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Wifes first time: Do you have a clever trade fair/show tip for list building?

by garyfromdurham
13 replies
Hi

My wife is doing her first trade show on the 5th January (selling candy trees for weddings etc).

It is her first trade show and fortunately it is only a 4 hour show so it will be less daunting than a full or two day event.

If you have had any experience at a trade fair/show we would love to hear what you did to encourage visitors to part with their contact details.

We have thought of the usual ones like offering a prize draw or competitions but want to do something more impressive or refine it a bit.

We are looking forward to any suggestions that worked for you or if you were impressed with a promotional campaign that you saw or heard of.

Many thanks

Gary
#contact #details #enourage #fair #leave #time #tip #trade #visitors #wifes
  • Profile picture of the author Aaron Doud
    Is this a B2C show or B2B?
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    Aaron Doud - Sales & Success
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    • Profile picture of the author ClayWhite
      The old "sign up for a chance to win "something" for free" always draws people to sign up.

      Sign up and receive X amount off your purchase

      That's all I have, sorry I couldn't be more help but from the 900 wedding expos I've been to that's what I've seen the most when it comes to your type of product.
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      • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
        Originally Posted by ClayWhite View Post

        The old "sign up for a chance to win "something" for free" always draws people to sign up.

        Sign up and receive X amount off your purchase

        That's all I have, sorry I couldn't be more help but from the 900 wedding expos I've been to that's what I've seen the most when it comes to your type of product.
        Hi
        Thanks for taking the time to reply.

        That was along the lines we were thinking of too

        One of the trees she makes is made from fresh strawberries so we were going to use that as the prize to give away on the day and and will offer the chance to win other 'Candy Trees' online when they sign up to her Facebook page.

        It would be great to get some effective tips on how to get them to commit by putting pen to paper and giving us their name and email address.

        One suggestion we thought of would be to have the laptop computer open on the Squeeze page advertising the competition and get them to add their details right there and then.

        Good idea? Bad idea?

        Thanks again

        Gary
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      • Profile picture of the author mrmatt
        The chance to win, is it. Refined? Not sure. It kind of is what it is.

        Search for Joel Bauer - His USP is crowds guaranteed. Basically what he does is perform magic at trade shows to get people to stop at a booth, creates a crowd and then once the crowd is big enough he makes his sales pitch. BTW the video on his business card is hilarious.

        I have a friend that is an insurance agent. He was at a bridal show and he said he absolutely killed it. He said he had this gaudy spin the wheel for a prize with flashing lights etc. He said they were slammed the entire show. Generated so many leads that it took him and his staff several days just to follow up with the leads. Is that refined and elegant? Probably not.

        The point is that you need to have something that attracts attention, gets people to come to your booth, ask questions and get involved. Otherwise you look just like every other vendor. Attract that crowd!

        The only thing I can think of at the moment of the top of my head that might work and that is elegant and refined is "Live Mannequins" in wedding dresses holding the candy trees.

        I wish your wife the best of luck. Hopefully you find that hook to attract the crowds.
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        • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
          Originally Posted by mrmatt View Post

          The chance to win, is it. Refined? Not sure. It kind of is what it is.

          Search for Joel Bauer - His USP is crowds guaranteed. Basically what he does is perform magic at trade shows to get people to stop at a booth, creates a crowd and then once the crowd is big enough he makes his sales pitch. BTW the video on his business card is hilarious.

          I have a friend that is an insurance agent. He was at a bridal show and he said he absolutely killed it. He said he had this gaudy spin the wheel for a prize with flashing lights etc. He said they were slammed the entire show. Generated so many leads that it took him and his staff several days just to follow up with the leads. Is that refined and elegant? Probably not.

          The point is that you need to have something that attracts attention, gets people to come to your booth, ask questions and get involved. Otherwise you look just like every other vendor. Attract that crowd!

          The only thing I can think of at the moment of the top of my head that might work and that is elegant and refined is "Live Mannequins" in wedding dresses holding the candy trees.

          I wish your wife the best of luck. Hopefully you find that hook to attract the crowds.
          HI

          Thanks for the great ideas. They never even entered my head.

          the show is at Durham Castle (The ancient cathedral city in the UK) so needs to be a bit refined but your ideas have given us something to think about.

          Great tips. Thanks for taking the time to share

          Gary
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    • Profile picture of the author garyfromdurham
      Originally Posted by Aaron Doud View Post

      Is this a B2C show or B2B?
      It's a business to customer show....a wedding fair for brides to be.

