Following on from a presentation I’ve just given at ITWORKS2006 I took a stroll around the stands. I walked around for nearly 30 minutes and only one person spoke to me (and she was a very nice young lady); other standholders ignored me. Nearly half of them were either
- on a mobile phone
- doing their administration/accounts
- filling in a crossword
C’mon guys, have some common sense! I don’t care that you’re “only doing it until a visitor arrives”: no visitors will arrive if that’s what you’re doing! You have to present yourself as available and friendly!
Good grief!
Another tip for presenters on stands – or rather for their managers – don’t send extraverts. Extraverts thrive on bouncing off other people. That’s great if there are lots and lots of visitors to the stand all the time but if there aren’t (as there wasn’t at 10:15 this morning) they tend to collaps in on themselves, struggling to look enthusiastic. People who get their “emotional energy” from inside their own heads (introverts in the jargon) are arguably more suitable…..
The Service Network, the group I was speaking on behalf of, are going to put my overheads up on their website: I’ll link to it when they do.
In the meantime, enjoy the sunshine!
~ Simon
Exhibitions and trade shows can certainly be a trial, both when you are manning a stand and (as a result) when you attend one as well.
Talking to someone when you are on a stand sounds easy enough – after all it’s just chatting to them, isn’t it? To be done well though, it needs a certain level of know-how to hold their attention and find out what their requirements are without making them feel that they have been pounced on and “detained against their will”!
Some shows are a real nightmare in this regard as a visitor, but you quickly learn which stands to stay well clear of!