The calendar tells us it’s time yet again to feel pressured into playing the gift-giving game. The question is whether you believe you want to, or you have to take part?

Gift giving has long been a favorite subject on human behavior for psychologists, anthropologists, economists and marketers.  They’ve established that giving gifts is a surprisingly multifaceted, and significant part of human interaction, helping to define relationships, and strengthen bonds with family and friends. Psychologists say it is often the giver, rather than the receiver, who gets the biggest psychological benefit from a gift.

At every trade show you participate in, you’ll find the show floor littered with giveaways, tchotchkes, or swag, which according to the dictionary, are usually decorative, worthless and disposable knick-knacks with little or no purpose, or if they are useful, chances are they’ll break easily.

So what do holiday gift-giving and tchotchke-giving have in common, and if you choose to participate, does it come from your heart, or out of a sense of obligation?

Let’s look at five ways to tell whether you’re a grinch or a giver:

1. You’re a giver if: You spend time deciding on the right gift for the recipient. You picture the person using and enjoying it.

You’re a grinch if: You don’t question why you’re giving the gift, but rather you do it because you feel you have do, and then you find something that’s cheap, and useless just to get the job done.

2. You’re a giver if: You give the gift as a token of your appreciation to show that you care.

You’re a grinch if: You leave stuff lying out in your booth so people can help just themselves.

3. You’re a giver if: You feel good about giving the gift. The act gives you enormous pleasure and satisfaction.

You’re a grinch if: You hand your swag out to passers by just so that you can get rid of it, and not have to ship it back to your office.

4. You’re a giver if: You view your gift as a way to partner, show interest or strengthen a bond with the recipient.

You’re a grinch if: You really don’t care about your tchotchke, and don’t realize that it can help promote your company.

5. You’re a giver if: You give from the heart, with no feeling, or pressure of reciprocity.

You’re a grinch if: You give with a sense of self-serving, to get something back from the receiver, such as a contact, referral, or best of all, their business.

Whatever the reason you give a gift, be it for the holidays, a birthday, or to reward behavior, remember that when you give sincerely from the heart, you’ll get far more pleasure, than a sense of obligation.

And, for your next trade show, think about the giveaway you want others to receive. Make it useful, educational, or business related, and one that you’re proud to give. In fact, use yourself as a litmus test. Ask yourself if this item is something you’d like to receive if someone were to give it to you.

Happy holidays and happy gift giving!

When you’ve read this, check out my new and exciting blog site.

In a recent coaching session, my client started telling me all about the different products he was going to be showing at the trade show he was preparing for. I listened patiently and then asked “which is the most important one?” “They all are” was my client’s response.

Over the years I’ve seen this mistake played over and over again at various shows.  Booths stuffed full of stuff, different stations and activities that makes it look like a three-ring circus. Presented with this jumble, the visitor may or may not try to figure out whether the exhibitor has something of interest to offer.

According to psychological research, when the brain is presented with too much information to absorb, it easily becomes confused. And at a trade show, a befuddled mind often takes the easy way out, and together with the body, moves on to the next booth.

The message I get from these types of exhibitors is three-fold – ill-prepared, lazy, and selfish. They are ill-prepared and lazy because they haven’t taken the time to focus on one specific product or message for their target audience, and selfish because it’s all about them and not about their prospects and customers.

To avoid buyer confusion at your next show, here are three important keys:

1.    Take time to plan and crystallize your exhibiting goals and objectives.  The purpose of your booth is to attract the right buyers so that you can have a meaningful conversation about their needs and wants.

2.    Have one clear message and focus for your booth.  Remember that according to trade show research, over 76% of visitors go to shows to see “what’s new.”  With this in mind, present something new, exciting and different.

3.    Keep your booth open and welcoming.
a.    Get rid of chairs to avoid the sitting temptation.
b.    Keep tables at the sides or at the back of the booth (tables at the front act as a barrier).
c.    Make sure your booth isn’t overflowing with your own staff who stand around chitchatting with each other when the show is slow.

Finally, as you prepare for your next show, remember to keep focused on what’s most important to your target audience – not you!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies”and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Check out my new and exciting blog site.

