Exhibitor Tips
- Research. Talk to attendees to gather insight into the unique needs of the education channel. Gather input about how your products are merchandised and marketed on college campuses and gain knowledge from resellers about how your products are used in the education market.
- Attend the C2ES Evening Events. Take advantage of the chance to network with other manufacturers, publishers, resellers and employees from The Douglas Stewart Company. Relationships are the key to successful selling in the education channel.
- Improve Your Lighting. Any booth will attract attention if it is well lit. The human eye is naturally attracted to bright lights. Be the brightest light on your block and attendees will gather like moths to a porch light.
- Create An Open Atmosphere. Eliminate all physical and psychological barriers to your booth by making it open and inviting. If you set a table across the front of your booth and stand behind it, it's harder to draw customers in and involve them—so they tend to walk on by. Move the furniture to the back and sides to create room for attendees to easily enter your booth. That'll lead to discussion and sales.
- Personalize Your Exhibit. Your exhibit doesn't have to be all work and no play. Put a table lamp in your booth, lay down an area rug, use props (holiday, seasons, sports or recreational), or decorate with items you plan to give to key clients—all to attract attention and initiate conversation.
- Keep Your Booth Uncluttered. This allows customers to focus on what's important—your product. When approaching your display, anyone should be able to discern immediately what your booth is promoting. No one is going to take the time to study it and guess, when there are other booths to visit.
- Make Something Move. Provide movement to attract attendees' attention and in turn their bodies to your booth. If you are selling a product, try to involve it in some booth demonstration.
- Invent a Dress Code. Don't make the attendee search for your staff. Have your own branded attire made so that everyone has "your" look. This could be a jacket, vest, shirt, hat, etc. This identification will instantly let the attendee know who to approach in your booth or elsewhere on the floor.
- Staff Your Booth With the Best. Nothing will increase your ROI like choosing the right people to staff your booth. If it can't be you, only send your best, happiest, and most outgoing staff—no matter what their position within the company. You need people willing and able to initiate conversation with anyone, answer questions about your product, and record lead information.
- Stay In Touch, Get In Touch. How we communicate is changing. Stay in touch and reach out by using the tools your current and potential customers are using: websites, blogging, e-mail blasts, search-engine campaigns, text messaging, PDA downloads, etc.
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