Half of Trade Show Owners Discounting Booth Space

Is the glass half empty or half full?

In their May 2009 survey, UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, found that about half their members (show owners from around the world) said they had discounted their booth space costs within the last several months.  The discount was on average less than 10%.

If you’re a glass-is-half-empty thinker, you may think that this demonstrates how trade shows are being negatively affected by the global economic crisis. 

But if you’re a glass-is-half-full thinker, you could be happy that now you can reach a concentrated gathering of your best prospects at a discount.

Survey respondents were from 57 countries.  See the full report here.

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When The Trade Show Is Slow

Be ready to act when you're at a slow show.

Every once in a while you find yourself stuck at a slow show.  Perhaps the show is in a declining market, or it’s a new show yet to get established.  Maybe it’s the show city rotation, or it’s just the last day at an otherwise popular show.  Whatever the reason, you still want to make the most of it.  However, when the show is slow, it’s human nature for the staff to do one of two counter-productive things:

1. Start talking to each other.

The people you bring to staff the booth are usually the most outgoing people you have. So after 30 seconds of staring down the aisle, they get bored and want to talk to someone. Hey look, there’s someone to talk to, your fellow booth staffer!  Chief conversation topics:  Where are we going for dinner tonight, and boy does this show stink (which can become a self-fulfilling prophecy).  The problem is, now you’ve got two staffers out of commission.  It takes discipline and patience to instead resist the temptation to “chat amongst ourselves.”

2. Pounce on every passerby.
It’s slow, so go for the gusto and grab every attendee! We need to get a return from our investment at the show! Well, that may get a conversation started, but you won’t start a good relationship through intimidation.

Instead, wait for the solitary attendee to make eye contact with you (as you’ve been patiently waiting for them, instead of talking with your fellow booth staffer). Once (and if) they look at you, have your best smile ready, and ask a good engaging question, such as “Are you familiar with (Your Company Name)?”  That way you can start a conversation that will lead somewhere.  If they didn’t look at you, well, they may come back on their return trip.

When the traffic is slow, avoid chatting with your own staffers and pouncing on the rare attendee.  That way you get the most out of the traffic you do have.  And anyway, whether it’s slow or busy, you can only talk to one person at a time.

I was inspired by a post on the otisregrets blog about a trip to a slow trade show to write this post.