You outsource the construction of your booth, the set up of the lights and electricity, and the delivery of your supplies and materials…so why are you making Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales get up on stage in front of a live audience and give your presentation? After all, this is the first impression that your potential customers have of your company, so why not hire a Professional Trade Show Presenter? They are trained spokespeople who can provide measurable results to you for several reasons.

To start, the first and foremost responsibility of a Professional Trade Show Presenter is your presentation. They have been hired to represent your company, do your presentation, and get your message across to your potential customers. Why take Mark and Sally away from the reason why you invited them to the show in the first place…to sell? A good Presenter will represent your company proudly and positively from the moment they get on the airplane in their home base to the moment they get back home.


Here’s How to Take Pressure Off Your Audience
No attendee wants to feel like they are getting a sales pitch, especially as their first impression of a company and definitely not from the person who is eventually going to take their money. Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales are the people the attendee is going to be working with in the future, so why not let a “Spokesperson” deliver your message and make the introduction? A good Professional Trade Show Presenter is able to craft your message to be informative and educational, without being self-serving. They are also able to generate enthusiasm in your booth and excitement for your product or service, without getting in the way of the business that is occurring around them.


Attendees Have Problems Finding You
Attendees are oftentimes “lost” when they are walking in the aisles. The trade show floor is a very overwhelming, exhausting, and intimidating place, and attendees want to be invited into your booth. Otherwise they might just walk by and you might lose a potential customer. Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales generally know how to talk about your product or service, but usually do not feel comfortable building their audience. A good Professional Trade Show Presenter has the ability to get apprehensive attendees out of the aisle and into your booth by connecting with them personally. And they continue to invite new attendees into the audience throughout the presentation without causing an interruption to your message.


Working the Crowd is Hard Work
Every audience for every presentation is different. Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales may not know or may not have the time to analyze each and every audience and cater their energy level, volume, audience interaction, and level of seriousness appropriately. A good Professional Trade Show Presenter will never do the same presentation twice because they know how to “work the crowd.” They are not deterred if there is a heckler in the audience, if someone throws out a negative or inappropriate statement, if the competition is in the audience, or if audience members are asking questions. They are constantly connected with the audience and catering your message in the manner in which the audience will best receive it.


Make Sure You Don’t Miss Out on Your Hot Leads
Normally, the “hot leads” make themselves known when the presentation is complete. Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales may not know how to be a good “event host” and make sure that everyone is being taken care of. A good Professional Trade Show Presenter has the ability to recognize an attendee who needs to make a personal connection with an employee of your company. They can spot the hot leads and make sure that they are staying in the booth without feeling like they are being “pounced” upon. And they can multi-task to ensure that no one walks away without having attention paid to them.


And Working the Trade Show is the Hardest Work of All
And finally, a person who works at trade shows for a living knows how to “work” the trade show better than someone who exhibits at one a few times a year. Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales might know the ins-and-outs of their product, but they might not know the nuances of presenting at a trade show. A good Professional Trade Show Presenter excels at giving presentations at trade shows because it is their area of expertise. They are more comfortable with public speaking and with being in front of an audience, and since they are more relaxed, they are able to more easily deliver your message to your potential customers. Plus, they are familiar with the intricacies of giving your presentation multiple times an hour for multiple days, all with the same amount of energy and concern for your company’s image.

So let Mark from Marketing and Sally from Sales take care of their customers, their colleagues, their competition, and let them concentrate on selling your product or service. When it comes to introducing your product or service to your potential customers, leave that to the trade show presentation pros…the Professional Trade Show Presenters!

Announcing the Launch of ProfessionalTradeShowPresenter.com

I am so pleased to announce the launch of my new weblog, a one-stop shop for all things relating to the trade show portion of my career! Now I can send potential clients to just one place on the web to learn all about my background and experience, watch me in action, see what people are saying about my talent, and read articles that I have written about the industry.

Take a look at ProfessionalTradeShowPresenter.com for yourself!

I am on the Radio!

I recently recorded a radio spot at HSR-NY for Marcal Small Steps. It is playing in the NYC Tri-State Area; the Washington DC Metro Area; Boston; Albany, NY; and Maine.

It was so much fun hearing it on the radio when I was stuck in traffic one morning on my way to a booking in Stamford, CT. Talk about waking me up...hearing it was better than a Venti Latte!

Take a listen for yourself...

