Today on the blog we are hearing from Stephanie Sandford the Sales Director at Beauty Exhibitions Ltd who has been in the beauty industry since 1988! She is a qualified beauty therapist and over the years has worked with several leading brands in sales and training both nationally and internationally.
What are your tips for making the most out of an expo?
Approachability is key when it comes to attracting and engaging customers to your stand, so make your stand welcoming and attractive to visitors, and not just physically. You can have the most amazing branding and product offering but if the customer feels intimidated when it comes to stepping onto your stand you lose the opportunity for the face-to-face engagement that is so important in all industries and especially ours as a personal service industry. Smile, say hello, make the customer feel that they want to come and speak to you.
Preparation is key, ensure that your team have been fully briefed on your objectives and how you want them to present themselves and your brand and know your product or service inside out.
Silly things like not eating on the stand or huddling up together with your backs to the aisles or chatting too closely together as a team are all things that will put customer off approaching you as they will feel they’re ‘interrupting’.
Don’t be overpowering, let the customer feel their away around your stand without feeling stalked.
Always ensure that you have a pad/ipad to take notes, showing an interest in your customer and their business is paramount, if you want them to invest in you and your brand they need to feel that you are equally as invested in them.
Who's the coolest person/brand you've met/seen at the expo?
Soooo cannot answer that one lol!
Best stand that's ever been at the expo and why was it so good?
Over the years we have seen so many new brands enter the shows and the rebranding of many of the traditional brands with new stands built and ideas it would be hard to judge the ‘best’ with such a moving target, just when you think ‘wow that looks fab’ another new design pops up, but I’d certainly say the stands with the most ‘activity’ on are always the busiest and when demonstrating having a speaker miked up not only explaining the demos but also interacting with the audience is always a crowd winner.
What do you like about working for Beauty UK? Having spent most of my career as an exhibitor and falling in love with shows at the very beginning of my career it gives me great satisfaction to be working as a show organiser alongside the amazing bands that supply and service our industry.
This or That
Music or no music (on the stand)? – Personally, I think that music on a stand works really well, not too loud but definitely creates a great feel good factor!
Tea or coffee? – A glass of Prosecco/Bucks Fizz often goes down extremely well!
Thank you so much for all your advice Stephanie we can't wait to meet you and your team at Beauty UK this weekend. Want to pay our stand a visit in Coventry this weekend? Get tickets here for just £10, a huge industry giveaway worth over £500 has to be won by one of you plus 4 runners up!