Last week I put up a blog post that poked fun at tradeshow visitors with the “Top 10 Annoying Things Tradeshow Attendees Do” – so this week I thought I’d turn the mirror around with Dumb Things Exhibitors Do.
No, don’t think anything of the fact that this list is twice as long as the other list! I just happen to see if from the exhibitor’s point of view – and it’s my job to point these things out, anyway.
So…the list, sir?
- Show up understaffed.
- Neglect to train your staff.
- Show up with nothing more than a booth and some people – and no plan.
- Forget to update the graphics to reflect new products or services.
- Fail to keep the booth as clean as possible.
- Ignore visitors.
- Stand in your booth with your arms folded (body language says – ‘stay away’).
- Wait until the last minute to call your graphic production company with a change of graphic plans.
- Wait until the last minute to do anything – exhibit planning and execution usually takes more time than you think.
- Being indecisive and letting time slip by and being forced to make quick decisions that may not be the best for the company.
- Think that the tradeshow and convention is your time to party, baby! 3 am? Sure, why not?!
- Bring a generic brochure to a show where you should be promoting a specific product or service.
- Think there’s only one way to do things – and remain inflexible to possible changes. Even in the midst of a show.
- Fail to listen to your customers. A tradeshow is a perfect place to do mini-polls and customer research.
- Failing to take a break when you clearly need it.
- Failing to collect pertinent information for each prospect: just enough and not too much.
- Neglecting to confirm with your prospect exactly when your next contact will be and what that contact will address.
- Not taking advantage of early booking for next year’s show before you leave this year’s show – it usually saves you some $$ and gets you a decent spot.
- Fail to watch every nickel and dime – so you can plan next year’s show taking into account this year’s cost savings!
- Debrief your staff at the end of every day while it’s fresh on their minds – and implement good suggestions the next day!
Feel free to add to the list of course. Just take a moment, sign up as a blog user and leave your comment. It’ll make it easier to add comments to the next post.
To see a list of 101 things a tradeshow exhibitor SHOULD do, check out the e-book “101 Rules of Tradeshow Marketing.” (PDF link)
