(image is not same as mentioned in blog)

The other week I was at a trade show with one of our client who was exhibiting. As I walked around this show looking at different exhibitor strategies I had an experience that I think every trade show exhibitor should hear and think about.
I stopped at one exhibit booth that had a trade show model to see the company’s strategy on using the booth model. We had some brief small talk and we took a picture using a “beach back drop.”  All the while I was waiting for her to ask me, “What do you do?” or “Do you use these services?” or “let me introduce you to one of our sales reps.” IT NEVER HAPPENED! I wasn’t even approached by one of the sales reps in their exhibit booth.

Eventually, I asked the model what the company did, and she had no idea! She just laughed and said, “I don’t know what they do, but those are the sales guys over there (she pointed to the huddled sales reps on the other side of the booth)! “They could tell you what we do,” she said. There was a pause and I simply walked away. What a waste of marketing dollars!

Is having a trade show exhibit booth model or “booth babe” as some call it an effective approach to trade show lead generation? YES! You can get a very good return on certain “lead generators”
whether it be, models or other types of talent. However, when a lead generator, such as the booth model in this case, doesn’t have a purpose or a system in place, it is just a giant waste of money.

Five tips to ensure a Trade Show Booth Lead Generator (exhibit model or other talent) is part of an effective lead generation strategy.

1.  The lead generator should know what the company does. They don’t need to have detailed specifics, but they need to have a general understanding.
2.  They need to know the elevator pitch.
3.  Have them ask the attendee what they are do and if they use what the company offers.
4.  The sales reps should be on alert and watching the lead generator when they are interacting with a potential lead, slowly move over and listen in for a jump-in point.
5.  If the sales reps are busy, the lead generator should walk the person into the booth to gain their contact info or hand them information on the company. During this time hopefully a sales rep will free up so they can come over and answer questions.

…exhibitors rank the purchasing influence and buying power of attendees as the top factors when deciding whether to exhibit at a given event.

I would take quality over quantity every time.

The Trade Show Calendar is a great site to find out valuable information about shows.  It also allows you to sort by many categories and add information about a show.  You’ll want to add that site to your favorites.

Make sure to qualify your business to business lead generation strategy by contacting the show management and asking for data that they have collected over the last few years.  How many people are already signed up for a show is an indicator of its strength.