It’s true that you could attend a tradeshow without spending any effort on marketing but if you want to make the most of the show, I highly recommend letting the world know that you are planning on being there….perhaps not the world but at the very least a nice cross section of attendees.? ?

Before the show…..

A buyer sometimes needs to see you several times before taking interest in your product.? The truth is that often times they might not even fully understand your product at first.? I send out postcards prior to the show and had one buyer come up to my booth saying that he saw the card and threw it in the garbage.? As he was walking away, it occurred to him that it wasn’t just another RC toy on the postcard.? He pulled it from the garbage, read more about the Color Bug and ended up at my booth placing an order. ?Therefore I HIGHLY recommend sending out a postcard prior to the show with your product information, picture of the product, company website/contact info and don’t forget the booth number!!? While this does add an expense, I had several people stop by my booth because of the postcard I sent to them.? Remember that your booth is one of hundreds, possibility thousands so anything you can do to increase your odds of sales, the better.? That 19 cent postcard may easily turn into an account worth hundreds.? I had more than one person comment on receiving my postcards and each of them that did were there to place an order.?

How do I know who to send them to?? Most shows do offer the ability to buy mailing lists with the names of the buyers who meet your criteria.? This is an expense but sometimes you can narrow down and just get the names of the buyers to the larger stores since these are the people most difficult to obtain.? ?

?There are a few creative ways of getting lists of names of potential small specialty stores without paying for a mailing list.? ??Of course you can’t guarantee that all of these stores will be in attendance at the show but shows coincide with the buying patterns for the industry so even if a store is not in attendance, they are gearing up to buy.

1. Yellow pages online.? You can search for different store types and compile a list this way.? It’s a long process but you can limit it to major cities.? Also keep in mind that you are going to get a better turn out of the stores that are located in the region where the show is occurring.? It’s expensive for the buyers to attend these shows as well if you factor in travel, food and lodging so you will always have a higher turnout from the local customers.
2. Look up any of the organizations that are associated with your industry.? For instance, ASTRA is the Association for Specialty Toy Retailers.? If you go to their site, you will find a list of all of their members.? ASTRA holds a huge event at the Toy Fair so many of the members come to network with their peers as well as go to the Toy Fair.?
3. Go to another company that is more established than you are and see where they are selling.? I did this and it was a painful process to build a spreadsheet but it gave me sources that I would not have otherwise considered.? ?

Just remember, when you are building a list of customers to target, ??it might be a long process but put together an organized spreadsheet that you will then be able to work off of.? You don’t want to recreate the wheel every year.?

In addition to the buyers, there is also the media to consider.? Ask your contact at the tradeshow if there is a media area and if you are eligible to put your media kit in that area. Often times you need to belong to the organization putting on the show in order to get the media access.? In addition, you might also be able to get a listing of the media who will be attending so you can send emails and postcards out to them in advance.?

Notify your local newspaper and news stations that your company is planning on attending the show.? Often times the media is going to run a story on the tradeshow anyway and they love to have a local company that they can spotlight.? Major shows like Toy Fair are covered on every station during the time of the show so take advantage of the timing.? Also keep in mind that you might live in Charlotte but grew up in Dallas so contact media in both cities with a different spin on the release “Local Company launches product at Toy Fair” vs “Dallas Native launches product at Toy Fair”.? In addition, make sure you contact your college, high school, neighbor publications etc.? ?Each of these types of publications enjoys the human interest side of your story.

The tradeshows usually have daily news that they publish.? Contact the media representative for the show to submit the press release and a photo.?

During the show…….

I will be talking about all the things you should bring with you to the show in another post but the one thing I can’t stress enough is making sure you have an effective way of capturing your leads.? Make sure you take business cards from everyone!? Don’t be afraid to ask if they don’t readily offer them to you…most of them will not.? In addition, have a 3-ring binder that you can put names of the buyers who say they don’t have any more business cards.? This is also helpful to have a sheet where you can staple a card and make notes regarding the conversation you had with that person.?

Another way, a little more expensive but the buyers LOVE, is the electronic scanner that allows you to scan their badge.? At the end of the show you get access to an excel spreadsheet that gives you all the information.? ?

Keep in mind that people move quickly in and out of the booths so you need to be organized to get as much information as quickly as you can.? It’s Murphy’s Law that your booth is either empty or crowded but rarely do you get to just have a steady flow.?

After the show………Follow up on all leads that you obtained at the show.? ??Send emails, catalogs in the mail, etc.? The buyers have seen so much during a short period of time that they need reminders.? That’s why I can’t stress enough the importance of consistency in your company branding.? Keep you postcards, media kits, booth graphics, business cards; sell sheets all a very consistent look.? This way, the buyer will start to recognize you as a company.?

“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”? Nelson Mandela

Gwen Austin, RC Art Toys, Inventor of the Color Bugâ„¢? www.rcarttoys.com?