Surprisingly, quite a bit. There are some very strong similarities between Winnie the Pooh and the other inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Woods and many tradeshow exhibitors. Don’t believe me? Take a look and see how many of your staffers you recognize:

Winnie the Pooh

Pooh Bear may be cute, cuddly and approachable — but he’s also got one thing on his mind. What makes this roly poly bear happy? Honey, of course! He’s obsessed with the golden sweet — when he’s not enjoying a meal, he’s in search of the next smackerel to fill his rumbly-tummy.

A Pooh-style booth staffer is hungry. He might be talking to attendees, but he’s thinking about lunch. If someone walks by with a sandwich, his eyes are instantly drawn to it. Scents from the food court get his nostrils quivering. When he gets a chance to eat, he takes it: even if that means eating in the booth!

Piglet

Piglet is a very small animal, made even more timid when confronted with unfamiliar surroundings, loud noises, bright colors, and crowds. His reaction? Why, to run and hide under the bed, of course, or behind his good friend Pooh.

A Piglet-style staffer may be naturally shy or someone who is easily overwhelmed. Their reaction, inspired by fear, is to fade into the back of the booth and hope no one notices them. More often than not, they get their wish — which is good for them, but bad for your bottom line.

Owl

Owl is an exceedingly well educated bird. He’s got a brain just cram-packed full of facts and figures — and he wants you to know it. No tidbit of information is too small to escape his attention, nor to avoid being retold to anyone who will listen.

If you have an Owl-style staffer, you might count yourself lucky. After all, she knows EVERYTHING! However, watch your Owl in action. Their overwhelming compulsion to ‘show off’ their knowledge can easily alienate attendees and send them in search of a salesperson who knows how to listen.

Rabbit

Rabbit is the busiest creature in the Hundred Acre Woods. He’s always rushing around: planting seeds over here, pulling weeds over there, chasing crows and watering daffodils. There are a million and one tasks required to keep his beloved garden blooming, and they’re all very important.

You can always tell a Rabbit-style staffer. They’re the ones with a cell phone constantly in their ear, fingers flying over the keyboard as they check e-mails or text message the home office. They’re so obviously busy taking care of business that they can’t be bothered with trivial distractions — like talking to show attendees!

Tigger

Tigger is full of energy. He bounces around, springing from one thing that catches his attention to the next. Full of laughs, high spirits and infectious energy, Tiggers are a lot of fun to have around.

Put Tigger at a tradeshow, however, and you might have a problem. Enthusiasm and high energy can attract traffic to your exhibit, but without some focus and control (concepts foreign to most Tigger-types) there’s no way to capitalize on your crowds.

At this point, you might be feeling a little like Eeyore — down in the dumps. After all, with a booth full of Poohs, Piglets, Owls, Rabbits & Tiggers, your chances for success are looking pretty slim. Don’t despair! The hero of the Hundred Acre Woods is on his way!

Christopher Robin

The human companion to Winnie the Pooh and all of his furry friends, Christopher Robin encompasses the best traits of all five and adds a crucial element: perspective and understanding of how things actually work.

A Christopher Robin-style staffer combines Owl’s knowledge, Tigger’s enthusiasm and Pooh’s approachability with an understanding and appreciation for the tradeshow attendee. They realize the importance of giving all their attention to their visitor, setting aside the cell phone, the lap top –even the sandwich! — to focus on what’s really important.

Every exhibitor needs to have a Christopher Robin on their team, preferably more than one. Now’s the time to take a look at your team.

How many Christopher Robins do you have?

How many Poohs? Piglets? Tiggers?

What can you do to change the makeup in your Hundred Acre Woods?

(Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Owl, Eeyore, Rabbit, Christopher Robin and the Hundred Acre Woods are all ™ Disney)

Appearances can be deceiving. What you don’t see is the long, grueling hours of training and practice star athletes put in behind the scenes: the endless laps around the track with no one watching, the skill drills where that star player practices jump shot after jump shot after jump shot.

