Part 1 – Everything you need to do before and during a trade fair to avoid embarrassment, waste and wasting time with people who will never buy. In the next article (part 2) we will talk about what to do after the trade fair.
Trade fairs: that place where others have fun and you don’t. You work.
Trade fairs are wonderful. You walk around, discover things, observe, chat between one stand and another. At least, that’s what happens if you’re a visitor.
But if you are an exhibitor, everything changes.
Trade fairs are becoming an extreme sport. A sport where you win if you are well prepared.
That’s why you need this guide. Because preparing well for a trade fair doesn’t just mean setting up an attractive stand. It means:
- Arrange meetings before everyone’s diaries are full
- Have clear and realistic goals
- Take home REAL contacts, not piles of business cards that no one remembers.
- Follow up before your name is forgotten
In this first part, I will give you advice on what you need to do before the fair and during the event. The second part will be dedicated to the post-fair period, i.e. the part where you try to reap the rewards.
1. Before the fair: military organisation
You can’t improvise at a trade fair. Anyone who arrives with a “let’s see how it goes” attitude has already got it all wrong.
Make a serious checklist
- Who is participating? (Name, role, mobile phone number, times)
- Tickets and hotel booked?
- Have the goods been shipped?
- Have you submitted your participation forms?
- Printed badges and passes?
- Stand designed and confirmed? Do you need electricity? Wi-Fi? A warehouse?
Materials ready and in order:
- Updated catalogues (both digital and printed)
- Price lists, offers, presentations
- Business cards (physical or digital with QR code)
- Brochure o flyer
- Gadgets (if you really want to make them, at least make them useful)
Brief al team:
- Chi fa cosa: chi parla coi clienti, chi prende i contatti, chi sta di supporto
- Come si comunica: tono, messaggi chiave, cosa evitare (tipo sparare prezzi a caso)
- Simulazioni: prepara risposte a domande frequenti, esercitati a spiegare bene il prodotto in 30 secondi
2. Why are you going there?
It seems trivial, but many people never really ask themselves this question.
- Do you want to sell directly?
- Would you like to position yourself?
- Are you looking for distributors, partners, or suppliers?
Each objective requires different preparation. If you want to talk to potential partners, for example, you need to know who is there.
3. Find out who will be there (and contact them beforehand)
As soon as the list of exhibitors/visitors is available, read it as if it were the guest list for a party where you want to make an impression.
- Who would you like to meet?
- Who could be useful for your business?
Contact them before the trade fair. Write to them. Call them. Make appointments. Trade fairs are chaotic: without an appointment, you risk never getting to speak to them. Book a slot in their diary now!
A message such as:
“We will also be at the XYZ Fair. I would love to have a chat, perhaps we could arrange to meet for a quick coffee at the stand on Tuesday morning?“
Simple, direct, effective.
4. During the trade fair: collect smart contacts
The fair is full of people. But not all of them are useful contacts.
Here’s how to make a difference:
Use smart tools
- Tablets with digital forms linked to your CRM or at least to a Google sheet
- QR code to download catalogues, videos, guides
- App for scanning badges and immediately categorising contacts (cold/warm/very warm)
Qualify now
As soon as you finish talking to someone, write two notes:
- What did you talk about?
- What type of contact is it (potential customer? partner? journalist?)
- What should you send him next (a quote? a link? a sample?)
This will save you after the fair.
End of Part One:
In the second part, we will look at:
- How to manage follow-up
- What to do with all those contacts you’ve collected
- How to make the most of all content generated during the fair