The question is, “what magic can you perform on the trade show floor, to help captivate and charm your prospects’ with your products/services?”  The following seven tips are a continuation of last week’s article. I hope they will give you some more irresistible ideas to get those creative juices flowing:

7.    Expect the unexpected
Many of history’s greatest discoverers and inventors happened across their major discovery quite unexpectedly.  Often, they were looking for something else.  Remember Christopher Columbus set out looking for India, and lo and behold, look what he found!  What are the two most unexpected things that might mysteriously happen during your next exhibiting experience?

8.   Put magic into your thinking
When you ask yourself “what if” questions you stretch your thinking and plant the seeds for creative new ideas.  What if ghosts and goblins were to roam the show floor?  What if exhibit booths could fly around the show hall positioning themselves right in front of your major prospects?  What if people wearing special glasses were the only attendees able to see your exhibit display?  What if you tried this exercise?

9.    Slay a dragon
Dragons elicit fears, and fears often stand in the way of you doing new and creative things.  So many exhibitors fear uncharted territory.  You fear the unknown and you fear failure.  Take time to look at those fiendish creatures that hold you back from being and doing all you can before, during and after the show.  What dragons can you slay?

10.   Learn from others
There are countless people and situations you can learn from.  The key is being open and receptive, and in essence, being prepared to be a lifelong learner.  Look to the past and learn from historical figures, borrow ideas from innovators, learn from others’ mistakes, use ideas from the patterns and cycles in nature.  Where can you look for some magical theory?

11.    Transport people to another place
J.K. Rowling performed incredible magic transporting people around the world to the enchanted magical world of wizards, spells and mythical beasts in her Harry Potter series.  In fact there is a wealth of folklore, mythology and history that shimmers beneath the surface of her stories.
How can the magic you dream up transport your exhibiting program to another level?

12.    Go where others fear to tread
When you exercise the courage to do something different, you take a risk.  You have a risk muscle that you keep in shape through regular exercise.  It takes courage, a pioneering spirit and a sense of adventure to overcome the scary stuff and seek out unknown opportunities.  How can you exercise your risk muscle?

13.    Believe in your success
Thomas Edison once said, “The value of an idea lies in the using of it.”  Believe that the creative ideas you conjure up will bring you untold successes.

Now all you need do is wave your magic wand to put them into action.  Which ideas will you start with?

The moral of the article is to never get caught without your wand, as you never know when you might need it!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

1.    Use boundless imagination
Without a shadow of a doubt, imagination and creativity need to permeate from every pore of your exhibit marketing program.  How can you tap into the creativity and imagination that exists in your organization to cast prizewinning spells to enhance your exhibiting program?

2.    Stop being an adult – be childlike
At the core of every attendee is a little child yearning to escape.  What can you do to help them do that?  What can you do that incorporates what we all loved as children – fairy tales, story-telling and make-believe games?  Disney managed it very successfully, and so did J.K. Rowling.  What would a five-year old do to sprinkle some magical pixie dust on to your exhibit marketing program?

3.    Break and bend the rules
To get what you want, you often have to break and bend the rules, especially when it suits your purpose.  Most advances in science, medicine, music, art and design came as a result of someone being prepared to challenge the norm and try a different approach.  What scary rules could you secretly break?

4.    Do what you know
Take something you know and do well and add a little something else to it, and then add something else.  Very soon you will take on the mark of a wizard and transform what you have into something new.  What creative things can you do with what you know, and what resources and solutions are right in front of you?

5.    Integrate the weird and wonderful
It’s easy to only look at exhibiting from one perspective especially when you exhibit within one particular industry.  Often, the best ideas come from cutting across different boundaries, for example, how could you integrate weird and wonderful potions, charms, giants, dragons, cauldrons, crystal balls and the like into your offering?  Make a point of looking outside your particular situation for enchanting ideas. Tape into a kid’s brain power.

6.    Plot out what you want to do before you begin
What’s your exhibiting objective, what are you trying to achieve, and what planning do you need to do?  Draw a picture and make a map of where you need to go and the things you need to do.  Using pictures instead of words can add bewitching power and put a very different perspective on your planning process.  It also helps make it fun!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Why am I so against this new and exciting addition to the hi-tech market? It’s definitely not because I have anything against the iPad, in fact, quite the opposite.  I’m not sure who wants one more, my husband, or myself!

I’m against this type of high-end giveaway for the simple reason that it attracts all the wrong people to your booth.  It’s magnetic effect lures attendees who, for the most part, are only interested in being a winner, and are often not at all interested in what product or service you have to offer – if they even know what it is.

