Trade Show- Buying Used Displays

If you are in the market for trade show displays and are on a tight budget you may want to consider purchasing used trade show displays. They can be a very smart and cost effective purchase. You can find many pre-owned exhibits and displays that have been well taken care of. Most displays are in excellent condition and you can get them for huge discounts compared to purchasing new displays.

The first thing to do is to decide what type of displays you are wanted to use for your trade show exhibit. You should make a list of the features you are looking for to fit your needs. When looking into purchasing used trade show displays you need to have an open mind and be flexible.

The next thing is to determine what your budget will be. You should have a firm estimate of what you are willing to spend and stick to it. Some sellers of used trade show displays are willing to bargain. You shouldn’t hesitate to offer less than the asking price. It is also very helpful if you know the actual retail price of the display so you can make a reasonable offer.

You need to do some research and find out what is available that would fit into your needs. You can search the Internet to find used displays and accessories. This way you will be able to see what types of trade show displays are available and what the current prices are. If you are informed you can then be able to search for quality used trade show displays at bargain prices.

Using used trade show displays are an economical way to be able to create an attractive display at a fraction of the cost of buying new displays. This is a smart move especially, if you are new to doing trade show exhibits or if you only attend a show or two a year. You can find some great deals out there if you shop around.

Display Area Tips

Everyone knows that when you’re exhibiting at a trade show it is all about, location, location, location! Every trade show has spaces that are better located than others. Good locations for trade show booths include the spaces that are close to refreshment stands and ones located near entrances and exits.

There are several obvious things you can do to cut the cost of renting exhibit space, such as sharing space or opting for a smaller area. There are other things that you can do to maximize the impact your display has on visitors and allow you to save money at the same time.

Sometimes if you think outside the box, you can make more of an impact for less money. You might consider having several smaller booths that are strategically placed throughout the trade show floor instead of one large centrally located one. The trade show management might make a deal with you for several smaller spaces because they have a harder time renting out these spaces.

Keep in mind that it is the goal of the trade show management to book every space at every show. They are willing to negotiate with the exhibitors so the entire trade show floor is full of exhibits. You can sometimes make a deal or get a reduced rate for space that is not the traditional size or shape. You can use this to your advantage and design your exhibit to stand out from the rest and to have more of an impact on potential prospects.

If you have a flexible design layout for your exhibit you will be able to use this to your advantage. You will be able to set-up a dramatic trade show booth no matter what size the space is. You will be able to have an effect display plus save on the cost of the exhibit space.

Capitalize on Your Time

Making the most of the time you have at the event requires a proactive approach and a great deal of preparation – and excellent execution.

As soon as you are proceeding with attendance at an event you should be checking contacts against the exhibitor and attendee listings the event management ought to be providing – make sure you get these lists and the updates and check for your clients, prospects and classify those you are targeting.

At the show, make sure you are qualifying attendees from the get-go!

Dividing your attendees into A’s – those with a desire to do business, place an order or write a check – they get special treatment and your time; B’s – they may need a follow-up because they cannot make a commitment there and then and require you to convert them – follow-up professionally and be prompt, there is business in this group, and finally; C’s – maybe they are interested and maybe not; if you get the feeling they are going to be dropping your brochure in the trash 5 minutes after leaving the event, get rid of them!

How the event is staged will also affect how you use your time. Make use of down-time so you schedule meetings with those people you want to be talking to – use break-out sessions to your maximum advantage to make contacts with your targets that are more than simply an exchange of business cards – make these meetings well in advance of attending and that means getting on the telephone with your prospects before the show.

Use the 3-Day Rule when you are following up.

Most business is concluded after the event and not in the show arena – you must follow-up when you say you are going to and that means being prompt. Never leave prospects for more than 3 days after the show to contact them with whatever follow-up action is required. Attendees will have been contacted by other exhibitors and may have concluded the business or made a decision to place the order with your competition; very often, attendees make the buying decision and place the order with the first exhibitor who places the sales call.

Wheelchair Access

I was meandering around PMA 2009 earlier this month while in Las Vegas and was surprised to run into a whole bunch of people in wheelchairs; I have several clients and contacts I have made over the years who use a wheelchair and it was only when confronted by 20 or so attendees at once that it really hit me what was going on.

I got on the phone with John Turnton who is a good friend of mine from way back when and as he says, “You see a wheelchair but I live in it.” Out of this conversation came some of the following advice for those of you who will inevitably meet up with those less physically able than us less disabled.

“I know I’m in a wheelchair stupid!”

John’s number one bugbear is people staring or stating the obvious – he’s in a wheelchair, he doesn’t need some schmuck being cute about it but there are also some other habits the less disabled have – talking loudly as if John has a problem with his ears instead of his nerves not working with his legs.

Don’t stare – don’t talk loudly – don’t ask stupid questions!

Wheelchair Access

Modern day wheelchairs are fast, small and mobile – someone in a wheelchair can get from A-to-B faster than someone on two legs so watch out for them!