The same is true for exhibiting. The truly great exhibitors don’t just show up at the show and automatically know how to turn in a great performance. They’ve trained for the event, making sure that they’ve got a good grasp of the fundamental skills needed and the game-day strategy critical to ensure success.

What type of training routine does your exhibiting team have? Most companies, if they answered honestly, would have to say little to no time is devoted to practicing the skills needed to do a good job on the show floor. It’s assumed that the skills necessary to be a good salesman or manufacturer’s rep in the field will automatically transfer over into the show environment.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Someone who jogs everyday, even if they run for miles at a time, does not automatically turn into a top-notch marathon runner. You can work out in the weight room twice a week at the gym. That doesn’t mean you’re anywhere near ready to go compete in Olympic level power lifting!

There are some essential differences between the everyday routine your sales reps face and the high-pressure intense situation they encounter on the show floor. From the extremely limited amount of time your team has with each attendee to the length of the event to the sheer numbers of people one talks to in the course of the day, tradeshows are a demanding event. One needs to maintain lightning quick reflexes like a boxer while performing for hours on end like a marathon runner. The only way to combine these two seemingly disparate skill sets is by training.

If you want your team to break the ribbon, bring home the gold medal, claim the trophy, then you need to provide them with the training and practice opportunities they’ll need to succeed.

This training takes place ‘behind the scenes’ yet yields very visible results. Sharpening skills for tradeshows will also improve performance in the everyday sales environment: active listening, for example, will help your team focus on the customer, truly understand their needs, and deliver accordingly. This will deepen and reinforce existing relationships, as well as make establishing new relationships easier — after all, an existing customer will have no hesitation recommending a vendor who does so much for them!

For maximum results, training efforts should be consistent throughout the year, intensifying as major events draw closer. Consider having your own “Spring Training Camp” sessions before the exhibiting season begins, to refresh booth skills, learn new information, and familiarize your team with the product lines and demonstrations you’ll be featuring.

Spring Training is mandatory for the baseball crowd, and it should be mandatory for your team too! Nobody is too experienced, too important or too busy to do what is, at the core, the most important aspect of everyone’s job: focus on the customer. Additionally, training together can help form valuable team bonds, a critical resource when you’re functioning in a high pressure environment.

Many times, training is viewed as a valuable perk. This is especially true as the pool of employees skews younger: the folks entering the job market today tend to place a higher premium on knowledge for knowledge’s sake than previous generations did. They’re savvy enough to realize training comes with expectations of enhanced performance — but they also continually cite chances for education and career skills development as one of the factors they consider critical when choosing employers. If retaining your most valuable asset — your employees — is important to you, that’s just one more reason to put training on the schedule.

To recap: training is essential to ensure top notch performance for your team. For maximum results, provide training that is relevant, consistent, and of high value. Everyone should participate, with a focus on educating your staffers and strengthening team bonds.

That way, when it’s time for your team to take to the field, they too will turn in a top notch performance — and make it look like it’s the most natural thing in the world!

This got me thinking about the two types of people: gamblers and planners. Both would like to have the big bag of cash, but they take different routes to achieve it. A gambler might plunk down a dollar — or two, or twenty, or two hundred — in hopes of winning big in a lottery, while the planner follows a less exciting route of saving and investing. At the end of the day, who’s more likely to have the big bucks? Chances are, it’d be the planner.

Tradeshow exhibiting works the same way. You can gamble on having a good show, approaching it in a frenzy because ‘everybody’s doing it’ and you’ve heard there’s big money to be had, or you can approach it methodically, making a plan, doing your research, and making those actions that are prudent and improve your bottom line.

Some gamblers win. That’s what keeps lotteries going, after all. Some exhibitors show up with only half an idea of what they’re doing, a horrible exhibit and only fledgling show skills, and yet still have a triumphant show. But the odds are against most gamblers. For every winner, there are thousands of losers. For every successful ‘We just wing it’ exhibitor, there are hundreds who look at the time and effort expended and realize they could have done much, much better — if only they’d taken the time to learn what they were doing. Are you willing to take that chance?