I’ve just returned from a small, yet highly prestigious show in a niche market, where three out of forty exhibitors were giving away an iPad.  Two of the biggest names in that industry where side-by-side on the show floor, (guess what) giving away the same exact thing. I watched as most of the attendees diligently filled out a card with their key information, and dropped it into a fish bowl saying a little prayer that theirs will be the lucky one.  What did the booth staff do? They just watched, and once in a while, had a brief interaction with the visitor. Not the best scenario!

If you want to do something else, how can you make the best use of giveaways, and what’s the best one for you?

Here are five guidelines for you to follow:

If you want to do something else, how can you make the best use of giveaways, and what’s the best one for you?
Here are five guidelines for you to follow:

1.    Understand the purpose of a giveaway item
The purpose of a giveaway item is to increase your prospect’s memorability of your product or service long after the show is over.  It’s a token of appreciation, a way to thank your prospect for visiting your booth.  It’s like a souvenir you have from a fun vacation. Every time you look at it or use it, you conjure up memories – hopefully good ones!

2.    Fit your giveaway into your exhibiting objective
There are so many quality logo products to consider. However, which one will best suit your purpose?  To select the right item, you need to decide on your objective.  Do you want it to enhance a theme; convey a specific message, create brand awareness, or educate your target audience?   A clear purpose helps make your selection process easier.  Consult a promotional specialist to help you choose an effective solution. Having a clear objective for your premium item makes deciding who receives it, easier. Consider different gifts for different types of visitors – quality gifts for your key customers, and prospects, and something else, if necessary, for general passers by.

3.    Give visitors something to do to qualify for a gift
There are several ways to use your premium effectively.  For example, as a reward for visitors participating in a demonstration, presentation or contest; as a token of your appreciation when visitors give you qualifying information about their specific needs; as a thank you for stopping at the booth.  However, avoid leaving items out for the masses because this lowers the perceived value, and lacks the “all important” memorability factor.

4.    Use the giveaway as a traffic builder
A sufficiently novel or useful giveaway can actively help to draw prospects to your booth.  Make sure your prospects know about it beforehand.  Send a “tickler” invitation, add it to your Facebook page, tweet about it, or use any other social media so that the right people know about it, and will make a point of coming to see you at the show.  Remember to include your booth number.

5.    Measure the effectiveness of your premium
Develop a tracking system to measure the success of your giveaway.  If it’s a redemption item, code it so that you know it resulted from the show.  Post-show follow-up with your booth visitors could include a question about the premium – did they remember receiving it, and how useful was the item.  Critique your giveaway with your exhibit team: Did it draw the right (quality) prospects to the booth? Did your customers find it useful?  Did it project the right corporate image? Remember that your company image is reflected in whatever you choose to give away, so make sure that it’s quality!
What’s the right giveaway that’ll attract qualify prospects?  Anything that’s related to your products or services that will educate, or help your target audience in a positive way!

So, forget the iPad unless you’re Apple!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Whether you’re seen or not, participating in a virtually event doesn’t mean that you have to forget about how you look.

Nowadays, with office-casual attire accepted in most corporate environments, and given that you can work from home in your PJs (if you feel like it), you might under-estimate the value of business attire in a virtual meeting or event environment. Lazing around in PJs or shorts and a tee-shirt with tousled hair makes you look and feel unprofessional. Even if you’re not on video during your virtual event, the way you look definitely affects the way you perform, speak and think!

Check out The CBS Interactive business network’s savvy video about dressing for business.

When you attend a virtual event where you’re seen by your colleagues, consider the following seven tips to make sure that you come across professionally and feel good doing it:

1. Focus on the upper half of your body since head and shoulders are usually the most visible on a webcam.
2. Make sure that the background around you is neat and tidy.
3. Dress professionally. Your attire and grooming are important for you to feel and act more business-like.
4. Make sure that your hair is clean and styled, teeth brushed and face washed and/or shaved. Women, if you normally wear make-up, apply it as usual, and use some powder to get rid of any of those shiny spots.
5. Sit up straight. It shows that you’re interested and paying attention, plus, good posture helps keep your energy level up.
6. Wear a plain shirt or top, or one that has a small insignificant design. Heavily patterned, brightly colored, or too detailed-oriented garments will distract your audience away from your message.
7. Avoid gaudy jewelry like large earrings and chunky necklaces – another major distraction.

