There’s a feeling of anxiety and excitement as you set up your first booth at an outdoor market or trade show in Toronto. All around you, established companies are planting their giant signs and eye-catching custom printed t-shirts, you look at your own table with it’s 8.5×11 print outs and you’ll be excused if you get “booth envy.”
This article is going to give you a few quick tips for establishing your presence at the trade show or market and how to close some sales to make the whole thing worth the cost.
Little Fish, Big Pond
Yes, there are hundreds of booths and thousands of people passing through. Don’t let it get to you! If you design a nice looking trade show table with good branding you’ll attract your niche audience out of the giant crowd.
Customize Your Trade Show Booth
A table cloth will instantly make your booth look more professional – suddenly you aren’t just a table in a convention centre, you’re a company with something to sell. Ordering custom printed table cloths for your booth will let passers by know what you’re offering from afar and help draw them in.
A trade show tent is another quick way to make your booth look professional and legitimate. Add your custom logo to the trade show booth to draw people in and create a nice space inside with chairs, a little carpet, some lights. Get creative with the design of your booth and people will be drawn in.
Custom Printed Apparel For Your Staff
Another good tip: create some branded apparel for your staff and yourself. Something as simple as a screen printed t-shirt for your Toronto booth can draw people to your booth and make you look more professional.
Whether you’re selling baked goods at a market or attracting people to a college, a nice screen printed t-shirt or embroidered polo shirt will elevate you and make you feel more comfortable at your first trade show or market.
Give Something Out
Give something away, be it business cards with custom printed chocolates or metal lapel pins with your logo on it. If your gift is of some value, only give them out to people who have an interest in your booth (you’ll save a lot of product.)
One clever trade show gift is a custom screen printed tote bag. Inside the tote bag you can include printed materials about your business or more clever gifts. People visiting the market or trade show will use the tote bag as they walk around, helping you make a lasting impression on that one person while spreading your brand across the market.
Final Tip
Your first trade show or marketplace can be an overwhelming experience. There are competitors, thousands of clients and you’ll easily lose your voice, sweat through your custom printed t-shirt and run out of business cards. From the beginning of the show, just relax and focus on the people who stop at your booth. Treat them like humans and they’ll remember the encounter more vividly than a flashy booth with dancers and TVs. That’s not to say you shouldn’t go flashy – creating a unique looking booth will make your job way easier as customers and curious people will come to you.
That’s when your trade show booth or market table becomes really fun – when you start making connections and closing sales. Enjoy the process and take notes for next time, a good booth is always improving!