From March 8-11 the who’s who of the natural health industry gather in Anaheim, California at North America’s largest Natural Products event, Expo West. With over 80,000 attendees annually and 3,100 exhibitors it’s easy to get lost in the crowd. If you are one of the 500 new exhibitors each year it’s even more difficult to stand out, so here are our top five tips to help you shine.

1. Don’t sell. You are at Expo to build relationships with customers, strategic partners, like-minded competitors and industry elite.  It’s critical to reach out to the people who you want to meet and invite them to your booth in advance of the show. Schedules book up quickly so it’s best to do this several weeks in advance. Support your personal outreach with twitter shout outs and email invitations. At the event collect contact information and take notes about who you have met and what you discussed. A lead sheet, or the back of a business card works well.
2. Be easy to find. Ensure your company name, product category and description, contact information and booth number are included on each piece of outgoing communication.
3. Have a call to action. Product sampling is a great way to get people to your booth. Whatever your hook is, make sure that you clearly communicate it to your audience.
4. Don’t underestimate administration. Ensure that one person on your team knows every detail related to the organization and operation of your booth. Having a binder with all the relevant information is much easier that logging in and trying to find a reference online. Being prepared also includes knowing the key people at the show who can help you if anything goes wrong. Remember that trade shows are intense for everyone, including staff so being polite, respectful, friendly and patient goes a long way.
5. Get out of your booth. Remove chairs. Don’t block your booth’s entry with a table. Stand in the aisle. Smile, engage and do your best to keep up your energy by getting enough sleep, food and water. The last thing you want to do after investing in a booth is hide behind it!

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