It’s All in The Presention

Recently my church held a business expo to draw attention to the number of small business owners in the congregation.  I was one of the participants, along with a number of other baby boomer women.

 

Since I’ve done dozens of these events over the past couple of years, I had a good idea of how I wanted to present myself to my fellow church members and visitors.  But what I discovered is there are some business owners who don’t understand what it means to present at a Business Expo so here are some of my tips:

 

1)  Table Set-Up.  Always have a table cloth (or plastic cover) for your table.  The church did provide a white plastic cover, however, I recommend you use something colorful to blend in with the products you’re displaying.  (I chose red).  Also, you might want to add a flower arrangement or some other type of decoration to dress up your table even more.  Then neatly arrange your products without making the table look cluttered.

 

2)  Meet and Greet.  You should make it a point to greet everyone who passes by your table or booth—even if they don’t buy anything.  There is a saying:  A first impression is a lasting impression.  You never know when you may see that person again so you want their impression of you to be a favorable one.  There’s another saying:  You can draw more flies with honey than you can with you know what.  In essence that means turn on your charm and don’t be shy about self-promoting—just don’t overdo it.

 

3)  Information about your Business.  Always have an ample supply of business cards, flyers, brochures, etc so people can learn more about your products or services.  One of the worst things you can do (which I did) is run out of business cards.

 

4)  Giveaways.  Offering your product or a variety of products in a gift basket is a nice and clever way to get people over to your table.  While you have them register for the free prize, you also give them an opportunity to browse around to see what you have to offer and it also allows you to engage them in small talk.

 

5)  Reasonable Prices.  Knock a couple of dollars off of the regular price for your products. You should always make the potential customer feel like they’re getting a good deal. 

 

As a woman in business you’re going to find that everywhere you go potential customers will make judgments about your product, your credibility and your character based on the quality of your presentation.

Tweet This Post