I have just joined

[Mima]

Hi all! I have just now signed up and looking forward to "meeting" you all!
My name is Mima (short for Fahima) and have started my leather and silk soft furnishing business from home earlier this year. I basically import these beautiful products and sell them over the net and on e-bay. I am so excited and very nervous as my business partner and I are taking part in our fist ever Trade Show in Earls Court, London from Friday.

I was and still am, a housewife of 3 children between the ages of 5 -12. My youngest has just started school and since last year I have been getting myself ready for the "work mode" on my own terms and own time. Things are going far better than I had ever expected and I am really looking forward to completing the 1st year of business on a high note.

Love to hear from anybody who can give me some advice on do's & don'ts of a Trade Show.

[mumper]

Hi Mima, welcome to the forums. I'm sure you will find them very useful. There are lots of people on here to help and offer good advice.
Good luck with the trade show.

[Mima]

Hi John - Thanks for your good wishes. I have been reading through some of the topics and wondering why I never came across this forum before.

[Enigma121]

Hi Mima,

Welcome to the forum, you'll find lots of advice on the business side of things as well as a little on internet sales and marketing on here.

Never hosted a stand at a trade show yet, so can't offer much advice - been along to a couple in the past.

Checked out your website, noticed you don't have a pagerank yet. Have you recently set it up?

[Mima]

Hi Enigma121 - Yes, I guess a pro can always spot the ameature. Just got the website running and still adding products and a lot of other things like pagerank. Will take any advise!

[Enigma121]

In that case don't panic about your pagerank right away.

You'll be "sandboxed" by Google, meaning your site won't be listed for at least 6-8 months from launch. Not much you can do about it, so don't worry. There are other search engines that can provide good traffic anyway, I'd recommend optimising for MSN for starters.

If you need any search engine advice, drop us a line.

[Ravenfire]

Hi Mima and welcome to the site.

I have 3 between the ages of 3-10 so you must have your hands full like me! Look forward to chatting to you

Toni

[dagr]

Hi Mima,

Not sure how long your Trade show lasts, but they are mentally tiring after the second day. You'll find that your energy levels and body language discretely start to sag, so beware of that. It kind of creeps up on you. Don't forget nibbles and drinks (flask of strong coffee or tea). Keep your smile and body language pleasant and welcoming. Plan a duty roster and if you're getting tired, take turns at walking round the exhibition hall. Avoid sitting down on the stand (easy to say, difficult to do).

You'll get lots of ideas from seeing other people's stands, including takeaway gifts, layout, etc., so don't worry this time round. Next year you'll be experienced campaigners!

The above comments may seem blatantly obvious, but it's amazing how many exhibitors spend thousands of pounds on a stand's look but have a body language that appears to say either "I'm bored" or "Don't bug me".

Have a good show.

David.

[SillyJokes]

Congratulations on getting through your first year.

Welcome to the forum.

I'm sure you will be successful.

I am a bit nervous about the woman who has hung herself on your website though.

[Jayne]

Hi Mima,

Welcome to the forum :D

Jayne

[Cornish Steve]

Mima,

Regarding trade shows, I would suggest the following:

- Be sure to wear your most comfortable shoes, even if they are not your best shoes. Take a backup pair too. Never wear new shoes.

- Take some bottles of water with you. As a matter of professionalism, though, I never eat or drink in a booth.

- Even though it's mentally tiring, always focus on the people walking by your booth - and smile. That one person who notices may later become your most valued customer.

- Never lose focus. I see so many company employees who sit typing at a laptop or talking with their colleagues in a booth. Since they ignore visitors or treat them as an occupational hazard, it makes you wonder why they spent money to exhibit.

- Be judicious in your conversations. You can never be sure whether you are talking with an eager customer, an eager competitor, or a journalist. Qualify visitors to your booth as early as you can.

- Don't be deceived by traffic. I've attended busy shows from which little business ultimately came. I remember one show (in Earl's Court, actually) which seemed totally dead; however, the one company that dropped by became one of our most important new customers.

- It's all about partnerships! Spend time yourself visiting other booths looking for potential partners.

Good luck. I'm sure you'll enjoy a wonderful event.

Steve

[RSL]

Welcome to the site! I'd love to see some of your pieces. Do you have a site or catalogue you could forward on to me?

Kindest regards,

Ronke

[Belladonna]

Hi Mima -

Like you I also have 3 kids aged 4 - 13. I went back to Uni 2 years ago and have been self employed since running an internet marketing business. I have just started to develop my own site which is a bridal resource website!

I really hope your trade show goes well, remember, people buy people! so smile! and enjoy!

Let us know how it goes!

Nicky

[dagr]

I forgot about the shoes, Steve. Good point.

Also,

1. Create and print off some simple contact forms with the usual name/address/tel./email stuff plus just a simple question on what they are interested in. Nothing too complicated. This saves time if the booth is busy, avoids annoying mistakes (like forgetting to ask their last name) and can even be used to keep people on the stand by asking them to fill out a form on their own. You may even want to add that there will be prize-draw at the end of your show whereby one or two lucky winners win one of your products. Have lots of pens.

2. If there are two or more of you on the stand, it's worth having a formal briefing/debriefing before or after each day. I find breakfast a good time for this. Go over: the number and type of leads from yesterday, duty roster, any patterns (e.g. "noticed a peak busy period from 11-12"), any interesting stands (potential partnerships, competitors, any interesting marketing or stand ideas, etc.).

This may all sound terribly formal, but it only adds 10-15 minutes to your breakfast and helps keep you focused.

And, as Steve says, BE AVAILABLE (even if traffic looks dead).

[Arial]

Hi Mima

Welcome to the forum :D

Arial

[webit]

In that case don't panic about your pagerank right away.

You'll be "sandboxed" by Google, meaning your site won't be listed for at least 6-8 months from launch. Not much you can do about it, so don't worry. There are other search engines that can provide good traffic anyway, I'd recommend optimising for MSN for starters.

If you need any search engine advice, drop us a line.

Sorry every one for pushing my own site. You can avoid the sandbox by listing on our site and adding links to your site as Google regularly indexes our content as does Yahoo and MSN.

This is free by the way.

Other than that welcome to the forum and the best of luck.