Make your exhibit booth more welcoming
You have about 1-1/2 minutes to catch a customer's interest. Is your booth up to the task?
If a chair is not comfortable, why buy it? If a booth is not engaging, why enter it? At furniture and craft shows, you want to convey an atmosphere that will best express your talent and attract your target market.
Does your marketing installation measure up to the amount of time and expertise your product can inspire? What makes your prospective client compelled to enter? Booths take many forms including using hard walls, curtains — or a mixture of both — interior walls for display, and open floor space for traffic flow. The proper use of lighting and color to illuminate and contrast your work will make your booth alive with energy, so people can view and understand the work, time and craftsmanship you have invested.
I prefer curtains for the ease of transportation and the ability to change the color scheme. When contracting a booth space I order the pipe and then provide my own curtains, which can be ordered online or custom made.
When making your decision on booth color, backdrop and rug choice, consider the tonal relationships to your product. Do the background colors enhance the pieces or detract from their vibrancy? Color can set the mood and comfort level of your booth, from warm and inviting to harsh or brash. Consider the convention center or exterior space, and the use of color and commercial lighting, which can change or wash out your color selections. Comfortable people are more likely to spend more time in your booth. With a well-designed booth one can give a sense of comfort, and display their work with elegance.
Light it up
While color and wall design are important, lighting is king. Without proper illumination, your product will go unnoticed.
A combination of halogen and incandescent lights will give a booth the highlights and shadows one needs to create interest and an inviting feeling. But when setting lights, take the angles into account. You don't want to blind people, hamper conversation, cause them to move past you, or make them feel uncomfortable when they are trying to view your work.
The mix of incandescent and halogen lighting works best for my purposes. Incandescent gives a good color rendition and truest natural light relationship, which brings out the warm highlights and chatoyance in the wood. Halogen punches those highlights and adds a sparkle factor. When I have strangers in my booth engaged in conversation, experiencing different chairs, discussing the comfort, design and functionality, the booth is in that comfort zone.
A booth has one chance to make a first impression. If you are presenting a closed appearance — such as sitting and reading — people will walk right by. These are your marketing days, along with the other 150 to 250 vendors that want to talk with the same people. Your potential client is walking the show and seeing many different crafts. They have given themselves only so many hours to be there — perhaps four. Four hours divided by 250 vendors leaves you about 1-1/2 minutes to capture their interest.
If your booth has created a friendly and engaging space, then you are well on your way to a good day. A mailing list, business cards and promotional information should be visibly displayed and accessible. Take notes as people express their needs and follow up with the information; they will appreciate being remembered. I have started to explore the use of compact discs that create a clean, neat and easy way to present your work.
Prep the mind and body
When leaving home for a cross-country drive I give myself extra days to travel. If there are no mechanical problems, I have a place or people in mind that I will visit. In doing this, I arrive rested and focused, ready to set up the booth and prepare for the show.
While at the show your personal and private environment is as important as the booth space. Being well-rested, energized and clear-minded will affect your show experience. Food, drink and sleep are weapons to be used, although some foods and drink can have an adverse affect on your sleep habits. A well-rested mind is a working and effective marketing tool, allowing intuition and perceptions to help in communicating with people. When meeting friends once or twice a year, be mindful and careful of the after-show festivities. A nagging headache while standing for eight hours will show in your appearance.
Attendees notice body language and appearance. I keep a clean shirt and pants close in case of an accident with food or some other mishap. Having some type of food stain on your shirt is not a good impression to leave with someone. Shoes are another factor when spending 10 to 12 hours of the day on your feet. Sore feet will affect your posture; different shoes for different days will help keep your feet comfortable. If you are feeling good you have a better chance at having a good marketing day.
As you work through three days of a show it becomes imperative that you keep your head about you when sales are down and all is not well. Standing around with hands in pockets or in a small group of vendors grousing about the show or the promoters only creates a negative atmosphere. Even with just a few hours left in the show and no sales made, you must stay engaged. I have had poor shows turn into good shows in the last few hours. It's also important to remember that there is more to a show than sales. People can take you in new directions, and could represent a corporation, magazine or part of a design firm. Being open to these adventures can lead to new sources of income and publicity.
Don't pre-judge
People come in many forms and dress. Never think that because of dress or demeanor you can ignore someone. We tend to size people up for their potential to buy based on stereotypical items such as shoes, rings, etc. However, I made a large sale to a gentleman wearing inexpensive plastic sandals and a T-shirt. When the show is weighing on you, remember that everyone is worth your time and patience because you never know what may happen and they deserve your respect.
I can tell many stories of people that have placed orders days after the show that I'm not able to put a face to, some clients even years later. For instance, I am currently building a chair for a lady who saw my work two years ago at the Philadelphia Furniture and Furnishings Show.
At one show a lady, seeming confused and looking for her husband, asked if I had seen him. I replied no but offered her a chair to rest in. Upon finding her husband she told him, "Please buy two of these chairs for me."
Michael Doerr is owner of a one-man shop, Doerr Woodworking, in