Lessons Learned Having a Booth at Be The Change

Apr 6, 2012

I was a sponsor for Suzanne Evan’s Be The Change event last week in Orlando Florida last week.

This was my first time sponsoring at an event like this and I learned lots (and made some mistakes too, doh!).

Check out this video for the inside scoop:

15 Comments

  1. Tina Sousa-Vieira

    Great video with sound recommendations.

    Reply
  2. Marlys Arnold

    Congrats on doing such a great job with your first booth, Tina! As an exhibit marketing strategist/trainer/author, I love hearing success stories like yours. You also pointed out some important areas that many exhibitors (first time or otherwise) struggle with: booth design and giveaways. So I wanted to share a couple of quick tips on those topics.

    Having a booth that’s too busy/has too much signage: I always remind exhibitors that a booth should function more like a billboard than a bulletin board. Just like on the freeway, you have 5-7 seconds to capture attention from the people walking the aisles, so don’t overwhelm them with too many items or too many words on signs.

    Offering a fun & unique giveaway: Sounds like you found an item that really resonated with the audience! The stress man functioned as a great conversation starter, which is always better than something cliche like pens, mugs or t-shirts. It’s also important to give away something that relates back to your business (like your stress man represented how you help clients take the stress out of managing their business). The other key for effective giveaways is to maintain control (vs. piling them on the table for self-service) and use them as a thank-you for someone spending a few minutes in your booth so you can learn more about them and how you can be of service.

    I wish you much success at Fabienne’s event … can’t wait to hear your results!

    Reply
  3. Michelle Lopez

    I totally agree, Tina. Simple is better. Less is more. Too much is not enough.

    Reply
  4. Tracey Lawton

    Hi Tina

    Great to see you again … and thanks so much for sharing your tips and insights.  I’m a table sponsor at a much smaller local event next month, and your video has been so helpful to me.

    Reply
  5. catherinenewton

     Hi Tina,
    Thanks for that info! I am attending an event next month and love the reminder about collecting leads and having something to sell. Also, your wee video updates have inspired me to do that myself. I always enjoy hearing your voice and receiving your latest news. Is there a program you use to video yourself or is it as simple as working out how to use your computer camera? Good luck with the new branding. And thanks for sharing the tools you use – off to install Wishlist now!Love Catherine X

    Reply
    • tinaforsyth

      I use a logitech camera that plugs right into my computer and a blue yeti microphone – then i use camtasia to tweak a bit if need be.

      Reply
      • catherinenewton

        Thanks Tina! I’ll give a go 🙂

        Reply
      • catherinenewton

        Thanks Tina! I’ll give a go 🙂

        Reply
  6. Kim

    Tina – thanks for this video!  I really love how you are so willing to share what’s going on for you and your biz.  Your honest and real approach (sharing that the signs were too much, didn’t have something to sell, etc.) let us all know that it is OK to not always get it completely right the first time around. 

    The other thing you do so well is show us how even if we don’t get it completely right the first time around, we can see that as a gift, regroup and do it better the next time.

    Thanks for being so *real* in your biz!

    Reply
    • tinaforsyth

      Thanks Kim – it’s really important to me to be “real” with stuff, otherwise how the heck do we learn from each other? 🙂

      Reply
  7. Consultblogs

    I’m looking forward to seeing the new brand, and loved the lessons shared – great information.  It was also really fun to attend the conference with you and Tiffany, and I will look for you again at future events.

    Reply
  8. Carolyn

    Great, practical tips Tina. Woohoo!

    Reply
  9. Amber

    Tina I love your little guy! What a great idea 🙂 nice job!

    Reply
  10. Sheilagobig

    Wonderful recap, as usual:)!  Thanks, Sheila

    Reply
  11. Lori Benns

    I could have used your little squeezy guy all week!  Good thing I have an F-Bomb from Suzanne 🙂 LOL. Thank you for sharing your lessons on the booth…I think that is helpful for people as they consider doing this for their own business! We learn and grow from our mistakes and you will rock the next booth now that you have had your click moment!

    Reply

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