The Golden Rule is that “understated works best.” However, even though you’re concentrating more on the upper part of your body, don’t ignore the lower half.  If you dress the part, you’ll be the part, geared up for your virtual event success.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

But what about virtual events that are remote, and therefore remove the human element? How can you replicate that genuine grin through cyberspace?

Begin by ensuring that your face appears in all aspects of your virtual world participation. People like to know what you look like when they start communicating with you virtually. Now, that doesn’t mean that you have to look like George Clooney or Penelope Cruz to take a good headshot! What counts is the way you convey your honesty, integrity and warmth. In fact, people who are too good-looking in photographs can often be a put-off to people. Studies have shown that people naturally trust other individuals who look average, and you feel you can relate to them.

Many times people use headshots that were taken years ago and if you met them in person, you’d hardly recognize them.  Rather than have a friend use a digital camera to take a quick snapshot, invest in a professional headshot, a business portrait using a photographer that knows how to bring out the best in you and knows your image must inspire confidence, but not be over-bearing.

Put your best, most sincere face forward and let your image make you human to the virtual world, including your corporate and personal websites, images on the social networking sites you use, such as LinkedIn, and on in your e-mail signatures.

In a world where we’re increasingly cut off from others, the human touch comes with being able to relate to a face.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

The list of benefits begins with the much lower cost. No airfares, hotel room charges or entertainment budgets. The less air travel that is undertaken, the better for our environment. And perhaps most pivotal is the time saved for people like you and me; we don’t have to be away from our office and family for several days, just being online for a set period.

Are virtual trade shows, other than the obvious “geography”, much different from in-situ ones? For many, the virtual world is intimidating, but statistics indicate this is growing exponentially – analysts are already projecting the virtual events industry to reach upwards of $18.6B by 2015 (Market Research Media, 02/07/10). What better time than the present to begin to embrace the concept.

Certainly, the virtual approach is similar to the live event because the purpose is, ultimately, the same, but what’s missing is the physical contact.

When a new technology invades our psyche, there is a natural human resistance, to shy away from it, especially among those of us who grew up in the pre-computer days. But given all the benefits of operating in the new mode, it just makes good business sense to hop on board, and take advantage of what this intelligent, user-friendly technology offers. See you in cyberspace!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

In chatting with you about trade show giveaways, I’ve encouraged you to get your money’s worth by placing value in whatever you choose as a trade show memento, by avoiding gimmicks and trinkets that end up decorating landfills, and by providing something that your busy clients and potential customers truly want and need. Something they will remember you for and that will put your company in the front row of their thinking when considering services and products such as yours.

The world is a blur of business entities. Entrepreneurs understand that thanks to personalized marketing forums such as social media, the individual counts. So much of contemporary business is carried on between people who never meet face to face that it’s beneficial to let your customers “see” you. Nothing achieves that better than a professional headshot, just like actors use in their portfolios.

A headshot makes you human, visible, real.

Not just a cyberspace entity. But who’s got time to track down a decent photographer, go to his studio, sit for a series of shots and wait for duplicates once the “right” pose is identified? Time is money and schedules are packed.

Enter one of the best giveaways I’ve seen: the headshot photo session in situ at your trade show booth. Thanks to my son, Dov, a professional photographer (www.dovfriedmannphotography.com), for suggesting this; it makes sense and it’s a savvy idea!

Team up with a photographer who does excellent business portraits, and have them present at your booth to shoot free headshots as your trade show giveaway. You’ll save people time and money, provide them with a truly useful business tool and they’ll never forget you!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

One of the many I heard this year, came from my friend and colleague, Joachim de Posada, CSP, who wrote the best-selling book, translated into over 20 languages, Don’t Eat The Marshmallow Yet!: The Secret to Sweet Success in Work and Life.

The book explores “The Marshmallow Principle of Success,” a concept that extols the virtues of experiencing the pain of discipline or else suffer the pain of regret.

Hearing this message struck me like a flash of the obvious.  Isn’t this what exhibitor preparation is all about?

I often end my exhibitor staff training programs with the phrase “proper, planning prevents poor performance. Taking the time, and having the discipline of pre-show planning, is for many exhibitors, a painful process. However, for those who do it, the payoff can often far exceed the effort.

Kathy Seid, one of the creators of the Minibük, took time to prepare for her first trade show, and reaped the benefits with quality leads that far exceeded her expectations.