May 2009 Newsletter

I have been all over the US and all over the web lately! I presented for Intel at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and reported for Naylor CMG at both the National Association of Fleet Administrators trade show in New Orleans and the American Food Fair in Chicago. I shot a training video for Psychological Associates in St. Louis and recorded a voiceover for CarZen in New York City. And I recorded messages-on-hold for Yuma International Airport (Yuma, AZ), Granger Owings (Columbia, SC), US Lock (Brentwood, NY), and e-Games (Langhorne, PA) in my home studio. Plus I am now on Twitter and Facebook, and had lots of media attention at CES which is all over the web.

All of this and more in my May Newsletter!

13 Tips for a Successful Trade Show

So you have purchased your booth space, had your exhibit house design and build your exhibit, contracted all of your services, booked your airline flights and hotel rooms, hired your Professional Trade Show Presenter and other trade show talent, and chosen which of your employees are going to staff your booth. So now all you have to do is show up at the convention center...right? WRONG!!

The biggest reason that exhibitors have an unsuccessful show is because they just stand around and expect attendees to come to them. Trade shows have a lot going on in a condensed space, and you need to attract attendees to your booth. Here are some simple tips for a successful show:

• A SMILE and a POSITIVE ATTITUDE are the best accessories you can put on in the morning!
• Make sure to do PRE-SHOW MARKETING to drive attendees to your booth. The walk-bys are the icing on the cake.
• You must give attendees a REASON to walk into your booth, otherwise they will just walk on by.
• Make sure your PURPOSE for being at the trade show is crystal clear so that no attendee gets confused by your message.
• You must WELCOME attendees into your booth and be a perfect "party host" once they are inside. It is all about the first impression!
• Maintain your ENERGY LEVEL throughout the day, no matter how tired or hungry you are.
• STAFF YOUR BOOTH with the employees who recognize the value of trade shows, shows up on time, will not wander away from the booth, knows the answers to the questions the attendees will ask, maintains a put-together appearance, and are not prone to losing business cards or information that will be needed back at the office.
• Make sure that the staff of your booth has a UNIFORM APPEARANCE so that it is obvious to the attendees who works for your company and can answer their questions.
• Don't think that you can do it all, because you can't. Make sure to OUTSOURCE functions to companies who represent your company image.
• LISTEN to the attendees and give them exactly what they are looking for in the moment. Upselling can happen once the show is over and a relationship has been established.
• Have a designated method for getting HOT LEADS to the appropriate sales person both on the show floor at back at the office. Never let an opportunity slip away due to disorganization.
• Remember that you are REPRESENTING YOUR COMPANY from the minute you get to the airport in your home city to the minute you are in your car driving home. Many relationships have been started on airplanes or shuttles, in the cafeteria, or at dinner. And many more relationships have been destroyed during these same times.
• And most importantly, HAVE FUN!!

Some of these tips may sound obvious, but I can't tell you how many times I approach a booth only to find one employee present, sitting with his/her back to the aisle, with a scowl on their face, hunched over their computer. These are the exhibitors that complain that they had an unsuccessful show and give trade shows a bad name.

Have a successful show!!

If You Call, I Might Answer

Messages-on-Hold and Voice Prompts are so much fun to record! Especially after hearing someone say..."You sound like you could be a phone recording." I started doing them almost one year ago and am constantly surprised at what types of companies like the sound of my voice.

I have recently done recordings for the following companies in my home recording studio and just wanted to say THANK YOU. Check out the Voiceover Page of my website for more information.

• Nassau Candy
• Atlas Model Railroad Company
• Reproductive Science Center of New England
• Atlas O
• Certain Communications

Tradeshow Marketing Podcast: Interview with Emilie Barta

Tim Patterson of Interpretive Exhibits found me on Twitter and contacted me to see if I would like to be interviewed for his "Trade Show Marketing Podcast." UM...yes! Check out his company website or his blog for more information on how he can make your tradeshow a whopping success!

Take a listen to Emilie and Tim's podcast interview here.


TRADESHOW MARKETING PODCAST: INTERVIEW WITH EMILIE BARTA

What does it take to choose a professional tradeshow presenter? We talked with just such a person in Emilie Barta, a New York-based independent tradeshow presenter. Some of the topics we covered included: how can you find a good presenter? What kinds of questions should you ask? What results should you expect?

And from the exhibitor’s perspective, why should you even consider bringing in a ‘hired gun’ to demo your products or services? It all made for a lively and informative interview for our latest installment of the Tradeshow Marketing Podcast from Interpretive Exhibits in Salem, OR. You can find Emilie Barta online here.