I’m not much of a gambler myself, but even I know you should never lay money on the table without knowing what’s at stake. Ask yourself, what could happen if I leave my tradeshow performance to chance?

You could luck out and have a fabulous show.

You could also:

- Miss out on great sales opportunities because your booth staffers didn’t ask the right questions.
- Alienate would be buyers with pushy sales tactics, off color humor, or crass booth behavior.
- Make any of a dozen common mistakes that cost companies customers.
- Ruin your standing in the industry by appearing inept and poorly prepared next to your peers.
- Discourage would-be partners from considering doing business with you: after all, you obviously don’t have your act together!
- And even more!

Losing this wager doesn’t appear so inconsequential anymore, does it? When the real life cost of poor show performance is spelled out, the planning route suddenly becomes far more attractive.

Ideally, tradeshow planning begins twelve to eighteen months before the event. This is the best way to ensure your staffers know what’s expected of them, and have time to develop and practice the skills they need to do the best job possible.

What happens if you’re within that window? Do you just throw the dice and hope for the best?

You can: or you can choose to do the best you can in the time you have. Any preparation, even a few hurried hours before the event, is better than none at all. Obviously, the more you have, the better off you are.

Priority items to cover include goals and objectives: Why are you at the show and what do you want to accomplish? Go over qualifying questions: what type of attendees should your staffers be spending time with, and what type of information do you want them to collect. Establish a lead collection and follow up procedure to maximize your return on the show.

All of this is obviously a lot of work — which is why the planner types start well in advance of the show. However, when you consider the alternative — winging it through one of the highest profile marketing exercises you’ll engage in all year — you’ve just got to ask yourself one question:

Do you feel lucky?

It’s almost impossible to realize positive ROI when you don’t know how much you’re spending — and what you’re spending it on! If you ask most exhibitors what they think the largest expense associated with tradeshow participation is, chances are they’ll tell you the display space.

It’s true that exhibiting space is expensive. That 10X10 booth can set you back a pretty penny — and price tags go up for larger spaces and prime locations. However, exhibiting space itself is generally only 30% of the total cost associated with exhibiting.

That 30% of your budget is fairly fixed. A fabulous negotiator might be able to get show management to shave a few hundred off the price of exhibit space, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.

Instead, you’ll want to concentrate on that other 70% of your budget. The expenses that make up the bulk of your participation cost are, to some degree, variable. They’re under your control — which means, with time, planning, and oversight, you can keep them down. The lower your costs are, after all, the easier it will be to generate a positive ROI on your show!

The reality is, however, that most exhibitors don’t pay close attention — or any attention at all! — to some of the items that make up the remaining 70%. The cost of their show creeps steadily upward, bit by bit, as small charges mount up and up until they’re a sizable chunk of change. This is particularly common among new exhibitors — although it also plagues seasoned pros who fall prey to the assumption trap. This is when an exhibitor assumes that things will be done this year the way they’ve always been done previously. Like all assumptions, this one can prove costly!

Here are some of the items that make up that 70%, as well as some thoughts on how to keep these costs manageable.

Display Materials

Your display can make your show: attractively presenting your merchandise in an eye-catching and innovative way helps capture attendee interest and draw them to your booth. However, you want to make sure that you’re not overspending on your display. There’s the initial cost of your display, not to mention the storage and maintenance expense. Consider renting or leasing a display (especially if you are a first-time exhibitor or only attend one show a year): you can often get a high level of customization while saving money and reducing headaches.

Freight

Shipping displays, products, promotional literature, giveaway items and all the other show stuff to the tradeshow can eat up a lot of money. Consider your shipping options carefully. Take the time to do some comparison shopping. Who can offer you the best deal and ensure timely delivery? It does no good to save money if your material arrives after the show closes. Often, shipping companies have experts on staff who can help your crew pack material in the most cost-efficient manner possible. Again, a minor point, but one that can save you big money.

