Articles: trade shows

Trade fairs follow their own rules. A visitor collects material from dozens of exhibitors and decides in the hotel that evening what to keep. What survives is light, specific and instantly reminds them who they spoke to.

What to take to the stand

The set does not have to be large. It matters more that every item has a job and that the whole thing looks like one family.

• Business cards - enough that you do not run out on day one.
• A short leaflet - one subject and clear contact details, not a company biography.
• Something for serious talks - a catalogue or a folder, handed to selected people.
• Something to take away - a small item, a notebook or a memory stick that ends up on a desk.
• Stand signage - large, readable lettering visible from across the aisle.

The memory stick as a sales tool

A printed memory stick has an advantage over paper at a fair: it is light, it does not crumple in a bag and it rarely gets thrown away. You can load a catalogue, a presentation and photographs of past work onto it, so it replaces several folders at once. Prepare the contents beforehand, sort the files into clearly named folders and add a short note on where to start.

Once you are back, the notes from your conversations matter most. If you write on each card what was discussed, the follow-up will go far better than sending one identical message to everybody.