Sir, your fly is, er, down

Every once in a while you see a small exhibitor with a fresh idea of how to gather a crowd and get attention. At NACS this year, I met the guys from PestWest Environmental.

While they only had a 10x10 booth, they were close to the front of the hall. The company's roots are in lighting and lamps which, ultimately, led them to pest attraction and control (elimination). They had a popup backdrop with their logo and a draped table with samples of product and literature. Pretty typical small exhibit stuff. But their differentiator and conversation starter was the blow-up fly on a stick. Jerry and James used this prop effectively by standing in the aisle (hey, remember the easement approach to space?) and getting attention. It started a lot of conversations. And once they engaged a propsect, they had their messages down succinctly. Worked with me.

The point of all this is simple things and ideas work. Remember why you are there and think about what gets your prospects' attention and ear. Then, once you've "hooked" them, get to the point fast and clearly.

Lesson learned: simple ideas and visuals work.

TTSG

Special thanks to Jerry Hatch and James Shaffer from Pest West (www.pestwest.com or www.lampcompactor.com)