The Quality Of Life Podcast

Trade Show Mastery: Stand Out, Network, and Win Big for Your Small Business

• Erin Olson • Season 2 • Episode 20

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Ever wondered how to make your small business the talk of the town? The answer is trade shows. I'm Erin Olson, and I’m here to guide you through the world of expos, fairs, and yes, even those 'less glamorous' trade events. It's all about creating an unforgettable presence that draws a crowd and leaves your competition in the dust. Tune in as I spill the beans on selecting trade shows that fit like a glove for your niche and budget. I'll teach you how to craft a killer booth setup that's the epitome of professionalism, fused with personality—all without breaking the bank. Get ready to charm the socks off attendees with giveaways, contests, and engaging interactions that won't cost you a fortune.

Strap in for the second act, where I take you on a deep dive into the strategies that can skyrocket your trade show success. We'll talk about transforming your booth into a lead-generating powerhouse with fun and interactive elements. You'll discover the finesse of selling effectively without being pushy, and I'll walk you through the legal must-knows and how to be a champion at processing payments smoothly. Plus, we'll dissect the importance of a solid post-show game plan, turning reflections and feedback into your business’s next big win. Don't forget to grab the exclusive trade show checklist I’ve put together—it's the ultimate prep tool for your upcoming expo adventures.

Resources:
Featherlite displays
Quality Logo Products
4Imprint
Tradeshow Checklist

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See ya next week!
Erin

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Quality of Life podcast. I'm Erin Olson, a wife, a mother and a serial entrepreneur. After starting three successful businesses, I've learned some hard lessons regarding the ins and the outs of starting and running a small business. My intention is to share my knowledge that I've learned from the School of Hard Knocks, so you don't have to learn it the hard way like I did Each week, I hope, to guide you to the next level in your business or in the business that you work in. So let's go. Hey guys, erin Olson here to help you get from business idea to big business. So if you're like almost all of the businesses out there, you are wanting to grow your business right? Well, in the past, I've had three different types of companies and different things can work for each of the types of companies. However, there are a few things that you can do to increase sales and grow that will work for any type of business you have.

Speaker 1:

This week, I am going to cover trade shows. I have done so many of these and I can attest to how powerful they can be in growing your business and your bank account. So what is a trade show? Trade shows are also called farmers markets, expos, fairs, vendor fairs, festivals and, my personal unfavorite, the craft fair, which I lovingly call crap fairs. Now, don't get offended, because if you are into the craft fairs, more power to you, but I have found that some of them have more crap than craft. Okay, so that's just what I've called them over the years. In all reality, all product based businesses can really benefit from doing any of these and, honestly, you probably should to cut your teeth on perfecting your sales pitch and to test out your marketing ideas in real time. And if you have a service-based business, don't count yourself out of needing to do trade shows of some sort. Basically, a trade show, fair or expo is really just a group of businesses wanting to increase how many people know about their products and services and maybe even sell some things on the spot. They can be organized by local churches, clubs, craft fair organizations or even by your local government wineries or chamber of commerces. The cost of these fairs can be from zero dollars to thousands of dollars, depending upon how well established they really are and what type and how much traffic they get.

Speaker 1:

Which ones that you choose are completely based on your niche, your budget and the time that you are willing to spend on it. If you've never been to one of these shows, which I doubt, but if you haven't, I suggest you go find one and take notes on what got your attention where the best locations are like, by the food or the bathrooms and the different setups and the different sales approaches that people use. See what you like and what you don't like and, just for you, I put a list together of some of the things that have helped me get noticed and sell out of product. Yep, you could potentially sell every item you have. You can also fill up your schedule at a single trade show. So let's talk about how to have the best experience possible.

