Why Day Three Deserves Your Effort

Today we welcome back guest blogger Ken Newman of the Hey Newman blog for an entertaining look at why you can’t lose exhibiting momentum on day three.

I wanted to share with you some actual comments I heard on the morning of a final day of a trade show (see image below):

OK, I get it. We’ve all been on our feet for two long, grueling days. We’ve watched as crowds of people scurried by, too afraid to make eye contact with us for fear of ACTUALLY BEING TALKED TO. We have gone on ad-nauseum about our “24 by 7, mission-critical, paradigm shifting, value-added, best-of-breed solution” so many times, we can recite it in our sleep…in fact, we have.

So what’s the point of even making an effort on Day Three?

Perhaps an anecdote from my previous life will shed some light here.

My first job after college was selling cars. Pretty cool cars, actually. Volvos, Range Rovers, Mercedes and the like. I was working on a Saturday and it was 5 minutes to closing when a guy drove onto the lot in a car belching blue smoke. The car was destined to become scrap metal.

The rest of the sales guys and I looked at each other:

“I’m not goin’ out there. I’m done.”

“Me neither.”

“You take him. I gotta hit the bathroom…”

So, as the new newbie, I had to face this “duck on the pond.”

I approached him and said, “Hello.”

He didn’t respond. He just stared at this one Mercedes for a long time before asking how much it was.

“Oh, that one’s about $35,600.”

“Huh. How about that other one? I like that color.”

“That’s about $42,000.”

“Huh. And the one next to it? That’s got a nice interior.”

“Yes Sir. That’s about $39,000.”

“Huh. Ya think I can get it for that much with the tax and stuff?”

I fought the urge to say, “Yeah Right.” I mean, after all, I was a smart aleck kid, just out of college. Instead I offered, “Well, sir, why don’t we go inside and write up an offer and I’ll see what–”

“Nah. I don’t have time for that crap. Here. Take this and go ask your boss if he’ll take my offer.”

And he reached into his pocket, pulled out a huge roll of bills wrapped in a rubber band and dropped it in my hand.

Trying desperately to preserve some semblance of a ‘poker face,’ I took the money into the dealership, ran into an empty office and counted it.

THIRTY NINE THOUSAND DOLLARS…EXACTLY.

Long story short, he drove out in a brand new Mercedes and I got a commission for one sale that made the other sales guys…weep.

so, on the subject of day three, let me suggest a few reasons that it still deserves your ‘A’ GAME.

• Believe it or not, some attendees don’t actually show up until Day Three. Not a lot, but do you want to miss out on that one (potentially huge) opportunity?
• Attendees are often willing to spend a bit more time with you on the last day, which means you can go into a bit more detail about your product, establish a relationship and possibly schedule a follow-up meeting.
• If an attendee walks by your booth and they see from your attitude, body language, or by the fact that you’re taking it apart, that you really don’t want to be there. That’s not exactly going to make them feel all warm and fuzzy about your company.
• At really large shows, some attendees might be seeing your booth for the very first time. What kind of impression do you want to give them about your company? I’m pretty sure it isn’t, “We REALLY don’t want to be here.”
• And finally…If you play your cards right, you might actually be talking to the guy who can score you one of those flying, screaming, blinking monkey things.

Now it’s time to hear from you. Can you add to this list? Can you think of a few good reasons why Day Three is still worth your A Game? Or do you have a great success story from the last day of one of your trade shows? If so, we’d love to hear it. Share in the comments or tweet us @Nimlok.