Exhibiting 101

We are looking forward to welcome close to 70 of our industry partner organizations to our expo floor this year. We love our exhibitors and so we thought we’d provide a quick “Expo 101” to ensure that everyone is prepared for a successful show.

The most important thing to consider is COMFORT! Keep in mind your expo staff will be on their feet for roughly 20 hours when all is said and done and the last thing you want is for everyone’s dogs to be barking. Be kind—order padded carpet. Might we also recommend comfortable shoes? Seems like that would be intuitive, but I’ve certainly seen my fair share of high heels on the show floor! Comfort before style folks!

Next to comfort (and perhaps this is more important, but you decide) setting clear goals for your team ahead of time is critical to your success. Why are you exhibiting? What do you hope to gain by being at our show? How can you make those goals happen? Have a clear set of objectives and a map for how you’re going to meet them.

Whatever you do, don’t get caught crossing your arms or focusing more on your Blackberry than the show floor. You’ve got to be approachable—make eye contact and remember to SMILE, seriously, it works!

We also highly recommend having some kind of “give away” in your booth—attendees LOVE coming away with “chotchkies” (anyone know how you spell that or if it is even a real word?) or at the very least candy!

Anyone else have helpful hints they’d like to share? I’m sure this list barely cracks the surface!

Maureen Gribble
SMRP