How To Work A Tradeshow When You Don't Have A Booth

First of all, remember that the folks with the tables paid for the privilege of presenting to those attending. Respect that. Then, turn your radar on for any and all opportunities to exchange your business cards with other visitors, vendors, caterers, etc. Everyone is a potential customer or referral for a customer. My favorite thing to do is to wait until someone at a table is not busy then go offer to get them water or spell them for a bathroom break. Some vendors have enough folks around to handle the crowd and many say no, thank you, but it opens up a different level of conversation than normal and that's where you can plug in your elevator speech (you have one of those, don't you? -- 30 seconds or less to tell them everything you do).

It's definitely unprofessional to attempt to sell folks exhibiting at the show anything. Let's look at the event from the exhibitors' point of view for a minute. Having worked tradeshows for years, I know that the crowd becomes a blur after awhile and your brain turns to mush after the first couple of hours -- especially if you're a one-person business and you're there mostly by yourself. When someone comes up and for no apparent reason, offers to help or just be there the 5 minutes it takes to go to the bathroom, you're going to remember them. Then, if during the course of grateful conversation, their business information should happen to creep in, it's much more memorable.

The same goes for attendees. They are there focused on finding solutions to their business challenges. When they're going from table to table, they're sometimes frustrated that they have to wait for the other 6 people to get out of the way so that they can talk to their selected companies. The last thing they want is to have their focus broken. If there is a refreshment area, that's probably the best bet. More is done over coffee or a cold drink than you think!

The best way bar none to sell anything is to TALK TO PEOPLE. Sometimes that does not mean a sales conversation. Sometimes that means listening intently without an agenda and calling back at a later time.

Try this, if you meet someone you want to pitch your product or service to, hand them their card and tell them you'll call them next week after they get a chance to decompress. Write a quick note on the back of your business card reminding them that you'll be calling and that you met them at the event and you've got an instant in when they go through the business cards after the show.