You only have 3 seconds to make a first impression when someone walks by your tradeshow booth. Does your company name and tagline say exactly what you do? Or will passerbys have to ask “what do you do for a living?”

We pride ourselves in providing fresh content via our blog but this article from BestInShow.com is worthy of a repost:

It’s about the biggest cloud the trade show industry has lingered under for some time, but there is a chink of light for the first time in three years as the trade show and exhibitions sector recorded positive growth in the third quarter.

Figures from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) revealed that conference and trade show attendance rose 6.6% in the third quarter compared with the same period in 2009. That’s after nine straight quarters of negative growth.

The net square feet of exhibit space sold and number of exhibiting companies also rose by 5.2% in the same period. Even revenues – albeit projected – showed positive growth of 5.6% in Q3.

“This is most welcome news and tends to confirm some of the anecdotal reports we have reviewed. It should be noted that the third quarter is historically the weakest of the four quarters and has had the greatest decline,” commented CEIR President and CEO Doug Ducate. “The test will be to see if this positive trend continues into the fourth quarter of 2010 and then the all-important first quarter of 2011.”

You are standing by at your booth space at a major trade show. All sorts of vehicles and exposition personnel are all over the place, unloading crates or boxes containing a company’s booth and demo equipment. If you have 1,500 booths at a trade show, the day before when you are in the process of setting up, you can have as many as 3,000 people including exhibitors and exposition trade personnel setting up and installing booths, electrical, carpeting and fixtures. Until these crates and boxes are taken off the trade show floor you have to be ever vigilant that you do not get hit by a crate falling over after being nudged by a vehicle delivery boxes to another booth location.

When you are setting up you booth, don’t lay on the floor, especially in the middle of the aisle working on something for your booth.
Do you think these hi-lo operators loaded with boxes and crates are that observant as they speed around the facility making deliveries? You must stay alert, and always be aware of what is happening around you as you prepare for your trade show.

No one looks that good standing booth duty with their head wrapped in bandages. It may make for a good story, but certainly doesn’t help qualify opportunities.

Want better results from your next tradeshow effort? Want more visitors to your booth? Please watch and enjoy!