USA market entry | PSD Global

1. TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL U.S. TRADE SHOW OR NETWORKING EVENT Face-to-face meetings are often the best kind of advertising for a company, especially one that is attempting entry into a new country or demographic market. Meeting potential clients face-to-face and personally handing them your business card is the first step in cultivating a positive relationship built on trust. Many entrepreneurs and business owners make the mistake of thinking that if you pay for your space, set up a table, display out a few brochures or business cards – the event will automatically be a success. There is much more work and planning involved with ensuring a successful trade show event than just paying for your space and setting up a table. Here are some tips to ensure that your trade show results in qualified leads. The first step is to make sure that the event or trade show is the right fit for the business. If the attendees are not your target demographic, you are more than likely wasting your money. If you are marketing to business owners, make sure that business owners are going to be attending the event. A trade show is an investment and must be treated as such. Make sure the event is one that organizers will be promoting and publicizing highly to ensure a reputable amount of attendees. Going with established events is always the best option, but if a new event is promoted properly, it can be successful as well. The event organizers definitely need to be heavily promoting the event, but it is important that you do some promoting yourself. Let all of your customers, colleagues, friends and even family members know that you will be there. This can be done quickly and cheaply through digital methods. Utilize social media, email blasts, flyers and posters and be sure to include all of the information on your website. Send out e-vites and anything you can think of to get people at your booth.

2. TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL U.S. TRADE SHOW OR NETWORKING EVENT Start planning your booth in advance and get as organized as possible. If travel arrangements need to be made, make sure these are done in advance. Put together a detailed list of everything you will need to bring with you: business cards, brochures, banners, electrical equipment, hand-outs and giveaways, tablecloth, contest entry forms and anything else the booth requires. Find out if your booth will have electricity and whether or not they are planning door prizes for attendees. If they are, it is a great idea to offer a giveaway from your company to ensure increased exposure. If there is a video or something that you could run on a loop in the background, that would be a great addition to the booth. Try to set a measurable goal for the outcome of the trade show. Perhaps it is to set 10 appointments or obtain 50 email addresses. Whatever the goal may be, make sure it is measurable and achievable and do everything you can to achieve it. Talk with event organizers about the possibility of speaking or offering a workshop. If you have helpful information to offer attendees, find out how you can share it with them. Speaking to attendees and other business owners will give you not only an impressive amount of exposure, but also will go a long way in establishing credibility for you and your business. Plan a contest or giveaway. You could offer a product or service from your company or partner with another non-competing company to offer a substantial, but relevant prize. Put together a display for the contest and have attendees fill out an entry form that includes their email address. Make sure you get permission to contact them via email so that you can keep them updated on promotions, company news, etc. If you do plan to hand out promotional items make sure they are useful and serve a purpose, otherwise they will more than likely end up in the trash. Hand out plenty of business cards. Dress for success. Make sure that you and anyone who works your booth is dressed appropriately and professionally. This is the first impression that any potential customers will have of you. Make it count. Make sure that anyone working your both has been trained and works well talking with the public. Try to come up with something new or different to share with attendees. This could be the unveiling of a new product or service or just revamping something you are already offering. Give attendees a reason to remember you.

3. TIPS FOR A SUCCESSFUL U.S. TRADE SHOW OR NETWORKING EVENT During the event be sure that you engage everyone that walks by your booth and stops to look around. Thank them for stopping, introduce yourself and start a conversation. Make sure your booth is well-put together and stands out. If there is a theme to the trade show, make sure that your booth follows the theme. When it comes time to eat, make sure that you do any eating away from the trade show booth. It looks extremely unprofessional to be chowing down when potential clients are approaching your booth or information. Don’t forget about other business owners. Be sure to network with other business owners that are set up at the trade show as well. Be sure to take some time to walk around the show and introduce yourself to other business owners. This could be a good opportunity to trade leads and perhaps even create partnerships and share ideas. One of the most important trade show tips comes after the event – the follow-up. It’s so important to reach out and thank attendees and answer any questions they may have. Set up appointments for those who express an interest and make sure any inquiries are answered in a timely manner. ABOUT PSD GLOBAL Founded in 1999, PSD Global is an international consulting firm, focused on helping growing firms accelerate their international sales and business development objectives. They also assist Trade/Investment Promotion agencies broaden their trade development and investment attraction footprint by providing business matchmaking, trade promotion and lead generation services. Their strategic vision, industry network and market-entry process helps firms mitigate the uncertainties and identify the opportunities in the turbulent global market. Their team of seasoned consultants is complemented by a network of international partners that provide valuable in-market expertise. They serve clients around the world in a wide array of industries including, ICT (including BPO), clean energy, life sciences/biotech and aerospace, as well as advanced manufacturing and food processing. Learn more about PSD Global at http://www.psdglobal.com/overview-2/.