Every Minute Matters: Discerning Visitor Types

Set one foot on the trade show floor and instantly you’re surrounded by people.  Tall ones, short ones, old ones, young ones.  C-level executives are rubbing shoulders with corporate nobodies.  Some rush from booth to booth in search of giveaways while others draw your sales staff into long, pointless conversations.
 
The good news is that between 80-90 percent of the attendees are often there to purchase new goods and services.  The bad news is that other 10-20 percent can eat up lots of valuable floor time. How in the world do you identify who are valuable prospects and who are ‘just looking’ in this throng of people?
 
I’ve identified twelve distinct types of trade show attendees.  Almost every person at the show will fall into one of these categories.  Teach your staff to recognize these types.  That way they can politely yet quickly handle the non-starters and spend their valuable floor time concentrating on the promising prospects. 
 
Keep them moving if…
 
They come for the demo – any demo, every demo.  Some people just love to watch a show, whether it’s for the newest floor cleaning squeegee mop or a hydraulic drill press that can bore through four feet of concrete.  They seem to travel in flocks, congregating around one demonstration after another, with no intention of purchasing the products being shown.  Asking a few open-ended questions will help your staff know who’s at the show to do some shopping and who’s simply looking to be entertained.
 
They say “Gimme, Gimme, Gimme”  Any type of giveaway attracts these types.  Keychains, pens, can cozies, mouse pads, t-shirts – it doesn’t matter.  If it’s free, they want it.  They may even want more than one, to give to their family, friends, and colleagues.  You can often identify this type by their bulging tote bags and pockets full of unsharpened pencils.  Keen questioning will ascertain if this visitor has any potential.
 
They’re a Gambling Man.  Winning contests is a passion for some people – they have an almost biological compulsion to drop a business card into a fishbowl for any kind of drawing.  They don’t even care what the prize is, as long as they might win.  Contests that require more than a business card to enter will help deter these types from finding their way onto your follow-up lists.
 
They ask too many questions. Like it or not, trade shows are a prime opportunity for the competition to indulge in a little industrial espionage.  Snooping can and does occur.  These would-be spies often give themselves away by knowing far too much about your industry or asking specific, precise questions.   Make sure that you do more questioning than talking to reduce the chances of giving away valuable information.