Many of my clients come to me after they’ve suffered the pain of one or many bad shows. My question is always, “why have you waited so long?” The common answer, “we’ve been doing this for years, and thought we knew what we were doing.”  This common misconception lies at the foundation of many exhibitor experiences. Just because you’ve been doing something for years, doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve been doing it right. Because the market is changing exponentially, what you found worked well in the past, often doesn’t work now. The change in what influences the buyer decision-making process, means a change in your approach to the market.

Many clients come looking for the magic bullet, or shortcuts to trade show success. The key to the magic exhibiting bullet can be found in basic planning and preparation – knowing what you want to achieve and then creating a road map to get you where you want to be.

What’s your road map to pain-free exhibiting?

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Long before the terms ‘inbound marketing’ and ‘social media’ were coined, the Grateful Dead were using these strategies to become one of the most successful bands of all time. They made a series of difficult and often unpopular decisions in order to differentiate themselves from their competition by providing the highest quality service to their fans, not just a product.

Deadheads and marketing strategists David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan explain how smart businesses can learn from one of the most successful rock bands of all time in MARKETING LESSONS FROM THE GRATEFUL DEAD (Wiley; $21.95; August 2010). The Grateful Dead broke almost every rule
in the music industry book and profited as a result. The lessons—and the effect the band had on the music industry and their fans—apply to businesses of all kinds.

It hurts to admit it, but however exciting the products and activities on the TS2 trade show floor this week, at the beautiful Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the booth behavior was inexcusable. And, I’m not the only critic who thought that!

As I cruised the aisles looking for “what’s new” in the industry, I just couldn’t help my boothmanship radar register a negative on at least 90% of the booths.  I will of course, protect the guilty.  What did I see that disappointed me – the same old, same old: unmanned booths, eating, chitchatting with colleagues, sitting around looking bored, talking on cell phones – all the classic no-no’s.  Here they are presumably, the best of the best making the age-old blunders, showing that they don’t have any real goals and objectives for being at the show.  They’re at “parade rest” – all dressed, ready to go and not engaging in any activity. Not quite the “All Start Team.” Can you feel my pain!

On a more positive note, one of the real highlights of the show was the “In Zone,” the brainchild of Dana Doody, MarComm Manager at The Expo Group. This was the hub of social media for the show floor.  Tradeshow Social Me-Jay, Emilie Barta, Interviewed key industry thought leaders, such as Joyce McKee, President, Let’s Talk Tradeshows and RD Whitney, CEO, Tarsus Online Media Division of The Tarsus Group (owners of TSNN), who not only shared their expertise, but also solicited comments from the tradeshow floor audience. Digitell, a leading full service multimedia company, then immediately broadcast these interviews live over the Internet helping to create TS2 as a hybrid event.

This is truly a powerful model that other shows could copy to add excitement, not only for the current event, but for future events you don’t want to miss.

This year’s TS2 event promises to be the best ever, with more than 40 high level education sessions and 200 exhibiting companies, you’ll find some powerful ideas and solutions to help get your exhibit and event marketing program on the fast-track for success!

Whether you’re looking to sharpen your existing skills, expand your expertise or update your exhibiting “know-how,” TS2′s in-depth programming for both beginners and experienced exhibiting professionals, is a “must go to” event.

I very much look forward to seeing you in Boston next week for what promises to be an absolutely amazing event!

“7 Quick-Start Keys to Niche Marketing Success” – Download and listen to the recording

Tradeshow exhibiting, and your presence on the show floor, at educational sessions, and networking events, is when those first impressions count the most. How you look sends important visual cues to your prospects and customers about your professionalism, and your confidence.

As a company ambassador, your role should be one of complete and utter professionalism. Does that mean you need a uniform? Not necessarily. However, it does give a unified look to your team, and easily distinguishes you from others, especially in a crowded booth.  Uniforms help visitors easily pick out the company representatives.

No matter what, professionalism, being well-groomed, and proud to be at the show representing your company, is essential.  The role of company ambassador should be viewed as an honor. Leave behind the naysayers who feel shows are a necessary evil, and a waste of time and money.

