Exhibitor Best Practices

EXHIBITOR BEST PRACTICES

Investing in space at The Capital City Women’s Expo is an investment in your business. And like any investment – you want a great return!

Not only are you investing money for the booth space, but also time to be there and prepare. It’s not a small step you’ve taken. And we are here to help you make the most of this opportunity.

Following are some best practices to follow when preparing for the upcoming Expo. Take what makes sense for you, get creative, let your brand shine through, and have fun!

P.S. There will be prizes for Top Exhibitors!

SETTING UP YOUR BOOTH SPACE

Your booth space is like your office or store – you want to welcome visitors into your space. To do this:

Place your table at the back of booth or lengthwise along one side to leave the front of the booth as open and inviting as possible.
If you feel you need the table at the front of the booth to display your wares
Push it to one side so that there’s room for you to stand on the aisle to greet attendees as they pass (Avoid standing behind your table as it creates a physical as well as psychological barrier between you and your potential buyers.)

Create signage with benefit language that attracts your target audience.
i.e. If you sell jewelry that only uses responsibly sourced materials and you know that that is an important message for your target audience make sure your succinct message speaks to them. Conversely, if your product is a day spa and your target audience is busy professional women, you may want to have a brief message that points out a benefit of reducing stress.
Or ask a question that grabs attention and immediately speaks to your ideal client.
Creative NOT cluttered
When displaying information, less is more. Determine the key messages you want the attendees to see and focus on that. When you try to highlight too much, everything gets lost.
Show your brand
Your brand is what sets you apart and makes you memorable. Make sure the name of your business and what you do or sell is easily recognizable. You might be shocked to see how often exhibitors forget this critical action.
Use the back wall of your booth.
You have 10 feet x 10 feet of real estate – make the very most of that space. Including the back drop. There is absolutely no value in a booth drape when it comes to selling your product or service, so think about how you can cover that drape and display something of value.

CREATE AWARENESS BEFORE THE SHOW

A successful show begins long before attendees walk through the doors. You want to get the word out to your followers and customers that you will be at The Expo well in advance so that they can make plans to attend and see you there. Here are some ways to effectively drive more traffic to your booth and The Expo overall. After all, everyone benefits by greater attendance at the show.

Plan a show special. A special offer that will entice people to come to the show and seek you out. This might be a coupon or discount or a special product offering only available at the show.
Email your customer list in advance with an announcement that you’ll be at the show. Send them your coupon or special.
Share the Expo on social media – We have several options for you when it comes to sharing the event with your friends and followers. Let them know you are excited to be there and encourage them to attend and bring along a friend. The cool thing about The Capital City Women’s Expo – it is not just a simple show, it’s a day all about women – A Girls Day Out! Encourage your friends to hang out and spend the day listening to speakers, shopping, enjoying a glass of wine and hanging with their girlfriends.
Click link to go to Facebook event page
Follow and share on Instagram - @CapCitywomensexpo
Follow and retweet on Twitter - @CapCityWomensEx
If you have a physical location for your business, post a poster where your clients will see it. You can download one from our website.

USE THIS FACE-TO-FACE MARKETING OPPORTUNITY TO THE MAX!

Onsite sales
Be prepared with and test your technology. Bring whatever you need to make sales easily on the show floor; credit card swiper, cash box with change, etc.

Begin to build relationships for future sales – One of the most important things you can do to grow your business is to grow a strong email list of customers and potential customers. This list allows you to communicate with your audience and keep top of mind with them.
Have a sign-up sheet for attendees to receive information on new products, upcoming sales events, newsletters, coupons, etc.
Do a drawing to collect contact information/biz cards for future relationship building and sales (Note: If you have an actual product you can draw for something from your line, if a service, it‘s a little trickier. Unless you’re going to give away a full package of whatever your service is, offering one free hour of (consultation or small version of your package, etc.) won’t get attendees very excited. People know that one hour of your time is pretty much just a sales pitch for them to sign on to a bigger package. It’s better to have a drawing for a tangible “thing”

(Note: have verbiage that lets them know that by entering the drawing the contact is agreeing to be added to your mailing list.)

Display the item(s) you are giving away. This will help get people excited for the chance to win.

participate in expo door prizes

The Capital City Women’s Expo will be doing drawings for door prize gift bags. If you would like your product included in one of the door prizes contact

All products must be received by show management no later than April 2nd.

All exhibitors participating in the Expo Door Prize giveaways will receive a list of drawing entrees.

STAFFING THE BOOTH:

If possible, have 2-3 people staffing your booth. That way you can give each other short breaks (bio-break, lunch, phone calls, etc) without leaving the booth empty as possible customers pass by. If you are the sole staffer, have a sign made that tells folks when you will return and always have your sign-up sheet available with an invitation for them to leave contact info.
Stand on the aisle (not behind the table) if possible – but don’t stand in the aisle (that’s a no-no!)
Be alert, friendly and look approachable – that means:
No texting or being on the phone
No sitting
No eating (you can have a beverage in the booth – but have a place to set it out of site)

Have an opening line ready to greet passing attendees with to get a conversation started i.e. “Hi – are you enjoying the show? What’s been your favorite thing so far?” Once you’ve gotten a little conversation going ask them a question or tell them briefly about what your business is and see if there’s a connection. If not, let them move on and get to the next person.

Special thanks to SusanBrauer of Brauer Consulting Group for input into this article

Brauer Consulting Group specializes in enhancing your face-to-face marketing programs byplanning,preparingandimplementingyourstrategies,measuring resultsandtraining your staffto ensure success at future events.

Provide in-person networking with your target audience
Enhance your brand
Support the promotion of new products
Fill the sales pipeline with qualified leads