Surefire tips to help you get the most out of RE Expo, or any Expo for that matter!
OK, you’re finally at the Expo and you’re ready to kick some ass and take names, no pun intended. Here’s what you need to know and do to make your exhibit a success.
To be prepared
The classic boy scout motto still holds true to this day. Often, you’ll find that a little preparation in advance can make a big difference in your desired results in the long run.
Take a moment to think about the things you will need to be successful. This should not be complex. Start by simply asking yourself what you can do to better help your customer. By focusing on your customer, you will be able to find simple solutions to their needs.
Also, think about how many people you will need with you to accomplish your mission. You can never have too much help.
Other things to consider will be what kind of information to take for your prospects and how much. Just like with help, you can never have too much. Oh, and don’t forget to bring lots of pens!
One last thing: come mentally prepared as well. Be sure to bring a good, positive attitude with you. The results you get at the Expo can be greatly influenced by your attitude. Remember, as Napoleon Hill said, “Thoughts are things.” Think success and you will succeed.
Set goals
It sounds simple enough, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t do this. Keeping goals in mind will greatly increase your chances of success.
RE Expo is a place for you to apply your trade just like you do in your normal business environment. If you have goals or quotas to meet in your business, it should be no different at the Expo.
Break down your goals into event duration goals (2 days for RE Expo), daily goals, and hourly goals. For example, your event duration goal might be to get 300 leads. Take this 300 and divide it by the number of days of the event. In this example, we will use 2, which is the number of days that the Real Estate Wealth Expo takes place. You now have 150 leads every day. Now break down the 150 by the number of hours the event lasts in a day (usually 8-10 hours).
Your final count is approximately 15-19 leads per hour. So, to meet your target event goal of 300 leads, you need to register 15-19 leads per hour. This is quite conservative considering the number of people who attend the Real Estate Expo: 46,000 in 2005 in Los Angeles alone. Do this and you will outperform your competition by leaps and bounds.
Be creative
Get creative to attract potential customers. Be creative to keep it on their minds. You don’t have to follow the crowd. They all give away pens with their company name and logo on them.
Give away free mouse pads instead – with your company name, logo and contact number of course! Have a raffle drawing. Let’s say the first 100 people to sign up will be entered into a drawing to win a FREE ipod or something. You’ll be surprised how a little creativity can go a long way.
Bring as many people as you need to help you
You will get much more accomplished if you have the right number of people with you at the Expo. The number of people you need depends on the size of your booth and what you are trying to achieve at the Expo.
Remember that you have to eat and take bathroom breaks. If you’re a smoker, you’ll probably want a cigar break, too. In addition to this, you have to prospect, answer questions, give demos, take contact information, etc.
There is no magic number as to how many people you may need to help, but if you keep the above in mind, you will get a number that will help you achieve your goals and is also easy to manage. As a general rule, err on the side of security. It is always better to take one more person than one less.
dress comfortably
You will probably be on your feet most of the day at the Expo. Not to mention, you may also be on the move a lot setting up a store and eventually going back and forth between prospects. As you can imagine, this is going to take its toll on your feet and lower back.
That being said, wear comfortable, soft rubber-soled shoes or sneakers. I personally lean towards wearing sneakers. If you must adhere to a dress code and cannot wear sneakers, then consider black sneakers. Yes, they are actually sneakers, but they look like normal black shoes with rubber soles. Black Reeboks would be my choice.
In addition to wearing comfortable shoes, you’ll also want to dress comfortably. You may want to wear casual slacks, a skirt or Dockers, and a white shirt. Guys, unless you have to, don’t wear a tie, as you’ll probably end up loosening or taking it off anyway. As a general rule, the way you dress at the Expo should match the industry you are in. So if you’re exhibiting at a tech expo, dress according to the way techies dress.
Remember that you’ll be talking to a lot of potential customers, so you’ll want to look professional. You are representing your company or business. Dressing comfortably, but appropriately, will not only give your prospects a good first impression, but it will also help you perform at your best.
Save money! Forget cushioned rugs
Want to save some money right away? Then forget about the padded mats that most convention centers offer. If you remember to wear comfortable shoes, then you won’t need the mat. However, if you forget to wear comfortable shoes, definitely buy the mat. Your feet and lower back will thank you. However, since you are smart, I know that you will choose to wear comfortable shoes.
Meet and greet people…and don’t forget to smile!
OK, so you’re standing at your booth and a potential customer (and they’re all potential customers) seems to be walking towards you… what do you do? That’s right, smile and wave! Ask how YOU can help them, but don’t stop there. Strike up a conversation.
He or she is there for a specific reason. They are already pre-qualified and are ripe for harvest. Give them a personalized service. Give them a reason to want to do business with you and no one else. Do this and you will reap a great reward when they finally sign on to the bottom line and ultimately recommend you to all of their business partners and friends. And to think that it all started with your smile.
Work on the floor: go after your market
Now let’s take the meet and greet to the next level. Since you were smart enough to bring enough people to help, you can now split your team into two groups; one to work your stand and the other to work the floor.
That’s right, you’ll not only allow your future customers to come to you, but you’ll also position your team members in strategic areas of the show floor. The mission of your floor team: meet, greet and interact with potential customers and send them directly to your booth. The end result: more leads on the way.
Bring the necessary technology tools to collect contact information
You should have some kind of information collection and storage system already in place to collect your prospect’s contact information. This can be as simple as having forms ready for your prospects to fill out, using a PDA, or using a database program on your laptop. Each has its pros and cons.
Using a PDA is convenient for walking but will require you to be a fast one-finger typist. Gathering information on your laptop is faster, but it’s not as flexible as a PDA to carry around without leaving it somewhere (it’s a LAPtop, remember?). Offering ready-made forms for your prospects to fill out frees you from performing this task, but is prone to garbled (and sometimes unintelligible) handwriting.
The good thing about using a PDA or laptop to collect information is that you can automatically export it to MS Outlook, LotusNotes and other contact management software systems. Thus, you will save hours of time on data entry work.
Ideally, you’ll want to use the most efficient method of collecting information. Whatever you decide to do, keep it simple. If you can’t decide, try all three and stick with the one that works best.
Do not forget to eat
You are at the Expo. You are excited. you are excited Potential customers are arriving like a swarm. Your belly begs for food, but you’re too psyched to notice. You look at your watch and now it’s 3 in the afternoon! No wonder you’ve probably been feeling grumpy for the past hour or two.
Do yourself a favor and eat throughout the Expo. Your body needs fuel to stay alert and focused. Being sharp and focused means your prospects get better attention from you. Getting a little more attention from you may be all they need to say YES to you.
have fun
Exhibitions can be a fun break from your normal everyday office environment. Laugh often. Meet new people. Network. Enjoy the moment. After the show, enjoy a night on the town. Doing the above will make any event a pleasant and memorable experience.
Register early for the next Real Estate Wealth Expo
You probably already knew this one.
There you go. Applying these tips will not only help you be more successful, but will also ensure that you have a good time. Use them at the Real Estate Expo and you’ll be rewarded with more signups and ultimately more sales. — (c) 2006