Types of items needed
July 31, 2002
Plan on having to
provide your own table and chairs — and don't underestimate the value of
the chairs. These shows can cause wear and tear on your feet and legs,
making chairs a very important commodity in your booth.
You will need some way for people to quickly and easily identify your
business and what it does. That can take the form of signs, posters, large
photos, and banners, for example. In our case, we have a poster using a
photo of our logo and a scattered list of all the services we perform,
using different fonts, colors, and sizes for each service. In other words,
we create art without art.
Naturally, somewhere on the poster, you want to include your web
address in easy-to-read lettering.
You can hand out pens, hats, yardsticks, and other such items, but
generally those are less effective because they tend to be taken home and
thrown in a drawer or shelf. Knowing that, why bother with the expense and
having to mess with those items at the show?
We take business cards with a penny attached to each and a slogan such
as, "Save lots of these when we build your web site." What happens is that
the kids eat them up, and while they are doing that we talk to their
parents. For about $20 or $30, it's a great way to get on the adults' good
side and talk up your business.
For web designers, a lap top computer can be a valuable tool but not
always necessary. We sometimes use ours to run a rolling presentation of
our services, viewing sites we have built, and for providing other
information that potential clients might find of interest. We also use the
lap top and headphones so that visitors can hear the band, in case they
are looking to hire one.
It is important to keep things light and easily carried in and out of
the show. Depending on security, you may not wish to leave a computer
sitting on an open table. It might not be there the next day. Further,
your placement at the show can have a bearing on what you use at the show.
If it is air conditioned and indoors, your lap top will be a lot better
off than if it is in a fair tent outdoors in the heat and dust.
For example, our booth this year backs up to the fairgrounds race
track, where the demolition derby and tractor pulls will take place. Not
only will dust be a problem, but noise will also wreak havoc with our
activities a night or two. But that is part of the flavor of a fair.
During those times, the important thing is to keep the dust off your corn
on the cob.
We were fortunate that, on the first night when the fairground was hit
by 65 mph winds and a driving rain, we had brought along a tarp to cover
our tables and equipment. Although it was a "carport" type place, the roof
enabled us to stay dry but droplets did blow into the work area. The tarp
took care of that problem.
Some businesses go to the expense and trouble of creating a major
kiosk, light shows, and more. Is it worth that expense? That depends on
your type of business, but for most small businesses it is not. One of the
funniest sites on the opening night of this year's fair was watching the
satellite TV booth keepers trying to keep their tent from blowing away in
the storm.
As soon as the storm died down, we removed the tarp and went back to
work. The result: a stunning 2 full web sites and six mall sites sold.
That was enough to cover the $150 booth fee several times over and still
leave me time to be one of the judges of the unofficial wet T-shirt
contest caused by the surprise rainstorm.
Personnel
The hiring of personnel to work
these shows can be expensive, but if nothing else is available, don't
hesitate to go for it. We try to have a least two people in the booth at
all times. That way, should more than one person come to the booth needing
information, it can easily be provided. But there are more basic reasons
for having a helper or two.
A 5-8 hour stint of duty at one of these shows can be exhausting —
especially about the third or fourth day in a row. Nature will inevitably
call, the smell of the hamburgers at the neighboring booth will overcome
your will to lose weight, or you may simply will have to get away from it
all for a while.
With at least two people in the booth, they can switch off so that
neither is banging their head against the wall at the end of the day. Do
not diminish the value of having someone to help.
It is also not unusual to see people from neighboring booths cover for
each other when emergencies — such as severe hunger — strikes.
At some shows, we see companies that have hired public relations firms
to man their kiosks, but unless you have a very large firm, it isn't
necessary. For smaller businesses, the value of meeting clients in the
local community face to face is far more important.
Other possibilities
Now that you have the
basics of your booth set up, what other items might prove beneficial? We
always take flyers with information about our business with us. Rather
than put them out for everyone to grab — keep the brochures back and hand
them to people who express a legitimate interest. That also diminishes the
possibilities of later seeing your brochures littered around the
fairgrounds.
We have found it beneficial to include referral program materials with
us at such shows. It is a pretty simple setup: We offer $100 for a full
web site referral (payable when we receive final payment), and a $10
reward when people refer someone who purchases one of our $100 cybermall
sites (again payable when we get paid).
Granted, you will have people refer themselves. You could, if you wish,
not allow that, but why? They are getting a good deal, and you are getting
a client you might not otherwise have had.
Basically, your only cost for the referral options are pieces of paper
printed out in advance asking all the information you need to know about
who to contact, where to find them, and identify the person who referred
you to them. Some will be dead ends, but gaining only one or two clients
at these shows can more than make up for the cost of being there.
Here again, the people with other booths will be your main source of
business. They will see you every day and have the opportunity to get to
know you and your business, giving you the opportunity to demonstrate to
them why your service is of use to them.
Another possibility would be to offer a discount on certain items used
on a web site. For example, if they wish to have an involved,
FlashTM introduction to their web site,
you could discount that charge.
There is no better way to draw clients than to enable them to see some
of their hard-earned cash staying in their pockets.
Meeting the Public in Mass
Meeting the Public in Mass
The cousin Ted syndrome
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