Emilie Barta – Trade Show Presentation Specialist / Professional Trade Show Presenter – creating a clear, concise and consistent message to attract, engage, and interact with your audience

There are many methods exhibitors use to get attendees to stop by their booth. No matter what method you use, you should always start by thinking of how you can stimulate the 5 senses of the attendees. According to the Free Dictionary by Farlex, the definition of sense is a “faculty by which external or internal stimuli are conveyed to the brain centers, where they are registered as sensations.” Since the 5 senses are conveyed to the brain, it only makes sense for an exhibitor to utilize these senses to gain the attention of the attendees who are walking down the aisles of the trade show floor.

Let’s start with SIGHT.
Think about the old saying “I’ve got to see it to believe it!” Attendees don’t want to hear about how great a product is, they want to see it in action as proof that it really works. Show the attendees how quick, easy, efficient, cost-effective your product is to use in order to pique their curiosity, then engage them in conversation to find out how your product can benefit them. Voila…you now have a hot lead!

If your company provides a service as opposed to a physical product, show the attendees case studies and results that your customers have achieved as a result of using your service. Services are more difficult to showcase than products on the trade show floor, so you must show how well your service works, how much success your service brings to your customers, and how easy it is to work with your company, i.e. the provider of the service.

Seeing is believing so be sure to show the attendees why they need to start doing business with you!

Here is an example of how an exhibitor evoked the sense of sight while showcasing a PRODUCT at a trade show:
My client, MAQUET, offers a high-end surgical table called MAGNUS which is relatively new to the US market and costs more than the average surgical table due to all of its features and benefits. If an attendee is coming down the aisle and spots it, they may think to themselves “oh look, another surgical table” and keep on walking. So what do I do as MAQUET’s Presenter? I not only tell them about the features and benefits unique to MAGNUS…I have a Project Manager on stage with me to operate the surgical table and show the attendees how it will make their surgeries quicker and more comfortable for both them and their patient.

It is so much fun to see the attendees’ faces light up when I tell them that MAGNUS can articulate to 80 degrees in trendelenburg and reverse trendelenburg…but even more fun to see their mouths drop open when we show them the table in those extreme articulations. When I tell the attendees that MAGNUS has fast knee-chest positioning, they may think to themselves “yeah right…that’s what they all say.” But when we physically show them how quick and easy it is to make the adjustments to the table, they believe what I say. In fact, I have had attendees time us and be amazed at the results…because we are showing them the proof that they request, on site, in the spur of the moment. You can not fake that…and the attendees appreciate the fact that we showed them what they asked to see.

On top of that, we invite attendees to challenge us with a surgery and then we put the table in the appropriate position for that surgery. Many attendees have taken pictures of the table in their requested position back to their hospitals to show the person with the checkbook why MAGNUS is worth the money, rather than just telling them about it.

And here is an example of how an exhibitor evoked the sense of sight while showcasing a SERVICE at a trade show:
I worked with LasermaxRoll Systems, the undisputed leader in automated paper handling, monitoring, and processing equipment for the digital printing industry, at Graph Expo. Rather than do a presentation on their equipment like many of the other exhibitors on the show floor, I talked about the services that they offer their customers in order to differentiate them from their competition. The entire presentation consisted of case studies about their customers and how working with LasermaxRoll Systems made their production process quicker, easier, and/or cheaper…this showed the attendees proof of the claims that LasermaxRoll Systems was making.

I also introduced the attendees to LasermaxRoll Systems’ partners and showed how working with these partners also provided beneficial solutions to the customers. This presentation showed the attendees that LasermaxRoll Systems is a solution provider as opposed to merely an equipment manufacturer.

Oftentimes attendees knew of the customers that were profiled, which showed them even more proof that LasermaxRoll Systems’ solutions work. And every once in a while, a customer that I profiled in the presentation was actually standing in the booth! This showed the attendees just how strongly the customers believed in using LasermaxRoll Systems as their digital printing solution provider.

So let the attendees SEE for themselves just how your product or service will make their life better by enticing them into your booth through the sense of SIGHT!

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