Expos or trade shows are easy. Show up, put some stuff (maybe a LOT of stuff) on a table, sit, and wait for the attendees to visit your table and immediately buy your product or schedule their trip. No training is needed. One can’t mess up an expo. Based on the one I attended recently, one can!

As I walked the room and looked upon other booths, I identified nine ways people failed. I am not suggesting mine was perfect. I was walking the room so clearly I didn’t have an endless line of potential customers at the booth. Here’s what I observed:

Showed Up Late – I’m not talking 5 minutes late, he was 20 minutes late. And that was just showing up! He then had another 20-30 minutes of set-up time. I offered to help him layout his marketing materials but he denied the help. Frankly, by the time he got set-up, the crowd had come through.

Forgot Technical Equipment – In this case, the monitor remote. The exhibitor has lugged in a large monitor and a stand, only to realize he forgot the remote and thus, any way to change settings and start the video that was to air. Instead, all people saw was a large monitor with nothing playing on it.

Sat Behind The Table – Standing for three hours is hard, but sitting behind the table at booth sends a bad signal to any visitor. The barrier (the table) messages non-verbally that you don’t want to be close to the potential customer. Stand up. You can rest later.

Sat On Booth Table – Yes, he sat ON the booth table. It was a casual event full of “good-ole-boys” but actually sitting on your booth table? That’s going a little too far! Again, stand up. You can show your coolness another way and rest later.

Never at Booth – Some sales professionals strategy is to get into the event via an expo booth and then work the crowd, but to NEVER be at your booth? I literally never saw him until he packed up and left. Maybe I’ll try that next time. Put out a sign: Sorry I missed you. I’m working the crowd. Take free pens.

Fill Table with Marketing Stuff – “We have to get EVERY flier and brochure we could possibly gather. Then 10 different giveaways. Is the table absolutely covered? You can still see tablecloth? Get more.” There can be too much on the table. What is the key message (or two) you want to share? Take the marketing material(s) that convey that message.

Beer Glasses on Booth Table – A LOT of beer glasses on the booth table! Most every other column or blog on trade show booth etiquette will state “no eating or drinking at your booth.” When your booth table looks like a fraternity coffee table, time to tidy up the place.

“Pens Are Crap” – After trying a pen and it not working, the guy in the booth said, “Yeah, our pens are crap.” Why are you saying that!? What does that communicate? “We don’t invest in our company or the service we provide to you just like we don’t invest in our promotion pens.” P.S. Get new pens!

End of Show Fire Sale – At the end of shows, people start handing out their promotional items like candy at Halloween. You can even hear them say, “Please take our chochkie so we don’t have to carry them to the car.” If it’s that worthless, why are you giving them away? Plus, wouldn’t it be a better investment if it was in the hands of an actual client or potential client?

The event wasn’t all negative. There was actually one brilliant idea everyone should steal. An accounting firm had some artificial turf. They threw down assorted currencies. The goal? Put a golf ball on one of the bills. If the ball stays on the bill, you win the money. Definitely attracted a crowd!

Good luck with your next expo.  For more on trade show marketing, visit this post.