Here are some more tradeshow tips: 

Contact prospects ahead of time. If there are particular hot prospects attending the show, send them a personal invitation to stop by your booth to receive some special offer. If your budget allows it, rent a suite instead of a room at the hotel so you can entertain your hit list of prospects and meet with them away from the hectic pace of the show. If you do this, remember to hide all your personal possessions in the closet and drawers. You don’t want a great prospect so see your underwear hanging from the shower rod.

Be well staffed. Even if you’re a one-person shop, a tradeshow is no time to go it alone. The pace can be exhausting and you’ll need a break every few hours. Most trade show experts recommend two workers per 10′ x 10′ booth. This way, you can be busy with two prospects at a time. Since most small companies can’t afford to pay extra staff, try to recruit a friend or relative to help you out. Make sure you’ve drilled booth staff on your organization, its products, services, and other important information before you hit the sales floor.

Don’t go soft (sell). Remember, your primary reason for getting a booth is to sell and build your business. Streamline your sales pitch and practice explaining the benefits of your product, service and company. If you’re a small business, remember that you’re taking two or three days out of the office to work the tradeshow circuit so make every minute count. Don’t sit down in your booth and wait for people to magically walk in. Stand out in front of your booth and greet people, ask them a question that will guide them to respond with an interest in what you have to sell. Position yourself as an expert in your field, hand out literature and provide prospective customers with a way to get in touch with you after the show. And don’t run out of business cards whatever you do.

Qualify a prospect and dump the browsers. Are the people passing by your booth the decision maker or are they interested in what you have to sell? If not, let them pass you by. Work out a signal with your partner if you’re sidelined with someone who’s interested in small talk but not your product or service. That way you can get out of a pointless conversation without hurting anyone’s feelings. Failure to qualify and move on to the next prospect is the biggest mistake you can make.

Follow-up. Devise a system for following up on prospects before you get to the show. For instance, develop a grading system for prospects and write the grade on the back of their business card after meeting with them. An ‘A’ may be a sure thing, a ‘B’ a good possibility, ‘C’, a probable waste of time. After the show, put the prospects in order and contact them by phone within a week of the show. Mailings should be out within two weeks.