By Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk

During the last week of August, bbr marketing participated in its first industry trade show, the Southeastern Accounting Show put on by the Georgia Society of CPAs. While we help our clients prepare for these quite often, this was our first foray into one as a company. We couldn’t think of a better place to get our feet wet since the audience was accountants (check), in the greater Southeastern region (check) and it was taking place in Atlanta (check).

As many of you know, it takes a great deal of planning to create a professional presence that will get noticed in a sea of other vendors and product and service providers. We set about creating a vibrant booth, finally printed some firm brochures, discussed giveaways and even secured a speaking engagement for Bonnie. And if we do say so ourselves, it turned out very well. We were thrilled with the impression we gave attendees and proud to stand in our 10×10 space.

So what did we learn? Each of us pulled different lessons from the experience which we share below. For those considering taking this step with your firm, we would be happy to help you think through the process and prepare for it if it will help you reach some of your marketing objectives. We hope our observations help you as well.

– We were simply amazed at how many people do not have business cards. With a room full of potential clients and referral partners, as well as nearly every booth giving something away to those that will simply drop a card in a bowl, why wouldn’t you bring cards to a trade show? After talking with some of the attendees, it seems many had brought what they thought was an ample supply, only to run out long before the event was over. This says good things about the networking opportunities at the show but also illustrates that even if you think you’ve got enough cards on you, double that amount just to be safe.

– To build on the point above, people LOVE free stuff. We do wonder just how many of these tchotchkes get used. But if it’s not nailed down, it will get picked up! One tactic we used was placing our bbr branded cups (our basic giveaway) on a shelf in the back of the booth. It encouraged attendees to actually engage with us if they wanted one versus being able to just walk by and grab it without so much as a glance.

– In addition to the tchotchke point above, don’t be one of those attendees that keeps coming back to sneak more freebies. We get it, the free stuff is awesome, and if you are polite, most vendors won’t have a problem with giving you another item. However, we had a few people that would come by, talk with each of us, but act like they were there the first time. So one guy ended up getting a cup from each of us (a total of three!) by being sneaky. Not cool.

– When given a very basic task, people often revert to their more childish level of manners. Attendees were told to submit a form for signature at each booth if they wanted to participate in certain drawings. The result was a constant procession of people passing pink slips for a signature, often in a manner reminiscent of trying to get a hall pass in elementary school. Some were thoughtful about this, waiting their turns and politely asking for our signatures, while others just shoved the sheet under our noses without saying word one.

– Business opportunities happen apart from official networking. We’ve seen this principle often in other places, but it was another good reminder. If you’re in a field that fits your personality, simple social interaction tends to market your services all by itself. Random topic A, random topic B…oh, you might be able to do this for someone I know! That’s good to keep in mind wherever you go, and yet another reason to travel with an ample supply of business cards even when you don’t expect to be in a networking environment.

– People mean germs! Bonnie got horribly sick during the show and Sarah spent a few days immediately following it with a different unpleasant virus. Travel with business cards and hand sanitizer.

– Instead of giving away a single Kindle or iPad, like most other vendors, we decided to go an entirely different direction and held drawings for multiple unique gifts at each break. We got a few askew glances over our chocolate-covered bacon from Adam’s Apples, mini stuffed office dogs and bath and body baskets from Mama, but we also generated a lot of conversation. That’s a win in our book.

– Another prize suggestion: Give away the perishable items first. We gave away the chocolate-covered bacon as the final gift on the second day, but the winning attendee had already left and was unable to collect the prize. We’re sending him a bbr cup, so he’s still getting something, but it stinks we couldn’t give him the actual prize, since mailing bacon in the summer is not advisable.

– We decided to give away apples to everyone at the show. It tied to our booth design and we liked the idea of giving people a healthy snack in a sea of chocolate bars and hard candy. Surprisingly, many people reached for an apple and drew their hand away when they touched it. A bit perplexed, we started asking why. They assumed it was a squishy ball and were surprised to find a real apple in their grasp. We’re still not sure what to make of that, but most were happy after they got over their surprise. (And 2nd lesson on the apples, don’t buy nearly as many next time! We’ve been giving away apples to friends since the show ended.)

– One of the biggest benefits of exhibiting was the opportunity to meet and learn more about the other vendors. When the exhibit hall was quiet during sessions, we really got to know each other. We are thrilled that we have also had meetings to discuss work with two of them as well.

– Our neighbors, Payroll 1 were a ton of fun. They also had a shoeshine chair in their booth. At first, this struck us as a bit odd, but turns out it is brilliant! Attendees would hop in the chair to get their shoes shined and be regaled with the benefits and differentiators of Payroll 1’s services. In fact, they are so known for this booth feature around the country that in some locations people will bring, we kid you not, a BAG of shoes for them to shine. We find that to be the height of tacky, but if it turns into business, no doubt they are happy to send new clients away with shiny shoes.

– Finally, if you can, combine a speaking opportunity with your exhibit commitment. While Bonnie came down with a HORRIBLE flu bug that forced her to cancel her presentation, we still had quite a few people come by to talk to us about social media simply because her name was in the program. She will be offering the presentation as a webinar for those who missed it, so look for information here and from the GSCPA on that soon.

We hope these observations will help you with your next show. We’ll certainly take all of them into consideration on our next go-round. What about you? Do you have helpful advice from your tradeshow experiences? Share your thoughts in a comment below!