The 'Ideal' Trade Show Question

I have attended GRAPH EXPO every year for 20 years. The hall at McCormick Place is full of empty suits occupying booths. Vendors with sore feet and sore backs hope that the customers wandering the aisles will stop and make eye contact amidst the sensory-overloaded environment.

But then what?

How do you engage prospective clients in meaningful conversation? As a vendor who wrote a very large check, you want results and an ROI. But unless you know how to start that conversation, the entire experience will be rather like junior high school dances with everyone standing around looking at each other and the music blasting in the "gym."

It all comes down to two words. Two words that make the difference between sitting in the stands and joining the party.

How’s business?

That’s it. All you need to do is ask that question and use those two words. “How’s business?” results in an avalanche of information that will help you to sell your product or service. It will identify the speaker as a potential customer and tell you everything you need to know, short of someone’s ATM password.

People love talking about themselves, their lives and of course, their business.

Let them. Give them the opportunity and they will make your life incredibly easy.

The customer at a trade show is the pretty girl at the dance. You are the shy and awkward guy in the corner. You long for a conversation with her but panic at the thought of it. If only you had known that it was this easy, you would spend less time wondering what to wear and more time trying to figure out how you would fit all those dates into your busy schedule.

Bill Farquharson is a Vice President at NAPL. His training programs can drive the sales of print reps and selling owners. Check out his Sales Resources page and contact him at (781) 934-7036 or bfarquharson@napl.org.