Recipe: Putting on a Show

Organizing or participating in a promotional event can consume a significant amount of time and money. Before making a commitment to put on a show, check your budget. Add up all the costs of producing the event, promoting it, and making a good showing at it. Divide the total by the number of clients you can honestly expect to get as a result of the event, to see how much each client is going to cost you. Do you still think it’s worth it? Can you think of an easier or cheaper way to get the same number of clients?

Only if your event passes this test should you go ahead with it. Many professionals have found exhibit booths at trade shows to be an expensive mistake. On the other hand, free demonstrations or workshops have been a solid source of clients for others. Ask your colleagues what has worked, and not worked, for them.

To create a promotional event or participate in someone else’s, a promotion concept is the starting place. Here are some ideas for promotional events you might consider:

Display table at your networking group’s business fair or expo

Exhibit booth or demonstration at a trade show, vendor fair, or community event

Hosting a networking event, reception, or open house at your place of business or an event space

Being a sponsor for a fundraising event or awards ceremony

Demonstrating or exhibiting your work in your office or studio, or a public location

Offering a free or low-cost workshop

Producing a free teleclass or a series of teleseminars or webinars

Sponsoring a giveaway, contest, or survey

When you have come up with a concept that you like and tested its financial viability, you’re ready to make a promotion plan. The more elaborate your event is, the more extensive your planning needs. Here are some elements your plan might include:

Advance Publicity. Even if the event is sponsored by someone else, you will get more mileage from it if you invite your own prospects to attend. Many trade shows and fund-raisers will provide you with postcards, flyers, an e-mail announcement, sample social media posts, a social media page to share, or a website badge you can use to spread the word. If you are the sponsor, evaluate all the marketing techniques at your disposal to determine what combination might work the best. You may want to mail or e-mail invitations, distribute or post flyers, create an event page on a social media channel, post updates about your event on your blog and social media networks, issue press releases, purchase ad space, or ask colleagues to send announcements to their mailing lists and share the event with their social media networks.

Exhibit or Display. Your exhibit booth or display table should reflect your level of professionalism and visually display your expertise. A banner or sign board will make your exhibit more visible when other exhibits are present. Use photographs, video, testimonial letters, press clippings, or samples of your work to make what you do as tangible as possible. Try to find out what sort of displays any other exhibitors will have. You don’t want to look cheap or unprepared by comparison.

Marketing Literature. If you participate in a large event, be prepared to give away many copies of your literature. Some attendees make a habit of taking something from each booth, regardless of whether they are actually interested. It’s a good idea to have a relatively inexpensive piece available for the taking, such as a fact sheet with your contact information. Keep your more costly brochure or marketing kit behind the table to give to serious prospects.

Script, Outline, or Presentation System. If you are presenting a talk or workshop, design a program that will give your audience valuable information whether or not they decide to do business with you. Practice using any needed technology, such as a webinar system or PowerPoint presentation. For an exhibit, prepare in advance what you will say to people who come by your booth. Think of one good qualifying question you can ask at the outset of a conversation to see if the person you are speaking with is a prospect. Create a cheat sheet for any helpers you will have so they can answer predictable questions. If you will be conducting a demonstration, script and rehearse it. You will be the star of this show, and you don’t want to flop.

Capturing Leads. The traditional way to capture the contact information of people who attend an event is to collect business cards for a drawing or names for your mailing list. Offering a drawing for a free gift can result in collecting a large number of names with no way of knowing who is a legitimate prospect. Consider inserting a qualifier into your drawing: Ask people to answer a qualifying question on the back of their entry before dropping it in. To save time at an exhibit booth, use two stickers of different colors to indicate yes or no.

Logistical Details. Plan ahead for all the small things that can make your event more successful—for example, extra helpers, extension cords, refreshments, giveaways, pens and paper, small bills to make change, or name tags. Try to have backup arrangements in case anything goes wrong, like an extra battery for your laptop, a backup teleconference line, or your presentation saved to a flash drive. If all the details are handled, you can concentrate on making a good impression.