Show Services

Read your exhibitor manual! In there, you’ll find information detailing how and when you need to sign up for show services — items like electricity, floor coverings, and so on. The earlier you sign up, the more you’ll save. On average, costs go up by at least 25% for these services after the initial deadline passes. The closer you get to the actual show, the more you’re going to pay — and if you forget about needing utilities until you arrive on the show floor, you’ll pay top dollar.

This is one clear instance where planning ahead will save you a substantial amount of money.

Pre-show Promotion

Pre-show promotion is critical to your success. Show management often offers several free and low cost promotional venues: explore your options. This may include participating in a product display area, an Artist’s Alley, having your name included in category listings in the directory, website advertising and so on. Always consider: will participating in this effort help me reach the target audience I’m trying to reach? If you sell widgets and the show organizer is putting together a directory listing of Widget Sellers online and in the guidebook, and charging $35 to participate, it may be the best $35 you’ve ever spent.

Booth Staffers

Transporting, lodging, and feeding booth staffers can eat up a considerable chunk of change. Most people have a tendency to live a little grander when they’re on the company dime — you know they don’t order the $65 steak dinner at home!

Keeping your corporate culture in mind, you may want to introduce some restrictions into the booth staffing budget. Offering per diem meal allowances is one way, requiring receipts is another. Explore lodging options: some hotels offer convention specials if you can book early enough. Again, pre-planning is your best friend. Travel costs can fluctuate wildly, based on fuel prices and other variables beyond your control. Again, giving yourself enough time in the schedule to find good transportation deals can help control costs.

They say time is money. That’s certainly true when it comes to the tradeshow arena. By planning ahead and allowing yourself enough time to explore options, sign up for services, promote your participation, and other critical steps, you’ll be able to enjoy maximum results for minimal expense!

To continually improve, you have to have a very clear and concrete idea of where you are right now. An objective measurement of performance is the only way to plan for and achieve an improved result at subsequent shows. It serves as your baseline.

How do you get this baseline measurement? It’s a two part process, incorporating both measurable and intangible criteria. The combination of these two criteria gives you the most comprehensive picture possible of your performance.

Let’s start with the measurable criteria. These are your goals and objectives, spelled out in black and white. If you say that you want to do $X in sales or collect Y number of leads, then you can compare your results against your goal. It’s simple. You met your goal, you exceeded your goal, or you fell short.

However, there are other factors in tradeshow performance to consider. These are the intangible, hard to measure things that affect your show: staff performance, booth design, general ambiance, and a host of other criteria. You need to know how you’re performing before you can improve that performance.

Where can you get information on these intangible criteria? After all, there’s no magic ball where you can look and see how you did. Tradeshow exhibiting is not like Monday Night Football, with cameras tracking every move and instant replay only a moment away.

This is where a mystery shopper’s services can be critical. By providing an objective, focused analysis of your exhibit, a mystery shopper can pinpoint weaknesses, identify strengths and on occasion, offer suggestions for improvement.

It’s important to take the mystery shopper’s report into account. However, it is not the only point of view you’ll want to consider. Often, valuable information can come from your booth staffers themselves. During your end-of-day debriefing session, go over what worked, what didn’t, and what challenges arose during the day. Take time to meet with your staffers a short time after the show as well — giving them time to reflect upon the event and gain some perspective may yield up new insights.

Another source of information might be your customers. Offer your best accounts — and some new clients that you want to reinforce your relationship with — an opportunity to critique your team’s performance. This can be done as a simple e-mail survey or during a follow up phone call. Often, an attractive incentive item can persuade people to share their opinions with you when they would otherwise keep quiet.

