5 Tips for Successfully Marketing Yourself at an Industry Trade Show

5 Tips for Successfully Marketing Yourself at an Industry Trade Show

A big portion of my work comes from clients in the tactical and law enforcement industry. This past week I attended a trade show for my industry. I knew this was going to be an amazing opportunity to network, make connections, and, fingers crossed, make some new clients. I realized I needed to come up with a strategy that would set me up for success and assure that I got the most out of my experience. A made a list of ideas to try out. I took the ones that worked the best and developed this simple five step plan that will make your next trade show visit a beneficial one.

Industry trade shows are pretty intense and can be intimidating. If you are going to one with hopes of promoting yourself and strumming up new business, you don't want to do so blindly. The beauty of going to an industry trade show as a photographer is that every company or brand there is a potential client because everyone uses images to market themselves. Without a positive strategy you could end up spending a ton of money and walking around for miles and miles a day with nothing to show for it in the end. Obviously, the quality of your work will play a part in your success, but everyone knows that your business skills also play a major role in your success as well. Hopefully you can take these tips and apply it to your next trade show visit.

Plan, Plan, and then Plan Again

I think one of the most crucial things in anything business related is planning. Having a plan gives you structure and gives you something to work towards. Without a plan you may very well end up wasting hours, if not days, at a trade show. Most large trade shows have a list that show you every exhibitor that will be in attendance. These list are usually available long before the actual event is held. What I do with this information is make my own list of potential clients I want to try to connect with. The first list I make is based on location. Most companies would much rather work with a photographer that is local to their area so they don't have to pay out as much in travel cost. My first list is always potential clients in my state. By mentioning to them that I also live in Georgia, I instantly create common ground with them. My second list is made up of "dream clients." These are usually clients that I know are a long shot but having the opportunity to work with them is worth taking the risk. Once you have created these lists it's a good idea to go ahead and try to reach out to someone at the company via email or a phone call. It's always going to be better to set up a meeting beforehand rather than to try to get one at the actual event. It is, however, sometimes difficult to get a response this way, so don't be discouraged if they seem to ignore you. You'll get another chance at the show.

You are also going to want to set up your travel arrangements and hotel arrangements as far in advance as possible. If you try to book a hotel last minute at a large event that will bring in thousands of travelers, you may find there aren't many, if any, rooms available. You could end up having to stay in the next city over and that is just going to cost you more money and time. Trade shows often have official event hotels that offer discount for show attendees and exhibitors. These hotels will often offer free transportation to and from the event as well. This can end up saving you a good bit of your hard earned money.

Create A Memorable Leave Behind

Business cards are great and serve a purpose, but they are somewhat lacking. The truth is, you may only get 15 to 30 seconds to speak to someone. If all you have is a business card to give them it's just going to get lost in the stack of the other 500 business cards they get during the week. We are creatives, so let's be creative! What I did was create a small eight page booklet. It was basically a mini-portfolio. I wanted to make sure that it was visually intriguing as well as informative. I wanted to get across what I bring to the table and what makes me good at what I do. Below you can see my cover and some of the spreads from my booklet. I was able to design my own booklet for the most part, but I also used some template pages that I got from graphicriver.net. If you aren't too savvy when it comes to graphic design, it would definitely be worth the investment to get a graphic designer to put something together for you. I was able to get 1,000 8.5x5.5 inch booklets printed for less than $700, including shipping, using nextdayflyers.com. You don't have to make the exact same thing I did, but definitely create something memorable. Almost every person I talked to would ask me if I had a card. The great thing about my booklet was I would say, "I have something even better," and give them my booklet. Eighty percent of the time this would cause them to spend an extra 2-5 minutes talking to me and asking me questions. This was great and allowed me to build even more rapport. The more face time you can get with someone, the more memorable you will be. That's the key here. You want to be remembered.

*Don't pass out your leave behinds like they are flyers for a rock concert. You don't want to solicit. Hand these out when someone ask for a buisness card.

Make Sure You Are Speaking To the Correct Person

If you aren't able to set up a meeting in advance, you always have the option of approaching a company at their booth. There will usually be someone at a booth who will come up and greet you and ask if they can help you with anything. The majority of employees at these events are in sales and have absolutely nothing to do with their companies marketing and photography. The last thing you want to do is give your pitch to someone and then have them say, "I'm not really the person you need to be talking to, I'm in sales." Or even worse, they hear you out, take your information, put on a nice face, and then throw it away when you walk off. You want to make sure you are connecting with the right person. After many failed and babbling attempts, I finally developed an opening sentence that I can use every time. First, I always smile and introduce myself. Then I say, "Is there anyway that I could speak to someone or get some contact information for someone in marketing? Preferably whoever is in charge of your photography. I am a photographer and I would love to say hello and introduce myself." This question will usually get you connected with the director of marketing, art director, creative director, or whoever happens to handle photography for the business. More often than not, I was able to speak directly with them and tell them about myself and what I do. You always want to end the conversation by asking them if you can get a business card or contact information so you can follow up after the show. This is all about networking. Unless you are  a vendor, you most likely don't want to be doing officlal business at a show. You just want to introduce yourself, get some contact info, and give your contact info.