So saying there are some things that are hard to navigate, stairs being one though they are not the barrier they used to be but still difficult while narrow confined spaces are not welcoming for someone in a wheelchair either.

Maintain Eye Contact

When you are with a wheelchair-bound prospect don’t hunker down or hang over them – pull up a chair and sit maintaining eye-level contact with them.
Another thing to bear in mind is that some people may have a guide with them, and this applies to others as well such as the vision impaired; now while you should acknowledge the guide as a courtesy it is impolite not to address the person with your questions or responses (it is a common mistake to direct all the questions and answers to the guide instead who in fact, are not the ones making the decision or have the money to buy).

“When your eye-level is maximum 3ft you won’t watch a demo at 4ft!”

Finally, one of John’s penetrating remarks, he isn’t going to check out a demo taking place a foot or more above his head – I’m 6 ft in my socks but I am not going to look at a demonstration that is taking place a foot higher than my eye-level so why should someone who’s eye-level is 3 ft above the deck look at yours if it situated too high?

Wall Street Gloom

Frankly I am sick and tired of hearing all of the doom and gloom that is being parroted all over the media and all over the place; the economy is in a bad state at the moment BUT we all seem to be forgetting a few things.

Our economy is the strongest in the world – not one of the strongest but THE strongest; as a British friend of mine says, “When America sneezes the rest of the world catches a cold!”

There is plenty of business still going on and in large part, the reason why the US economy is so strong is simply because of the very large and industrious small business base we have here in America.  America is the land of free enterprise and opportunity and unlike elsewhere, a man (or woman) can make their own luck!

It’s a constant wonder to me that some come up to me and tell me how “lucky” I am; it is a wonder because I discovered a long time ago that the harder I work the luckier I get!

This is what I’m doing; and I did this in the last recession and the one before that; I’m sticking to what I know works – I know trade shows work and I always make good money and create new business opportunities but I have to play it right.

I do not go overboard and fall for trade show and exhibition management hype – I talk to businesses who have attended at shows before if it is a new one to me.

I do not look at attending a brand new event – if it is a new event it is untried, untested and uninteresting to me.

I improve my marketing and sales efforts; if anything I will increase my dollar spend on these activities in order to extract as much business as I am able to do – now is a time when my competition is struggling and they are cutting back on customer contact and service precisely because they have cut their spend; this leaves their market share vulnerable and I aim to take it from them.  Big company clients are especially vulnerable and I am more likely to get business out of them now than at any other time.

I’m planning for recovery – that other “R” word which people keep forgetting about.  Recessions are bad news but not for everybody – Carnegie built an entire steel empire and conglomerate on the basis of steel he bought during recession and then sold on to railroad builders at massive profits when the recovery followed; I’m not Carnegie but I apply his principles, buy low and sell high and now is a time when I will be able to buy new business cheaply.

Trade Show Timing

The year is winding down but for many, this is the most profitable time of the year as sales go through the roof and particularly for retailers, Mr & Mrs Consumer seriously start to max out their credit cards on purchases for the season with the post-Thanksgiving sales and again after the Christmas holidays as stock gets cleared.

Retailers know the cyclic nature of their trade, and successful ones understand every nuance of consumer buying trends like the back of their hands.

The same principles apply when you act as a consumer and buy trade show display space – you must learn and understand the buying habits and trends of the attendees who are visiting trade shows so you can tap into the corporate and personal check books that are available.

Part of your due diligence when it comes to selecting a trade show is to avoid calendar clashes with holidays, religious festivals, the BIG GAME!, and in fact, anything that will detract from people attending a trade show you will be at or deter them from placing an order with you.

Look for what the industry or market ordering cycle is for your target market and maximize your trade show exhibiting when your potential customers are most likely to place orders; this will increase your exposure to the maximum number of selling opportunities with prospects who are more likely to be in a buying frame of mind.

You can research who will be attending by looking at the demographics and attendance history of prior events as well. Trade show managers are only too eager to part with big name and general attendance information to help prospective exhibitors and armed with this information you can start making realistic and reasonable assumptions as to who is likely to be attending at the next event prior to you booking yourself into it.

Just consider what the attendance is going to be like at a trade show when the Superbowl is on in January 2009 and ask yourself whether you really should be booking in for an event the same weekend?

Are you really going to be selling Christmas cards at Easter?

It’s not rocket science just common sense like so many other things, however you need to get your calendar out and plot out when you should be exhibiting and when you should be back at base and servicing your existing customer base.

Display Graphics – 5 Basic Elements

Every trade show display should contain five basic elements in order to deliver an effective and attractive display.

The five basic elements are:

1. Visual Impact;
2. Your headline;
3. Description;
4. Company name and Logo; and
5. Website.

How you combine these five elements will directly impact upon how your display stands out and how user friendly it will be considered by your attendee audience.

Creating your own tradeshow graphics is easily accomplished but you must remember not to lose sight of your overall aim; to produce an effective tradeshow display.

Look for a clean and uncluttered look that is neat and tidy so it stands out when read and also amongst the competing displays that you will encounter on the arena floor.

