Always like to look at articles that talk about ways to save money, especially for small businesses like mine. So when top blogger Liz Strauss tweeted a link to an article on Forbes.com titled, The 10 Dumbest Things Businesses Buy, I was intrigued. But I wasn’t prepared for one of the dumbest things mentioned: tradeshows.

What? Tradeshows a dumb “thing” to buy? As a promotional products marketing advisor who makes a living from events and tradeshow activity, you can imagine I was a little put off by it. But I realize that I have a personal bias and stake in the argument. So to be fair I read on to find out what the rationale was. And I wasn’t prepared for the following commentary either.

The owner of a children’s clothing company was quoted as saying that tradeshows cost way more money than they bring in. But the kicker was when the article stated that the owner “still goes to shows but she doesn’t rent the booth. Instead she walks the floor and networks with buyers.”

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Needless to say I was totally incensed! I have seen this parasitic behavior at shows. There’s a local trade event where alcohol is served on the show floor. What some potential exhibitors who don’t want to pay the booth rental do is buy a couple hundred drink tickets and then schmooze with attendees on the show floor… in front of their exhibiting competitors! I could not believe that the show management did not escort them out the door.

Essentially, these people want the traffic the tradeshow producers sweat to get and steal traffic from the exhibitors who have paid money to be there. Even if these people pay a show entrance fee, it doesn’t nearly cover the benefits they receive from “networking” at the show or the cost that show producers and exhibitors have paid. Even worse is that some of the parasites get in by registering for free show attendance. The double whammy! A similar scenario is caused by those who want to host “hospitality suites” in lieu of exhibiting.

What are some ways to decrease this detrimental behavior?

For exhibitors…

• Exhibit at Relevant Events – If a show isn’t getting the results you want, seek out others. Do your homework! If you do visit a show prior to exhibiting at it, network with the other exhibitors that are not direct competitors… not the show attendees. Ask your industry colleagues if they’ve found it to be a good event.
• Qualify, Follow Up and Be Patient – Rarely will a tradeshow provide immediate sales results. Depending on the type of show and industry, results could take months (years?) to develop. Qualification and follow-up are key.

For show producers…

• Show ‘Em the Door – If you observe or receive reports about a tradeshow parasite, you should have them politely escorted off the show floor to discuss that their behavior is unacceptable. Tradeshows might be open to the public, but that doesn’t mean it’s a public place. You own the event and the ability to dismiss those that don’t play fair. Maybe you should show them the exhibiting brochure while you’re showing them the door. No, wait, if they’re this much trouble, you might not want them as exhibitors.
• Emphasize that You’re a People Producer – Facility, pipe and drape, carpeting, signage… that’s the stuff of shows. But what you really are is a “people producer.” You provide a flow of potential prospects to your exhibitors. The cost to produce prospective people by an individual company is huge by comparison to what you can provide.

Got a good tradeshow parasite story to tell? We’d love to hear how you dealt with it.

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