A USA Today Snapshot® based on the Gillette Survey, featured the biggest red flags for job interviews:

Body odor 90%

Wrinkled, inappropriate or ill-fitting clothing 61%

Sweat stains 54%

Messy hair 49%

Piercings/tattoos 46%

These all aptly apply to your trade show exhibiting. I would also include bad breath in this list.  Very few people have the courage to mention this to your face, so the responsibility is yours. Popping an Altoid in your mouth every few hours, helps guarantee a little “breath freshness.” Plus, peppermint acts as a quick “pick me up” without the side effects of caffeine.

Jeffries in his book “What Up With Your Handshake?” notes that, “whether you’re actively job searching or currently employed, you never know when the next opportunity will present itself.  You can run into a potential employer at the gym (the tradeshow booth) or on your way to the store (a networking event), so it’s really important to look and feel your best at all times.”  Tradeshows and meetings are public forums where you never know who you’ll meet, and what opportunities are on the horizon.

This all adds up to awareness, and just looking your best at all possible times.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Yesterday, in a brilliant webinar, (sponsored by iLeads and Leadature), “Trade Show Follow-up: The Ultimate Competitive Edge,” Joyce McKee, President, Let’s Talk Tradeshows, talked about the “sales-ready” trade show lead. As usual our thinking is so very similar, and the following is an elaboration of the four keys Joyce discussed so aptly:

1. Involve sales management
Right from the beginning sales management needs to be involved in what actually they feel constitutes the “best” trade show lead. So set the stage and arrange a meeting to discuss this crucial aspect of your exhibiting.  Unfortunately, too many sales managers assume their team know what information to collect.  As we know, ass-u-me (making an “ass of u and me”) is a very dangerous word!

2. Define the “ultimate” sales lead
Clarifying what exactly constitutes a best sales lead possible takes time and forethought. It should be much more than the usual basic information.  Since there may be several opinions as to what is the most crucial information, I suggest you brainstorm all possible information your sales reps need to make a final sale (this will probably differ for different products/services you sell).  Then prioritize your ideas and take the top ten.

3. Create the script
The script is not necessarily a word for word text, rather a list of powerful questions that your team need to ask, so they gather the best possible information they need from the prospect.  Once again, this takes time to create the right approach.

In my trade show training workshops, I recommend the sales team develops a questioning “toolbox,” which contains many different types of questions depending on what type of information they need.  Since the object is to conduct a meaningful conversation with their visitor, they probably won’t be using the same questions over and over again. Rather, when they need a “spanner” question, they pull that one out of their toolbox. They won’t want to use a “hammer” question when they need a “spanner.” For example, they wouldn’t ask “What budgetary constraints are you currently experiencing?” when they should be asking “What are your top buying criteria for “x” product?”

4. Get buy-in
Once you’ve defined the ultimate lead, and written a script, the next step is to get the input, and complete buy-in from the sales  team.  Don’t just tell them what to do, rather have them make their suggestions for improvement, and what they feel comfortable with. In the end, sales people want great leads to follow up, which then generates the ultimate goal – to make sales to increase the bottom-line.

For that to successfully take place , everyone has to be on board – motivated to help make the end result happen.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

WII-fm plays everywhere all the time, but on the tradeshow floor listenership is at its peak. WII-fm, better known as “What’s In It for me,” resonates loud and clear among tradeshow attendees as they walk up and down the aisles, attend educational sessions, and networking events.

The Problem:
Most exhibitors only tune into their own WII-fm channel, which means they just think about themselves, their products/services. How do I know this? It’s blatantly obvious. Nine times out of ten, when I hear an exhibitor presentation, they can’t wait to shake hands, introduce themselves (that’s already a good exhibitor), and then launch into their verbal barrage (static) of what they have to offer, giving little, or no heed to whether or not a need exists.

The Solution:
The solution, like many things, is simple, but not easy.  Here are three steps to follow to help get rid of the static and pump up the success volume:
Step 1: Lower the volume on your WII-fm channel and tune into your prospect’s WII-fm channel.
Step 2: Ask questions to uncover needs, and discover what’s most important to your prospect.
Step 3: Listen to the answers (this is tough), then take this valuable information, and tailor it to fit your product/service presentation or demonstration.

To make sure this three-step volume pumping process works successfully, use some tradeshow booth staff training prior to the show as and integral part of your pre-show planning, and preparation. Your team, like actors on a stage, need preparation, and practice (learning how to listen), which means knowing what to do, and how to do it, to help guarantee successful results. Don’t assume they know!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

In Part 1 I talked about three of the six senses or “right-brain directed aptitudes,” that Daniel Pink refers to in his best-selling book, “A Whole New Mind” – namely, design, story, and symphony.