Looking at these five basic elements you may wish to reconsider your initial approach to designing your display.  Have you selected a simple and bold image for your display?  How about your tag headline; is it easy to remember?  What about the typeface you have chosen; a good headline is frequently obscured by a typeface which is difficult to read or indeed, some funky design which may appeal aesthetically but in fact can’t be immediately read 100 feet away across a crowded tradeshow floor.

Use bullet points for your description and keep your language short and to the point without getting technical; apply the maxim “Less is More” in this instance and if you can lose a word without losing the meaning then do so.

Your company name should feature prominently and I constantly am amazed at how many displays require you to hunt around for the company name; do they have something to hide or are they embarrassed?  Front and center is where it ought to be so no-one is in any doubt as to who you are.

Finally, your website is probably the most single important piece of contact information you can provide.  A sign of the times that the website address has overtaken the telephone number but the reality is an attendee can take your site address down from a distance and look you up at leisure after researching your company over the web.

Minimizing Exhibition Space Costs

There are obvious ways in which you can reduce the cost of renting trade show display space at a trade show; share a booth with a partner or reduce the actual size of the space you are taking.

Thinking of the obvious is OK but there are other ways in which you can cut down on the cost of space but still make an impact.

Ask the tradeshow management if they have any unusual shaped spaces; by the time they have carved up the arena they will have space which they will be finding difficult to sell to exhibitors because they have a traditional, fixed display system or simply it does not fall into their corporate image to have a rhomboid display area instead of regular rectangle.

You can negotiate a deal on such space which the management will be open to deal on.

Another tip is to consider breaking your display presence into smaller satellite booths around the arena; why not consider several smaller displays dotted around the arena as opposed to one larger display.  Again, smaller sizes are sometimes difficult for the organizers to shift and you can clean up with a deal on several.

Pay close attention to the layout of the arena; you are paying for space but just as with a physical street location, some spots are going to be prime and others not.  Look for space close to refreshment stands, a major corporate who is not a competitor (and piggy back on their marketing and attendee attraction) and close to the entrances and exits are also good spots to grab if you can.

When you come to select your display design and layout, consider the flexibility of the design so you can adapt and change the display to suit different venue space and this will help you to take advantage of whatever tradeshow arena space is available.

Choosing a Trade Show to Exhibit At

Here are three off-the-wall tips for selecting a trade show to attend and exhibit at:

Tip #1

Ignore Trade Show Hype

Do you honestly think trade show management are going to say anything other than “Exhibit at our show and you will make a stack of sales, a ton of money and earn a big bonus!”; come on guys wake up!

Trade show management are going to market their event to the hilt because they have their own business targets to meet and guess what, they’re looking to get your autograph on one of your checks!

Talk to exhibitors who have attended the event previously to see what they have to say about the trade show; you’ll get a better view of the quality by this route.

Tip #2

Choose to attend an offbeat trade show event

First of all, learn what the demographics are for a show or event; the demographics are more important than the headlining theme of the event.  A good example is Nordic Track, the multi-function personal Scandinavian exercise machine but guess where they enjoyed tremendous success?

At fitness shows?

Wrong – they made the best sales and generated the greatest response at dental shows!

Choose an area which shares the same demographics as your own niche and consider exhibiting there; you’ll stand out from the crowd simply because you’ll have no competition.

Tip #3

Ignore New Trade Show Events

New events are untried and untested so you have no idea what you are likely to achieve as a return; more than this there is no realistic way for you to assess what a realistic return should be to begin with so where do you stand in calculating your ROI?

Smaller companies in particular should not be going down this particular path and especially at a time like this; stick to what works and that means the existing events where there is a track record of attendance by punters and exhibitors alike.

Leave the new shows to the big boys with the money to lose and let them test the water for you.

Trade Show Display Tips

When it comes to putting your trade show display together, try to think of display visibility when you are designing it; you are aiming for neatness and clarity without any clutter to detract from enticing and engaging attendees.

Try using a display board to hang your products off at eye level for booth attendees; when you have something visible at eye level it dramatically attracts your attention but customers will also be switched off if you have a messy display so make sure it is well organized and neatly laid out with pricing and information on the products clearly accessible.

Create the impression that your product is in demand; you can do this easily enough by the judicious application of a “Sold” sticker on some of your items but don’t overdo it. One occasion I saw a booth that had an empty space in a product display with a simple card saying “sold out” – whether it was true or not, it certainly gave the impression that the products were in high demand thus fueling desire in attendees.

Use the display sections to create interest but also use the display areas with some imagination in terms of the spatial layout; creating a nook or using a display section as a divider can help create private areas for business discussions or use the illusion of depth and space to increase attendees curiosity and draw them into the booth itself.  Use this in conjunction with your promotional giveaways and literature displays for maximum effect.

However you set your display up, you are trying to engage and attract the attention of exhibition attendees; you want to engage their interest and curiosity and turn this into a productive business conversation so they can be qualified.  Clean lines, neatness and easy to find information on your products and services are essential components of any display design so pay attention to the overall impact your display has and constantly reassess it in the light of your tradeshow experience.