Tradeshows are an ideal opportunity for "storytelling," as my previous post emphasized.
But most exhibitors waste that opportunity.
Rather than engaging attendees in their why, they lurk about their booths, eyeing attendees like predators... waiting for some display of vulnerability.
The moment they detect a sign of weakness, they pounce, hoping to subdue victims with a deadly shower of product features.
Tradeshow marketing guru Steve Miller likens this behavior to "hunting."
He advises exhibitors to quit hunting and, through friendly words and gestures, create a "safe zone" where attendees won't feel threatened.
Miller also recommends that exhibitors avoid these unfriendly behaviors:
- Sitting
- Reading
- Eating and drinking
- Talking on the phone and texting
- Standing in the aisle like the "border guard"
- Clustering with other booth staffers (like some "street gang")
- Ignoring attendees
- Sizing up attendees instantly
- Handing out stuff freely