Be Confident

If you are an introvert, the previous tip is going to be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. It's extremely intimidating to walk up to a massive trade show booth filled with employees, most of them already engaged in conversation with well-dressed business men and women in suits and ties. If you are like me with piercings and tattoos, you can sometimes feel out of place or out of your element in situations like these. The truth is you're just going to have to suck it up and do work. If you can't approach someone with confidence you might as well go home. Being confident can be your best selling point. Don't come off cocky, but be sure to show how passionate you are about what you do. Make them believe in you, because you believe in yourself. When you are stumbling over you words and unsure about what you are saying, they are going to assume you are unsure about the services you can provide. This all gets easier over time. This past week I bit the bullet and walked up to one of the largest companies at the trade show, one from my "dream client" list, and ended up being told they wanted me to come to their office and talk to their creative team. The only reason that happened is because I showed them that I believe in myself and feel like I have a lot to offer. Confidence can be one of your greatest tools.

Always Follow Up

Last but not least, always follow up. Most likely they forgot about you 20 minutes after you left. Always follow up with an email and then possibly a phone call. They won't even think about contacting a photographer until the need for one arises. It could end up being months later before that need happens. The best thing you can do is follow up once things have settled down a little so you are on their mind during a less hectic time. Don't get crazy or annoying, but keep in contact with them. The idea is to build relationships. People like working with people that they know and trust. Understand that this isn't an overnight process, but you should embrace the possibility it holds.

I hope these tips help you in the future. I'm sure they can be applied to other areas outside of trade shows. As always I'd love to hear your thoughts or questions in the comments below.

Brandon Cawood's picture

Brandon Cawood is an internationally recognized and published photographer known for his highly detailed composite photography and retouching work. He has a distinctive style that sets his images apart and offers a branding solution to set his clients to distinguishing their identity. He also has a background in video production and editing.

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16 Comments

Mind sharing your booklet businesscard? I can't find the picture of it in your post...

It should be there now. Not sure what happened. Thanks for letting me know!

Such great tips - especially on speaking to the right person. Speaking with people at trade shows is one of the best forms of direct marketing a person can do!

Did you put an stand? or you only assisted looking for clients?

Nice job, Brandon! Really nice booklet, looks amazing.

I am going to play devils advocate here. As well as being a photographer my day job is GM of a sporting goods company. When we do a large show the LAST thing we want is someone coming in the booth looking to sell us something. We pay ten's of thousands of dollars to be at a show and we are there to sell to our customers and find potential new customers. We are not there to be cold called by someone trying to meet us. Now setting up an appointment ahead of time and meeting the art director or marketing staff outside the booth, great, but not just walking in asking for someones time who has paid a lot of money to be at the show to sell to customers. If you are going to be at a trade show and want to find new contacts, keep it short, very short. 10 seconds short. Who ever greets you, just ask if they have a business card for the art director or marketing person and walk away. In my opinion much better to contact the correct person to setup an appointment out of the booth for the next day or send them your portfolio after the show. Agian just giving a view point from the other side.

You have a very valid perspective and one I can appreciate where you are coming from. As a self employed photographer I have to take risk. Some may embrace this strategy and some may feel the way you do. That is the main reason I ask if question the way I do. I give the option of speaking to some one or getting their contact information. Never ever would I want to take time away from someone who doesn't want to give it. On one side I don't know why anyone wouldn't risk a minute or two of their time for something that has the potential to be a mutually beneficial relationship. If I create an image for a client that aids in selling $50,000 dollars of their product, I would say that's a win/win. I know I'm not going make a client out of every single person I meet, but the addition of just one or two clients that become a steady stream of work can help grow my business substantially. To me it's all about calculated risk. I know my personality and what I'm all about and I'm usually pretty good at expressing that without being all salesy. When you are self employed it's all about the grind, you have to find the work because it's not just going to come to you. Thank you for your perspective on the matter though. Definitely something to think about and consider in this scenario.

Like I said just playing devils advocate, I agree that you never know when, where or how you are going to meet a person who can help your business. Just really need to understand and respect what the potential client is really there to do which I am sure you already do!

Great article Brandon....appreciated the read.

Awesome tips and advice.

Fantastic article and your images are outstanding man! Thanks for sharing :)

I see the design spread of the booklet, but do you have an image of the entire thing assembled? I'm curious as to the dimensions of it. I've been looking for a similar type of template for a small booklet. Mind sharing the template or size you used from graphicriver.net?

closed it is 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches tall. Opened it's 17 inches by 5.5 inches tall. I only used a template for one page and I had to alter it to make it fit my design. Here's a photo of my booklet.

Shot show really frowns upon suitcasing or outboarding, and in vegas it's a misdemeanor. Never know when the person taking your brochure might turn you in.

for me it was all about networking. When someone asked me if i had a business card I gave them my booklet in place of a business card. Thank you for the advice. I will make sure to look into this further to make sure that I am doing things the right way.

Socialism: Forgot this word? However, now it is not about the remnants of the past of our country. I'm talking about social networks. If we thought about the first contact in social media, then why also not use them to the fullest in the future. There is a belief that in 2013 social media marketing agency redleos(.)com will become diversified, but at the same time more consolidated and directed clearly at a specific client. Technology, synchronization with offline trade and the company itself, will allow us, marketers, to understand our customers more, achieve a clear segmentation and begin to respond to incoming requests. In this area, strategies must change in order to obtain a specific result. If earlier many companies entered the “social sphere” only under the influence of fashion, without having any plan of action, now the stage of capture of the new target audience is clearly drawn. Thanks