Daily Marketing Tips

The Trade Show Pitch – An Environment For Dynamic Or Disastrous?

Telling your product’s story at the show can be extremely exciting and absolutely overwhelming at the same time. Pitching in any environment can be nerve racking, but the show is similar to public speaking.

Many otherwise confident people become nervous at the thought of public speaking. They will become pale, break out in a sweat, their hands will become clammy, their voice will quiver, their breathing will become shallow and some people even get physically ill. I have heard of people passing out before going on stage and this is all before they start speaking.

Some people will do almost anything to avoid having to speak in public. It is why you will see booth personnel eating or talking to a co-worker or wandering the show floor when they should be in their booth presenting.

There are hundreds of books and training programs on public speaking and people pay thousands of dollars to learn to do it effectively. However, many exhibitors will arrive at the show without preparing what they are going to say about their product. An exhibitor should have a canned presentation and responses to questions on their product that everyone in the booth has practiced.

You may be thinking that a canned presentation will seem too plastic or phony, but do you think the President goes anywhere without a prepared presentation as well as responses to questions about his presentation? A prepared presentation will help everyone feel more relaxed.

The future of this product is in your hands. Do you want your product to be presidential or putt-putt?

Combine the nervousness of giving a speech with the many distractions occurring on the trade show floor. You have thousands of people walking around, neighboring booths speaking simultaneously, announcements being made — the sheer noise volume is enough to make you not want to present. With everything going on, you may be thrown off entirely if you are trying to wing it.

This trade show is your big stage. You may only be delivering your product presentation to one person at a time, but depending on the person, it could mean millions of dollars. You may only get one chance to present, so you better do it right!

If you want to Boost your chances of success exhibiting your product to retail buyers, then click here for more Trade Show Marketing Tips.