Speaker 1:

If this is your first time, I suggest that you stop for just one minute and consider what the best outcome would be. Do you want to sell product on the spot? Do you want to take orders or set up consults, or are you just there to get your word out that you exist? This matters because it will help you plan to make that happen. So what kind and where should you look for these trade shows? Well, I have found that Facebook and bulletin boards at grocery stores, local coffee shops and feed stores actually, if it's in your niche are all great places to look, and I've also found different trade shows. Just doing a quick google search or even calling the local town hall or chamber of commerce are all great starting points. Is there a community center nearby? These are all great places to start. If you are in a specific category of the market, you might find home shows, boat shows, outdoor expos or even horse expos. They even get bigger, like WESA, which is in Dallas, texas, for anybody in the horse industry, or Vegas is also known for their trade shows. You could also search for convention centers and look up their calendars and schedule to see what's coming up. Don't hesitate to look at past stats also to see if it's worth your time and money. But I will tell you a phone call can go a long way in figuring out if your demographic or target customers are even going to be there.

Speaker 1:

Okay, now that you've found a trade show to go to, let's talk about your display. The typical setup usually includes a floor yes, something squishy to keep your feet from hurting a table or a bar chairs, signage or banners with your company name on them, some sort of a snack or a freebie. It usually includes a TV showing what you have to offer also, and, of course, products, if you have them. Most people start their first trade show with a folding table with product or info at the front of the booth. This is okay, but let me tell you it is not super inviting. I have started that way too, but sitting towards the back of the booth and maximizing the space for displaying your wares encourages people to slow down as they go by.

Speaker 1:

The most important goal of your trade show display is to grab attention in a good way and to get people to stop or at least slow down so that they can see what you're offering. The thing about trade shows is that they can be quite overwhelming and cause a kind of tunnel vision as people walk through. They might look at your booth and not even see you. I think that's why free samples, candy or contests are so popular. It really gets people to actually see you. Nowadays you can purchase displays in a box at stores like Featherlight and other vendors like 4imprint, but they can run into the tens of thousands. But the good news is that you can make your own setup with a little help from Pinterest, Home Depot and the Hobby Lobby.

Speaker 1:

The key is to make it look clean and simple and to maximize your space. You don't want it cluttered, because clutter is overwhelming and most people will not take the time they should to see what you have. So think shelves or hanging racks. Simple decor like greenery fake is okay is great to make it feel inviting. You can go overboard pretty easy on decor, so just a little bit to make it feel less sterile and to show off a little of your brand and your personality. Now having a TV showing all the before and afters or finished product or even a how it's made video is really helpful in educating your customers. And this should be out towards the aisle if possible.

Speaker 1:

And don't forget your candy or your freebie. Mints or chocolates tend to be favorites, but people are cheap and any free samples are extra points. But people are cheap and any free samples are extra points. Just think of how those free roasted nuts draw in a crowd, or when you walk into the mall and you can smell the Cinnabon from a mile away. Or even those dipsticks or salsa samples that get you to stop and try something, and then a lot of times you buy way more than you'll ever use. We used to give away scraps of our soaps as free samples way back in the day. But if you can't give a free sample of your product, you can also do something else, which most people who are in the trade show industry call trash or treasures. These are little freebies like lip balm, bottled water that have your logo and your contact information on it, and so when people grab them, they immediately get to see and get the impression of what you do and it's free. So who doesn't want that? You can get a great selection of freebies, trash and treasures at 4imprintcom and a bunch of other places. You can go and Google logoed products and find a billion places that will make something with your logo on them for very little price.

Speaker 1:

Another big thing to do at a show or expo is to have some sort of a contest, a drawing or a spinner wheel kind of think like Wheel of Fortune to get people to enter and to get something free. But here's the catch they have to fill out something with their contact information to play. Most people are fine with giving you their phone number or email just to have a chance to play. This is key to growing your leads and your sales. But here's the deal you have to make it worth it. We used to give away a few big ticket items worth a few hundred bucks. The first time we did this, we got like 300 names and emails. Those people became our email list, and what to do with your emails will be covered in the next episode.

