Exhibitors Speak Out

Why exhibitors leave events and how to sell them on new ones.

By Margit B. Weisgal

Your exhibitors are savvier than you think. Even those small guys, the ones in the 10’ x 10’ or 10’ x 20’ spaces, know value when they see it. They’re watching everything you do, from how you promote to who you bring to the show. As one organizer wisely remarked, “It’s not about the number of exhibitors; it’s about the number of quality people we put in front of them.” That’s all well and good, but the novices can’t necessarily differentiate between quality and quantity. It’s up to you to help them recognize the difference.

Back when I produced my first tradeshow in 1981, I had never attended a tradeshow, let alone exhibited at one. That event, in today’s vernacular, could be called a user event, although it had all the characteristics of a tradeshow. We invited our vendors to exhibit, and I hand-addressed 700 invitations to our client and prospect base. As a result of this first venture, our business grew 40 percent in the year that followed.

What stood out for me from that first event were the reactions of those invited to exhibit. We decided that if we were going to do this, it would be first class all the way. We appreciated our vendors’ participation because they were the ones who would really make this venture work. We provided thank-you baskets in their rooms at check-in and, though it was only a one-day show, when it was over we took everyone out for dinner. The feedback we got stunned us. These exhibitors—old pros who did lots of these events—couldn’t do enough for us simply because we treated them well. More.