When you’re putting a product, service, or new idea into the world, you’re probably proud of your work and want it to be noticed. But how can you get your work out there at a trade show where you’re competing with hundreds, potentially thousands of other people with ideas just as great as your own? At a trade show, it can feel hard to compete when you’re surrounded by so much noise and activity. Fortunately, there are a few helpful ways that every trade worker can use to make their presentation pop. It doesn’t have to involve a lot of money or splashy effects, either. Here are some ways to make your booth at a trade show really stand out from the rest.
1. Bring in the Crowd with Games
Everyone likes to be entertained. Chances are, even if you’re in a fiercely competitive environment if you can make your presentation fun, interactive, and totally inclusive, you can bring in more viewers and gain a lot more traction. The games you set up don’t have to be hard or showy. In fact, keeping it simple always pays off. All you have to do is pull someone in with a few flashcards or a short multiple choice quiz and you’ll already be putting on a good show for your viewers.
2. Do a Demonstration
At any trade show, taking along a portable display does wonders for visibility. If you have a firm grasp on how your product or idea works, you have to get other people excited about it without a lot of time to explain the ins and outs of it. Give viewers a chance to witness a short demonstration of how your work makes the world better, easier, or simply different, and you’ll already be winning over your audiences and piquing their interest.
3. Do a Giveaway
Who doesn’t love getting free products and samples? If your work comes with free printed tee shirts, cups, pens, or other swag, chances are people will be willing to interact with you and learn about your work just for the chance of getting their hands on free stuff. Don’t be shy when it comes to giveaways: Giving out treats is the perfect way to grab the attention of a ton of passersby, creating a lot of buzz and interest around your booth and eventually attracting even bigger crowds.
4. Astound Viewers with Technology
Does the way your device, idea, or gadget work involve some truly first-rate tech? If it does, don’t keep people in the dark about it. Use your product’s next-level technology to give people a taste of why you’re doing what you’re doing. You want to convince people that what you’re selling is worth buying on a grand scale. That means showing viewers just enough of the mechanism to leave them wanting more. Even if you keep the explanations vague, showing your viewers how your product works can be a great way to pique interest at first. Once they’ve seen how advanced your work is, they’ll most likely want to know more. Showing viewers a piece of the technology used to create a specific effect will give them a privileged behind-the-scenes glance at your work and will leave them hungry for more. If you take the time to make your technology truly impressive and show-stopping, you won’t have any problem drawing in those crowds.
5. Put on a Show
As with any attention-grabbing play, you’ll need to convince your audience that they should not only give you their time but their undivided attention as well. Though this might seem like a simple task to accomplish, it’s much harder than it seems. Even if you have all the confidence in the world in what you’re trying to sell, if you’re not playing the part of the experienced salesman, you could miss out on speaking to a potentially huge audience. To get your ideas and your brand out there, you have to find a way to make people feel like your ideas relate specifically to their lives and needs. This means really putting yourself out there and letting your confidence come through. Don’t just feel like you have the best product on the market. You should really believe that it’s the best product available. When you talk to people from a place of confidence and experience, they’ll want to listen.