Tradeshow Sales: Will Prospects Buy?

Knowing When There's Interest in Your Tradeshow Sales Efforts

How can you identify when a booth visitor is interested and open to being sold on a product or service? It might be more about how that person appears and moves, rather than what's being said. Following are four indicators of a prospect's interest in buying your product or service.

Relaxed or Uptight Stance

When people visit an expo and hear a sales pitch about a product they are not interested in buying, they're likely going to be uncomfortable. And, if they're uncomfortable, there's a good probably they'll be looking for a polite way out.

If you notice their eyes looking away from your display area or tense body gestures and tight fists, they are not going to be interested in what you have to say regardless of how beneficial your product or services may be.

Though, when a salesperson has has struck a chord and made a connection, the tradeshow attendee will most likely exhibit a relaxed posture and be eager to hear more about your offering.

Type of Facial Expressions

The eyes reveal a lot about what someone is thinking and feeling. Viable prospects will look interested and ask questions. Look for cues including direct eye contact, relaxed facial muscles, and smiling facial gestures.

Any time you notice booth visitors with raised eyebrows, a stiff set to the mouth, and inordinate blinking of the eyes, it's likely a good idea to stop where you're at and move on to the next prospect.

Direction of the Feet

Whether people realize it or not, their feet typically point to where their minds want to go. A person's feet can also reveal a lot about what someone is thinking.

When prospects visit an exhibit display area and are genuinely interested and engaged in the tradeshow sales discussion, their feet will be pointed in the direction of the salesperson who is talking. If they have no interest in the product or service, their feet will be turned to one side or the other.

Positioning of Hands And Arms

As mentioned previously, a relaxed posture indicates interest on the part of the listener. And a significant portion of this relaxed appearance involves what the is doing with his or her hands and arms.

If the booth salesperson observes both hands appearing relaxed with arms open or in a comfortable position, the show attendee may have strong interest in buying.

Conversely, tightly crossed arms, squeezed hands or fingers, aggressive hand movements, and fidgeting are all signs that the prospect is not interested in what you have to offer.

When exhibiting and conducting tradeshow sales,"reading" body language can help focus a salesperson's time and effort on the individuals who are most likely to buy.

Source: Information by Chris Harmen, a writer for Skyline Trade show Displays in Las Vegas, Nevada.