You may wish to offer an anonymous comment area on your organization website as well. Some people may very well have commentary to make, but fear to say anything as they feel it may jeopardize a profitable business or professional relationship. If you do this, be prepared for commentary that’s markedly harsher than you’d otherwise get — people will say things behind the cloak of anonymity that they’d never dare voice otherwise. If you offer an anonymous option, though, you have to be fair about it — no sneaky tracking of IP addresses to later ferret out who said what!

Combining the mystery shopper’s report the information garnered from your staffers and customers will give you the most comprehensive picture of the intangible factors that influence show performance. Coupled with the measurable criteria, you’ve got your baseline measurement.

Collecting this information is only the first step. You have to consider what the information is saying and decide how it will influence your future actions. For example, if you find that you’ve fallen short on the number of leads that you want to collect and your intangible criteria indicates that you had surly booth staffers reluctant to engage with the public, you’ve got a clear cause and effect relationship spelled out for you –and an obvious point indicating where training is needed. Additionally, these reports have historical value: comparing this year’s reports with previous years will show you in black and white how the team’s performance has evolved over the years and the clear value of your training efforts.

Data in isolation is useless. If you’re going to compile for reports just for the sake of compiling reports, don’t bother. However, if you’re going to use this information to identify problem areas and take actions to improve performance, you’ll find your efforts well rewarded.

That’s why networking events, such as dinners or organized off-site outings, are so important. Even though these events are primarily in social in nature, they’re the ideal place to start or reinforce relationships with your clients and potential clients.

However, networking events can also create high levels of anxiety, especially among exhibitors who don’t know what they’re expected to accomplish or how they’re supposed to conduct themselves to make the most of the opportunity. You don’t want to flub it — nor have your team flub it for you.

Here are ten tips your team needs to know to shine like stars — even when they’re not on the showfloor!

1. Relax
Breathe in, breathe out. Repeat as needed. If you’re nervous, take some time to meditate, center, or do whatever you need to do to calm yourself before getting to the event.

People come to networking events to get to know you in a social setting. The focus is on fun and conversation: two areas where most people can shine without stressing themselves out.

2. Listen more than you talk
There’s nothing in this world people love more than talking about themselves. At the same time, there’s nothing rarer than a good listener. Stifle the impulse to talk, talk, talk and focus on being a good listener. Ask the person you’re with about themselves: what they do, what hobbies they enjoy, and so on. Keep it personal and light — you don’t want to come off like you’re conducting an interrogation.

3. Take your time
This tip is especially pertinent if you’re at a show overseas. Most Americans rush through everything, including eating and having a good time. There’s really no rush. You’re not going to collect a prize for being the first one to clean your plate. Take your time, and eat slowly.

4. Stay sober
Even though it’s a casual setting, the people at the networking event will be judging you and your company by how you conduct yourself. Remaining sober will make it much easier to create a good impression. Skip the alcoholic drinks — especially if your guest opts not to visit the bar. Fewer people are drinking these days, and no one will raise an eyebrow at a coke with a slice of lemon in it.

5. Forgo fancy food
You may have gourmet tastes. This isn’t the time to show them off. Order simple, easy-to-eat food. You don’t want to slop sauce on your shirt or wrestle with claw crackers in front of someone you hardly know. After all, they might not remember your sparkling conversational skills — but they’ll always remember that you dumped the stuffed shells in your lap!

6. Be nice to the waitstaff
Waiters, servers, waitresses, bartenders and all the other people who work the facility where the networking event is being held are people too. It behooves you to treat them as such. Be polite and courteous, even if you don’t think anyone is watching. This is especially true if something’s gone wrong — a mistaken order, cold food, or any of the million other things that happen in a restaurant. How you treat the *little* people says a lot about how you can be expected to treat the *big* people.

7. Shut off the cell phone
Your intention for the evening is to get to know the people you’re with. You want their time and attention. That means it’s a good idea to shut off your cell phone — there’s nothing ruder than constantly interrupting a meal to answer the phone and expecting them to hold on while you chat.