This week I’ll share information about the other three senses, empathy, play, and meaning, and how these relate to your trade show experience.

Empathy - the skill to understand and be able to put yourself in the position of your prospect, or customer – something so key on the trade show floor.  How often do your sales staff take the time or energy to truly understand the prospect’s situation? The more in tune they are with the other person, the easier it is to naturally adjust the conversation, and focus on what’s most important to them.

Play is about having fun.  How often does that get forgotten in business? How about on trade show floor?  To most people, the word “show”  means some form of entertainment. However, it’s very rare that I walk away from a booth feeling that people are having fun and enjoying what they do. Where is it written that doing business at a show has to be serious?

Meaning is about expression. It’s an opportunity to make a difference.  Your people can make or break relationships on the show floor. Do they make a difference? Are they proud company representatives? Do they show the industry they care about their company, products/services?

According to Pink, “few things can be more rewarding than connecting with someone by teaching something new, or sharing that which you feel is very important with others.” How does your trade show team make out in the connections department? Where is their focus – is it on what you’re exhibiting, or is it on the visitor, and what’s most important to them?

Lots of questions, and lots of food for thought!

Listen to my latest session: “7 Quick-Start Keys to Niche Marketing Success”

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

This week I was re-reading one of my favorite books, “A Whole New Mind,” by best-selling author, Daniel Pink. In it he claims, “we’re living in a different era, a different age.  An age in which those who “Think Different” will be valued even more than ever.”  He discusses that right-brain thinking (the creative side – think in pictures) is every bit as important now – in some cases more important – than left-brain thinking (the analytical side – think in facts and figures).

Pink further discusses “six senses” or six “right-brain directed aptitudes,” namely, design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.

Now you might well be asking yourself, “what has all this got to do with exhibiting?” I believe that these six aptitudes should make up your entire presence on the trade show floor – from your booth message to how your people interact with prospects.

In “Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design & Delivery,” Garr Reynolds goes into great detail about these concepts. Definitely add this book to your library!
Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll share a very abridged version, and how these six ideas relate to your exhibiting experience.

1. Design – This concept expresses the need to start with the end in mind.  Based on your exhibiting goals, you need time during your before show preparation, to really think about your key message and your target market. Then, together with your exhibit designer (external or internal – small booth or large booth), take your ideas and make them visual.  If you’re an analytic, get help.  There’s an over-abundance of creative types out there in the marketplace, use their talents to help make you different and stand out from the crowd.

2. Story – If you remember back to your school days of “show and tell” didn’t you love to share your stuff with friends, classmates, teachers, and the like – in fact, anyone who would listen to your story.  Believe it or not, we’re all born storytellers, and “storylisteners.” If you’ve ever been around kids at bedtime know that story time reigns supreme.
Think about how you could take your exhibiting message and turn it into a visual story.  Admittedly, for some products and services, this is easier than others. Once again, seek out the creative help you need.

3. Symphony – This concept is all about “seeing the relationships between relationships.”  In other words, taking an idea and talking about it in a whole new way that people truly relate to, and more importantly, remember.  To better understand this, let me share what I experienced this week.
I’m currently working with Dino, a physical therapist at a local sport’s medicine clinic. During one of the exercises he had me do, he started to explain the muscle structure in “anatomicalese” – a language I’m not conversant in. He then took what he was saying and likened it to tasks a factory worker might do – some that needed more work (larger muscles), and others that needed less effort (smaller muscles). Eureka! I saw the relationships immediately. What Dino had done so skillfully, was to relate one thing to another in a unique way that allowed me to fully understand (and visualize) what he was explaining. This truly was symphony in action.

More next week in Part 2.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

Spring is a time when we brush off the winter blahs and just feel the urge to be active. It’s a time when we wake up our body, mind and spirit.

The question is how often do you exercise your exhibiting muscles?
Do you have a regular workout designed to increase your trade show dexterity and boost results?

Whether you’re looking for strength training to increase your competitive edge, flexibility to improve your marketing strategy, or just general overall fitness, a regular workout program is a must.

Find your level of fitness training in the following:

Fitness Level 1 – You never or rarely stretch
Geared to the low risk-taker who always does the same thing at industry shows.  To increase your level of flexibility in the marketplace, try stretching your exhibiting muscles prior to your next trade show.  Be willing to take a risk and differentiate a little from your regular routine.

