When it comes to finding and interacting with a qualified audience, trade shows continue to be at the top of the list.
Trade shows are the only place where you can customize your marketing message to fit the person in front of you (all the technologies out there still put prospects in groups); and the only place where you can create impressions that last longer than a few seconds.
But (and there’s always a "but"), trade shows have to be done right.
Doing it "right" means training your staff to ask questions. Why? Because how they interact with visitors is very different from any other conversation they have.
Booth staff should always ask visitors questions before pitching them. Who are you? What do you do for your company? What brought you to the show? To our booth? What’s your agenda for the show?
Only when you understand what’s in it for them, can you be memorable, by positioning your response in terms of visitors' needs.
We do business with people we like, trust, and respect. That only happens when you listen first and talk later. And that’s doing it right.