8. Skip the gossip
Badmouthing your competition is the sure sign of an amateur. Avoid the temptation to dig up dirt on your industry colleagues or indulge in idle gossip. It’s far too easy to pick up a negative reputation for indulging in this kind of behavior — not to mention the risk of alienating peers and colleagues you might someday need on your side.

9. Leave the literature behind
Don’t bring brochures, catalogs, or samples to the networking event with you. If it turns out that the people you meet at the networking events are interested in these things, they’ll either make a point of picking them up from you at the show, or you can arrange to send it to them. On the other hand, you want to make sure you have a good supply of business cards on hand so people can get in contact with you.

10. Pick up the tab
If you’re the one entertaining, pick up the tab. Sometimes you’ll run into guests who can’t accept — their employers forbid them from accepting free meals or other gifts — so just follow their lead. Otherwise however, pay for the meal. It’s a nice gesture that shows you value the relationship.

Jerome K. Jerome’s famous quote may have been intended as a tongue-in-cheek celebration of laziness — but there’s a gem in there that Nichepreneurs™ can profit from.

Licensing may not be the first word that comes to mind when you’re considering your career, particularly if you’ve made your niche in the service industry. However, creating a license based on your Expert Identity can be a very lucrative revenue stream. Nichepreneurs™ who create licenses based on their products and services can increase their profitability without adding to their workload: a great spot to be in.

Identifying the right time to consider licensing one’s expertise will be different for every Nichepreneurs™. However, there are five common factors others have used to make the decision:

More Work Than One Office Can Handle

Are you booking appointments six months out? Do new clients have to wait weeks and weeks before getting to meet you? Have you expanded hours, opened up on the weekend, and still don’t have enough time for everyone?

These are all signs that you’ve got more work than you can handle. Mind you, this is a good position to be in — but clients won’t wait forever. If you can’t handle all of your business in a timely fashion, changes have to be made. Rather than lose these clients to a competitor who can see them quickly, why not funnel them to one of your licensees? That way you continue to profit from the relationship, without adding more to an already overloaded schedule.

Geographical Challenges

Word of mouth is a wonderful thing, and there’s nothing better than having your clients tell all of their friends how great you are. However, when those friends live far beyond where you’re willing or able to travel, someone’s bound to be disappointed.

Licensing can be the ideal solution when customers want your services yet are further afield than you’re able to travel. By creating licenses, you can expand your geographic range, creating a far larger footprint than you’d be able to on your own.

Be realistic with yourself when considering this criteria. With relatively cheap airfares and a strong drive to succeed, more than one Nichepreneur™ has gotten into the habit of living life on the road — traveling cross country, often several times a week, for client meetings. If you enjoy this kind of commute, great! However, if you are starting to resent the sight of your suitcase, it might be well worth considering if slightly diminished profitability is worth being able to forgo the weekly flight.

Time Limitations

Nichepreneurs™ or not, there are only 24 hours in a day. That’s all the time you have to run a business, have a family, and perhaps even eke out a little personal time. You can’t work all of the time, unless you’re willing to forgo the other two categories — and that’s not a healthy balance.

Licensing allows you to make the most of the limited amount of time we all have. If you’re having real trouble meeting all of your professional obligations and keeping a good balance of family and personal time, it may be time to consider how you can make your practice more efficient. Licensing is one tool that you can use to capitalize on the finite number of hours in the day.

Desire to Increase Profitability

Every individual has unique financial goals. If you’re not reaching yours, licensing might offer an opportunity to get closer to that target number.

License arrangements vary: some Nichepreneur™ sell licenses outright, where others enter into ongoing arrangements allowing affiliates to use the name, logo, and methodologies you’ve created in return for a monthly fee. You’ll want to consult with your financial advisor about what arrangement best suits your needs and will help you realize more profit.

Interest from Would Be Licensees

Interest from would-be licensees is a great signal that you may be ready to license. Sometimes others can see the opportunities that we’re blind to: either because we’re too close to our own businesses or just too busy to notice the profit waiting to be realized.

