Trade shows are attended by hundreds or even thousands of customers, prospects, and suppliers relevant to a specific industry. There is no wonder why organizations use them to generate leads for their business and why you, as an event planner, must know how to help your client generate these leads.
As the event planner, you need to handle logistics. It’s your job to negotiate trade show booth rates for your client, advertise and promote the event, and sometimes even land your client a speaking gig at the trade show (this gives them a ton of extra exposure).
Follow these 6 planning secrets to create a lead explosion for your clients at any trade show:
Step 1: Prepare ahead of time with pre-event marketing. By doing some marketing ahead of time, not only will prospects know that your client will be at the event, but they’ll know the specific booth number.
Step 2: Make sure that all booth materials, promotional materials and staff from your company arrive on time.
Step 3: Keep the booth aesthetic warm and inviting by having soft fixtures and cushioned carpet.
Step 4: Ensure that the booth’s staff are highly motivated and able to easily interact with hundreds of strangers at any given moment.
Step 5: Set your booth apart by having a clever giveaway or attention grabber.
Step 6: Plan an after-show event and invite everyone who spoke at the event plus all the leads that were captured. This additional step for relationship building can turn a prospect into a new customer.
These simple secrets will ensure that your client is well on their way to establishing themselves as an industry leader among those who attend the event and will solidify your status as THE go-to event planner for corporate events and trade shows.
Real-world Curriculum for Schools
Corporate event planning and management is an emerging field of study, and more and more students are seeking schools that offer event-management courses. This lucrative industry attracts students who want to learn more than the basics. They want to know the ins-and-outs of event management. They want a reality-based curriculum that reveals what it really takes to plan, set up, and execute corporate events. They want to understand what goes into producing events for companies such as Disney, Shell Oil, Wells Fargo, or Pepsi. Find out how to get “Going Live” for your School’s event planning program lineup here.