Making Connections is Key to Trade Show Success

RCS Influencer Charles Antis says that his business crushes it at trade shows by getting to know people.

Editor’s note: Watch Charles and his sales manager share their trade show strategy. You can scroll down to read the transcript, but you won’t get the see the great photos!

Charles Antis: Hi, I'm Charles Antis, CEO and founder here at Antis Roofing, and this month on RoofersCoffeeShop® I'm joined by my employee and good pal, Devin Winch.

Devin Winch: Hello, hello.

Charles Antis: And he is our sales manager here at Antis, and he does lots of trade shows. But let me tell you about trade shows. The first trade show that I remember doing maybe 20 years ago, is I had these little pamphlets and I had them printed and I fanned them out on a table and I waited for people to come to me and I handed them my card. That was my first trade show. And then the next time I went, I didn't want to underwhelm people, so I went out and bought this trade show booth and it was so awesome. It was only $6,000 and it took us about seven hours to set up. I hope we have that picture and it's flashing right now. But Devin, we have better strategies today. So rather than me tell you all the fails to get to where we are now, we crush it at trade shows and we get to know people, and how do we do it?

Devin Winch: It's about connection. You want to connect them to the booth. You want to be mobile; you want to make sure that you can engage the client. That's the biggest factor. People who are tied into their actual booth area, the little 8x8 square that they give you, it limits their ability. So, you want to choose a theme that is going to give them mobility, you want to choose something that's going to give them a connection. And I've found, and what's been successful for us here at Antis, is connecting to the childhood. We usually think of themes that will invoke a sense of that connection to a person's childhood, depending on the age range. You got to be kind of broad, but it truly brings the people in. They want to take the photos with you, which is another key. You want to make sure that you have photos available, a person ready to take pictures and/or a photo booth.

Charles Antis: We love photos.

Devin Winch: And so do people in general. If you notice by Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, everything, people are always going to want to see themselves out there and engaged in the world, and that's what they put out there. So you choose something that's going to give them connection, maybe something that can tie into their childhood passions or love to bring out that sense of fun, and then cap it off with a photo, obviously some good literature and a business card to tie it all in together for the business side of it. But after that, you'll have some customers for life.

Charles Antis: Love it. Thanks, Dev.

Devin Winch: Definitely. Rock it.

Charles Antis is the founder and CEO of Antis Roofing & Waterproofing. See his full bio here.