A trade show is an opportunity for you to meet and greet a whole new group of potential customers in one place in a managed period of time.

The challenge is in your competition and I am not referring to other companies that sell the same product you do. It is your competitors for attention and you will never have a harder environment in which to make yourself stand out. Every one is “polluting your environment with a visual cacophony so intrusive that it makes it very hard to rise above the noise.

But there are a few tips and its not about spending a lot; its about spending it right.

A lot of companies make the mistake of trying to turn their booth space into a sales brochure. Don’t! Your sales representation are there to make contact, press flesh and provide a reason for a potential client to want to do business with you.

The key is to stop them from walking past with that glazed over expression everyone gets when over stimulated. You need to give them a reason to stop and sometimes its as simple by being the only one not screaming at them. You can “not scream” by putting graphics in your booth that very simply and I emphasize simply, illustrate something interesting. Selling paint and proud of your packaging? Show one can supersized instead of a full assortment that is way harder for the brain to absorb. Let them get what you want them to know BIG…and simple.

Allow the dynamics of your sales people the luxury of not having to compete with a ton of visual distractions but ensure that stopper, because that is how you need to think of your booth, is as clear as possible to illustrate why they should do business with you.

Chinese restaurants rarely go out of business. Why? Because their message is usually so simple. My favourite sign was “Good Food Restaurant” That’s it. Use the same philosophy when offering your goods and services. Cute is fun for agencies to brainstorm on your dime, but why do people do business with you? Show them in the clearest way possible.

At goBPI.ca we help you sweep away the clutter so your customers understand why you deserve a moment of their time to be introduced to the people who will explain why you are the right choice. we’re here to help.

The picture illustrates a kind of hybrid solution that includes a central stopper and what amounts to sell sheets that a representative can use as a back drop when explaining benefits of your company. If you can get the client in front of them, many times a customer will accept the value of hearing your talk with a message reinforced with a visual stimulation. But the key on this one is the flaming stopper that lets a person know immediately that this company is about fire.