Are Tradeshows Dead?
Melissa Mercadante from Showcare recently asked on LinkedIn:
What's a quick tip for how to get sponsors excited about taking part in an in-person, virtual or hybrid event. How do you get sponsors to have FOMO (the fear of missing out)?
Check out my reply to Melissa - with some expansion on it below:
FOMO to me is all about opportunity mixed with something they can take with them/use again. So for example, as an emcee, I will sometimes host a "Best Booth EVER" training for my clients hosting expos. In the training, we talk about:
What makes for virtual engagement
Why in-person and virtual booths fail (hint: it's the same reason... you don't stand up and stand out often enough)
How they can quickly and easily show up throughout the conference, drive traffic to their booth and create the relationships that pay off
Now why is this FOMO? Because sales training like this can cost thousands. But it's INCLUDED for booth and exhibitor sponsors. Every employee of the company that attends the training is now better at virtual and in-person expos than they were before AND they're being trained not just by someone who has sold 8-figures but also someone who has done over 160+ PAID virtual events in the past 18 months - I teach what I know works and have the receipts to prove it.
Now that may sound cocky, but I don't mean it that way - I mean it to say that this is what my clients (large national and international associations) share with THEIR sponsors and prospective sponsors.
They sell ME to sell THEIR BOOTHS, which is beautiful because the price for this is typically less than half of a booth cost. I don't add this on to make money for me - I add it on to help the client make money AND their vendors make money which eventually turns into a review like this one:
"Rachel was the best emcee we could've ever imagined. She brought so many ideas to the table that our virtual event was not only a hit, we are doing it again next year - no matter what!"
Some will tell you that exhibits are dead - they're not. Expos, tradeshows and vendor showcases are still a helpful, valuable and needed resources that so many events and companies rely on and gain great partnerships from.
But the days of the fishboard on a boring white table cloth, calling it your tradeshow booth? They're done for good.
Interested in having Rachel as your emcee and bringing this tradeshow training to your sponsors? Book Rachel today!