Speaker 1:

Now there is one important thing that I have to note about your display that most people overlook. Really they shouldn't, but they do. You need to make sure that your company name and your website is well displayed. Too many people forget this step, but a banner or a sign that is big and visible is crucial to brand recognition. You can get banners or signs made up pretty quickly at your local UPS store, kinko's if there is even Kinko's anymore OfficeMax but my personal favorite is to find a local print shop. Let's try to support other small business owners when we can. It's also good to have flyers and business cards, because this is a great thing to give away to network as well. You never know who you might connect with. I mean, I remember the first time a horse trainer celebrity came to the booth and I was caught speechless and I didn't even give him a brochure or a business card. Opportunity missed.

Speaker 1:

Almost as important as your display is your selling technique. Anyone who has ever been shamwowed or sprayed with perfume or hounded with salesy type of people knows how annoying that is and how it is not a valid technique for growing your business. You're classy, remember. The key here is to educate your customers in a non-pushy way. Do not act desperate. People can feel it and then they wonder what's wrong with you that you need to act that way. Inform and educate, and sometimes all you need to do is just smile and say hi, you are not a vulture, so don't act like one. Customers deserve to be treated like they are more than just a piece of meat or a sale. They are people and just want to be seen too, just like you. Okay, now I'm climbing down off my soapbox now.

Speaker 1:

So there are some legal things that you need to do to be able to sell at most trade shows, you must have a resale or seller certificate. Some cities require seller's permits or sales tax forms too. The trade show office will be a valuable resource and they will definitely be able to help you out here, but don't neglect to verify how much sales tax you will need to collect and have a tax ID number. Once again, the trade show office can answer your questions on this. You also might need to have your insurance agency issue a liability insurance binder for your booth also. This is usually free to do with your agent, but it protects you from someone heaven forbid getting hurt in your booth and them suing you for tripping. Better to be safe than sorry.

Speaker 1:

There's one more thing to cover that's important how are you going to get paid? Cash is king and we used to offer a cash discount to encourage people to pay with cash to save on fees, but most people don't carry cash anymore, so you've got to have some way to get paid set up in advance. It can be as easy as put your Venmo, paypal or Zelle QR code on a big sticker for people to pay, but you might want to look into a Square Clover or PayPal's point of sale, or even most website platforms have point of sale hardware to be able to collect credit cards, but it has to be set up in advance, so this must be figured out well ahead of time. There are lots of little things to also remember, like bringing a cash box with a starting bank, lunch or snacks and water yes, even a celebratory bevy for when it's over, because you're going to want it and to keep this episode short, I have created a checklist for you to print out at the Erin Olson dot com slash show list that has all the things that you might forget. So go and get that free checklist for all the easily forgotten things, and I've also included a page in that checklist to help you to know what inventory you are bringing to the show so that you know what has sold.

Speaker 1:

Trade shows are one of the most exhausting things to do as a business owner, both mentally and physically, but they are a necessary part too. There have been many times where I've driven across the country, stayed in crappy motels and, on the long way home, had some of the biggest revelations. After our trade shows we have written down our observations, what worked and what didn't work, the most frequently asked questions and requests that we get, and we have come up with some of our biggest selling products ever on the way home when we're completely exhausted. So be sure to take the drive home to marinate on how it went. Well, guys, as much work as trade shows are, they can be the best place to get your name out there, test new products, make sales, refine your sales technique and, yes, even make new friends and business contacts. They are worth the work. So get busy googling shows near you and download your trade show checklist today at the Erin Olson dot com slash show list. Today I have dropped that site and a lot of other good resources in the show notes for you guys.

Speaker 1:

I hope that this episode helps get you from business idea to big business. Thank you so much for listening and I ask that you please share this episode with anyone trying to grow their business today. I will see you next week on the Quality of Life podcast. See ya, thanks for listening to today's episode. Be sure to check us out on the Quality of Life podcast Facebook and Instagram pages and our website, the Erin Olsoncom, for downloads and more information. That is T H E E R I N O L S O Ncom. Stay up to date by joining our email newsletter. Together, we can improve all of our quality of life.