Trade Shows Part 6: Stupid Mistakes

Here are some stupid trade show mistakes:

Massages:

This seems like such a nice thing. Who doesn’t need a massage after a day at a noisy crowded show? It’s easy. Just hire a local massage firm to set up a few chairs and they’ll line up. So here’s the dumb part: Have you ever tried to pitch to someone who has their face buried in a paper-towel lined massage table? How interested can they possibly be in your product at this moment? Do you think they’re going to stick around afterward? How do you know they’re not just from the booth up the way?

Espresso:

I did this once. And only once. Seemed like a brilliant idea. Get a guy to come with his cart and brew lovely coffees for a few hours when the show opens. And it worked.  For the first hour the line up was all the way up to the fire exit. The other booths didn’t complain because that’s who was in the line. Fancy coffees take a lot of time to make, it turns out.  Then there was the near-riot when the poor guy closed up shop at 11am (I only paid him for three hours). And, of course, there was the coffee-stained carpet in the booth and the abandoned cups all over the place. Our sales manager drank so much coffee he had to detox for a week. Really stupid mistake.

Popcorn:

This is stupid, stupid, stupid. It stinks, it’s messy, it’s greasy. If you want your booth to be stinky, messy and greasy, you should open a Jiffy Lube.

Hooters Girls (or anything remotely like it):

Just don’t.

Things that shoot:

I had the great misfortune to be across from a booth once that gave away toy slingshots and mini marshmallow ammunition. It didn’t end well for the guys across the way. Enough said.

BizMarketer is written by Elizabeth Williams
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