About two weeks ago, Business Buzz focused on getting you ready for your next trade show. In just under two weeks, a major Independence expo takes places right here in St Vincent and the Grenadines. Unfortunately, there are mistakes your business or brand can make that can cause you to miss anticipated results. Here a few mistakes to avoid:

Cluttered graphics – Our brains don’t do well with clutter. Clear, creative, straight-forward messages is what’s required. Keep it simple and remember your messaging: Who are you? What do you do? What problem are you solving? Remember you only have a few seconds to answer those questions.

Having untrained booth staff – Think your team don’t need training because they know what you offer? Think again! Take your mind back to the last time you went into a store or even a restaurant. Everyone that works there is supposed to know what is being sold right? Did you have exceptional service when you last visited that establishment? Did they welcome you as soon as you entered the store or when you approached the cash register? Did they suggest items on the menu? My guess is that didn’t happen or maybe it doesn’t happen as frequently as it should. Training prior to an expo ensures that the team understands your reason for being at the expo and everyone understands their role. The expo is a first impression- like a job interview. If I have never interacted with your business and the expo is my first time, will your team or representative make me feel that I should use your product or service?

No daily preps – The operative word is daily. If you were renting a home to someone, you would ensure that it’s clean and tidy before the tenants arrived; you would ensure that all appliances were in good condition, that everything worked well. When those tenants move, you would ensure that once again, the house was tidied and cleaned etc. before you welcome new tenants. The same applies at an expo or trade show. Every day is a new day to impress a potential customer or an existing customer. Create a checklist and give that role to someone or even two persons from ensuring the branding is in place to the space being clean and tidy to the display being appealing. It all comes together to create an impression of your brand.

Not practicing your pitch/demos- Don’t wing it! Explain your product to your family member or colleague and see their response. Casually speaking with your co-worker is very different to captivating someone at your booth or a group of people at your booth. Practice your pitch, your explanations, your demos.

Partying/socializing – Even though your team is not in the office or at the official place of business, they are still working! Let your team know that even though they are at an expo/tradeshow, they are on company time. They can socialize but be smart about it; due to the nature of the service or product being offered, socializing by doing a walkabout maybe necessary but it all depends on what’s being offered. An expo may seem like an informal event but remember it’s also a competition and what you or a representative does or says can have repercussions. Last but not least, being friendly or socializing should not interfere with someone carrying out their official duties at a booth.

Candice Sealey is the Founder & Principal Consultant at Ignite! a Full-service Marketing & PR Consultancy that helps businesses/brands to stand out and communicate the right message to the right people through Strategy, Marketing, Media services and Design solutions. She is also a freelance content writer, advertising copywriter, voiceover talent, media. Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Follow us on FB & IG @igniteresults Phone:784-432-2223 Email: igniteresults@gmail.com