Strength component: Define exactly why you are exhibiting and what it is that you want to achieve through your trade show participation.

Aerobic component: Brainstorm possible ideas to get your major muscle groups working in a rhythmic fashion.  Consider giving your booth a face lift with new and exciting graphics.

Flexibility component: Use a theme to add some new blood to your trade show muscles to attract more activity into your exhibit.
Use this gentle routine regularly before each show to increase a sense of accomplishment and well-being, as well as decrease the risk of painful unproductive results.

Fitness Level 2 – You occasionally stretch most of the major muscle groups
Designed for exhibitors who want more of a challenging exhibiting workout to increase their market strength and flexibility.

Strength component: Building strength in your major muscle groups involves weight training and cardiovascular work.  You are making headway when upper management supports your program.

Aerobic component: The goal is to get your heart rate into the target zone and sustain that pace for an extended period.  This means directing your pre-show promotional workout to those people who you want to actively walk into your exhibit, find out about you and do business with you.

Flexibility component: An company’s range of motion will vary depending on its age, activity and structure.  Good news is that your degree of flexibility can always be increased.  Take time to explore what prospects want and like so that you can tailor your marketing activity accordingly.

Fitness Level 3 – You always stretch the major muscle groups
Designed for the serious exhibitor who wants to build marketing endurance, strength and muscle tone.

Strength component: Your people make up the strength and backbone of your exhibiting presence. They represent everything your company stands for, so select the best. Prepare them well beforehand.

Aerobic component: Public relations is one of the most successful ways to pump blood into your trade show activity.  Build media relations, prepare press kits, investigate speaking opportunities and consider sponsorship opportunities

Flexibility component: Reduce the possibility of sales injury and market muscle soreness with a flexible and timely lead-management plan.

No matter what your fitness level or exhibiting goals, your company will look and feel better when you regularly participate in an exhibiting workout program.

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.

This triggered a thought about how most exhibitors display themselves at trade shows. They have similar booth displays, bland and often uninteresting graphics and an array of stuff that is simply blah!  In other words, there’s very little that jumps out at the visitor with the message “Notice Me!”

Walking down the aisle as an attendee, these exhibits blend into nothingness, and are quite simply, seem to wear the invisibility mantel with pride.  This begs the question, “is this really the role you want to play when you invest serious marketing dollars to be at the show?”

Here are three ideas to consider if you decide you want to be noticed:

1.  Be different.

Next time you’re at a show, either as an exhibitor or as an attendee, check out the sameness around you.  Ask yourself, “what would it take to be different in this industry environment?” “What would help you stand out from the crowd?”

Recently, a coaching client of mine exhibited at a local expo.  As a first-time exhibitor we discussed ideas that would have the company stand “head and shoulders” above the competition.  Being in the property maintenance business, they decided to use live shrubbery creatively to arouse attendee curiosity. It worked extraordinarily well, and they captured more leads than they’d planned for.

2. Break the rules.

In your quest to be different, take your ideas and experiment with different approaches. Can you add to it or take something away?  Challenge the norms, break the rules and allow yourself to be zany, crazy and off-the-wall.  Read Roger von Oech’s “Whack on the Side of the Head,” to help get those creative juices flowing.

3. Think like a kid.

Children have an innate gift of bizarre ways of looking at things. Somewhere along the way we lost that gift and replaced it with average vanilla thinking, and duplication of what others do.  Typically, the thought process is, “if it works for them, it’ll work for us.” Sameness is boring.

Invite a few five year olds to look at your ideas, and work on helping you create something completely different. You might need to adapt their ideas, but, their way of looking at things could definitely get you out of your “box-like” thinking.

To rid yourself of that invisibility mantle, keep your overall goal in mind: “How can we be different, stand out from the crowd, and be noticed, so that visitors will stop, take interest, and ultimately, buy what we have to offer?”

The Tradeshow Show is open 24/7 – come in and look around!

Susan Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, internationally recognized exhibit marketing expert working with companies to increase their profitability at trade shows. Author: “Riches in Niches: How to Make it BIG in a small Market,” “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Target Marketing,” “Meeting & Event Planning for Dummies” and many other titles. For more great information on trade show marketing strategies that work, and for a complimentary copy of “Exhibiting Success,” visit http://www.thetradeshowcoach.com. Click to download the “Riches in Niches” app.