Be cautious at this point: just because someone has expressed interest in entering a license agreement with you doesn’t mean they’re the ideal person to carry your name. There’s a lot of legwork and research that goes into creating a license relationship: however, the enhanced profitability often makes it all worth it.

Every industry has its good times, when there’s a lot of positive public buzz and money flows like champagne. However, every industry also has its bad times, where scandal and recall and bad business decisions can hamstring an entire sector.

What do you do when this happens to you? Is it possible to turn in a great tradeshow performance when everything else is going wrong? Is exhibiting even necessary during these bleak periods?

The answers to these questions may surprise you. Read on to discover what you need to know:

Here are five strategies you can take when your industry is the one facing hard times.

Number One: The Show Must Go On

The first step is the simplest. Keep exhibiting! Many times when times are tough and money is in short supply, the tradeshow budget takes the first hit. This can be a very bad decision.

Attendees know full well that the industry’s having a rough time long before they get to the tradeshow. They read the same papers you do and face the same challenges you’re encountering.

When they come to the show, attendees are looking for two things: what’s new and exciting — and in times of trouble, who’s still at the show. Maintaining a presence at the tradeshow is a powerful, tangible way to say, “We’re still here, we’re still a player, and we’ll still be here when this slump passes.”

Forgo the show and you’re saying that your company doesn’t have the staying power or ability of its competitors. This is one case where out of sight is quite literally out of mind. Maintaining a presence — even if it’s a downsized, circumspect one — is essential.

Number Two: Take Your Head Out of the Sand

It’s important to acknowledge the reality of the industry situation. Attempting to ignore the facts and act as if everything were business as usual can come off as ignorant, wishful thinking.

However, the focus should be solution oriented. Position your organization as the one with the vision and strength to lead the way out of the current morass — or at a minimum, survive it with your head held high.

One way to do this is via educational programming. Hosting a speaker or conducting a seminar specifically pinpointing the challenges facing the industry is a great way to showcase yourself as an innovative, problem-solving, forward thinking organization, rather than one bound to the whims of the marketplace.

Number Three: Be Positive

It’s important that your exhibit team display a positive, upbeat attitude. There are two reasons for this:

1. People are attracted to cheerful, optimistic people.
A good attitude conveys confidence and faith in the future — traits that appeal to customers, vendors, potential partners and investors. No one wants to enter a relationship with someone who doesn’t believe in themselves — and exhibiting is all about relationship building. Position yourself and your organization as a company that’s ready and willing to face and overcome the current challenges.

2. Business is by its nature cyclical.
There will be up times and down times, no matter what field you’re in. You can’t tie your organization’s success to that of the market as a whole. Carrying on and making the best decisions possible in the light of circumstances is the method “winners” use — and they bring that methodology to the show floor.

Number Four: Emphasize Value

Be sensitive to the challenges attendees are facing. If you’re having a hard time in business, chances are that they are too. This is an opportunity to focus on the value your products and services provide to the attendee — showcase exactly what they’ll get for their money.

During economic downturns, buyers tend to be more price sensitive. Other motivations fall by the wayside before the pressure of the bottom line. Recognize this by focusing your campaign on value.

Number Five: Take Notes

Competitive intelligence is always important, but seldom as much so as when an entire sector hits hard times. Fortunes can be made and lost in the blink of an eye, which is why it is important to keep a careful eye on what your competitors are doing.

Make sure to have one or two qualified staffers walk the show and gather market intelligence. They should take note of who’s there and perhaps more importantly, who isn’t. What are staffers saying? How are they saying it? A staffer’s level of engagement is often directly proportionate to their faith in their employer — if they’re dour and downbeat, they might be convinced that the future is bleak.

Don’t miss out on networking opportunities at this point. Keep ears and eyes open and mouths closed as much as possible — you’ll often hear inside information after hours that would never be shared on the show floor.

Intelligence gathered at shows can help your organization make effective strategic decisions to ride out the industry downturn with some degree of comfort and style.