Drawing Attendees to Your Home Expo Booth Strategically
Want better exhibition booth engagement? Stop standing behind a table and start creating action. Crowds attract crowds—and transformation sells.
KickStart: How to get the best home expo ROI? A steady stream of attendees to your booth! HINT: More is better! (A crowd attracts others.)
NOTE: This is Part III in my 5-part series on Home Expos.
Welcome back!
This third article may be the most important in my series on “Home Expos for Residential Service Contractors”!
True confessions? I feel this way about every article I write!🙄 Doubt me? My Part I on a reality check on your company AND the home show was even better! No, wait- Part II on Pre-Home Show Prep was the best! Or this Part III even better? Read on and decide…😁
You’ll note the word “Strategically” in the title which means: “relating to a general plan to achieve a goal, usually with limited resources.”
Your home show goal(s)? To a) profitably book jobs and/or pre-inspections that lead to more work plus b) develop contacts for future work or referrals and finally c) to position your company as a reliable, caring and professional service provider.
Your challenge? To do all of the above since even the best home expo has “limited resources” of attendees. Time for you to plan “strategically”…
Creating ‘Action’ That Attracts Crowds
Never forget: In any home expo you are “competing” with all the other other exhibitors. Sure, you’ll be friendly with them. (Heck, some of your exhibitors may make great strategic partners!) However…
You need to sneakily stea… err, I mean “attract” THEIR attendees over to YOUR booth!
Your challenge? Boring, static, badly lit displays will attract… NOBODY! Instead, you need movement, ENERGY, noise, transformation- something, actually anything, that breaks through the glazed-over stares of overwhelmed attendees.🫣
So, time to get creative! For example, in my first home expo I instinctively knew our sad, forlorn, and very lonely booth desperately needed ACTION to increase our traffic!
ProTIP: Even better if this action is related to the residential services you are promoting! For example. in this home show I wanted to promote our carpet and rug cleaning services.) Then it hit me!
“Why don’t we demonstrate our superb cleaning services in ACTION? Guys, let’s clean rugs at this home show!” 👍👍
My team responded: “Great idea, Steve! BUT where can we get so many dirty “demo” carpets?” (It was a two-day show.) Then inspiration struck!
We promoted expo attendees bringing their area rugs (not Orientals or expensive rugs—nothing too complicated!) to the show and we’d clean them for FREE! Yep, we set up two truck mounted carpet cleaning plants in our outdoor booth space and cleaned continuously for two days.
The results? INCREDIBLE! Over 400 rugs cleaned in one weekend, with huge crowds of awe-struck homeowners watching the entire time! (Along with hundreds of grateful clean rug owners!) Why did this promotion work? 🤔
🗝️Key Principle: Residential services are “invisible” to most homeowners. Your prospects simply can’t visualize what you will do in their home.
But at this home show they saw the transformation happen with their own eyes right in front of them—in this case a nasty, dirty rug went in and… a sparklingly clean rug came out—they suddenly ‘got it’! 👍👍
The result? Our little residential services business booked over $70,000.00 in work during and immediately after this first home expo! 💲💲💲 It was a HUGE KickStart for us! 🎈💐🎉🎊🪇💖
Get creative!
You don’t offer cleaning services? No worries! Simply brainstorm what “action demos” your company can perform that will 1) attract attendees and 2) help them visualize your process and results!
💡 ProTIP: Involve their kids. With a parent’s permission put hard hats (with your logo) on the children, give them a (safe) tool to hold and then print out a color photo for mom or dad! Or have a ring toss or small corn hole game with prizes.
Steve’s Takeaway: Have fun! SHOW how you will transform their home as in “from problem to solution.” Before to after action. That’s what sells residential services! And of course, people attract people so obsess over attracting a (hopefully enthusiastic) crowd at your booth!
Of course, you’ll also need motivated booth workers to attract, qualify and sell your pumped-up home expo prospects. Let’s talk about this in our next chat on “Strategically Staffing your Home Show Booth”…
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