      Thanks

      Gary
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  • Profile picture of the author vndnbrgj
    Have a theme....
    Maybe CandyLand theme???
    Gingerbread theme???
    Some kind of candy-related theme...

    Have your wife dress us and get people involved.
    Have fun with it.

    Everyone else will be boring and they will check you out because of that.
    Of course grab email addresses, but the candy trees will be remembered.
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  • Profile picture of the author Eddie Spangler
    The computer opened to squeeze page is pretty good idea.

    I would try to encourage them to take a picture of the tree and post it to their facebook page to get more views, that can be part of the enter to win process. Make sure a sign with a website is included in the picture.
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  • Profile picture of the author AmyKay
    Trade show consumers love three things...

    1. Free stuff
    2. Interesting stuff (as mentioned above, get their attention.)
    3. A chance to SIT down.

    End goal for your wife should be to build a list, as always! Do this with a giveaway, discount, etc. Not that different from marketing online. Use little slips of paper, forms, whatever. She needs to be a little aggressive and ASK for the email addresses. People won't offer them. I'm glad it's only 4 hours. She should not sit down. She should be up, in front of her booth if possible.

    Use those 3 things people love to get people to her booth. Offer free stuff that they get right then in exchange for their email right then. Offer chairs for folks to sit. But, of course, they must listen to her schpeel about why her candy trees are so wonderful, blah blah blah. She should be flashy, fun and her booth, also.

    Best wishes to her!
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    • Profile picture of the author misterme
      Originally Posted by AmyKay View Post

      Offer free stuff that they get right then in exchange for their email right then. Offer chairs for folks to sit. But, of course, they must listen to her schpeel about why her candy trees are so wonderful, blah blah blah.
      Though I'd agree with having some kind of [your service related] giveaway tied into obtaining names and emails, I wouldn't suggest offering chairs. You'll get moms and grooms weary of being on their feet filling up space at your booth, plopping down their bags filled with literature and goodies from other vendors. They'll use your booth as a rest area. Like a waiting room. You don't want that, you want to keep the flow open to keep a crowd moving THROUGH your booth so you can speak to as many as possible. You draw them in with an enticement as a reason to walk into your booth, not with chairs.
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  • Profile picture of the author hayfj2
    1. Get a speaking gig at the event if you can.
    2. Buy a set of avery labels L7150 (21 to a single sheet) (2100 to a box)
    3. Print the following on the labels.

    "I visited XXXXXX at stand No. XXX
    WOW! I'm also listening to XXXXXXX (Your wife)
    at Hall XXXX at XX:XX. I AINT MISSING IT. "

    When people arrive on your wife's stand/booth ask as you embrace
    show visitors put the sticker on their lapel.

    WHY?

    because you will then have every stand visitor walking around the show PROMOTING
    YOUR WIFE'S STAND/BOOTH. As they walk onto your competitors stands, they'll be
    promoting you on their stand. And your competitors will want to know what's going on, on your stand/booth. Pulling them to for potential collaboration opportunities!

    Does this work?

    I did it at a business start-up show. My speaking slot ended up 300% oversubscribed, and the queue snaked round 3 walls of the event. (Much bigger
    than that for the "Dragon" guest speakers.)

    I have a video of it somewhere on Youtube I think.

    This might also help too -

    http://www.slideshare.net/hayfj/exhi...klist-15652010

    (Hope it does)

    Kind Regards
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    I have no experience in the B2C wedding niche, but I do exhibit at a lot of trade shows.

    If she can get a speaking slot, and she is comfortable with public speaking, that is a tremendous credibility booster. I highly recommend it.

    Short of that, I agree that the "spin the wheel" game is a big draw. It is tough to go wrong with that, though it will help if you have someone there who is not afraid to pull people in and encourage them to take their spin.

    Make an email address the price to spin. I would make sure everyone is a winner of something, and that whatever those somethings are, they are highly visible on the winners after they leave your booth. What comes to mind immediately is a mini strawberry tree that people can take right there and then, and enjoy eating while walking around the exhibit floor. I guarantee that when people start seeing that, they will be actively searching your booth out for their opportunity to win. It would be even better if the treat came on a brandable skewer of some kind, so people would see your name and even your booth number on every winner.

    Do something like that, and there is no way you won't be a hit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rearden
    Great thread and advice.

    I did the simple "Enter to Win" approach; ended up with 200+ entrants, of which 3 or so converted to clients.

    However, the real gravy came off of referrals to my business and clients of mine that converted to clients of my wife's. We probably ROI'd like 20-30:1 on that little event.

    The magician suggestion and label-wearing is pure genius.
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