Trade shows are the more "old school" methods of chasing down customers because they rely on interpersonal skills and face to face interactions with potential customers and other industry stakeholders.

Trade shows are exhibitions to promote products and services.

These include events like wedding expos, international trade fairs, food and fashion fairs and some other industry specific events like those organised by the Nigerian Society of Engineers NSE in Abuja of 2022.

Whether trade shows will be worth your while or not depends on the target audience for the event.

If it is going to be full of mostly industry peers, then maybe it's not a good idea to attend. if it'll have potential customers who are an overlap for your ideal customer base, then it might be a good idea to attend.

The skills needed to pull all these off are (1) merchandising and display skills for your stall or booth (2) conversational skills and rapport building (3) contact management and familiarity with a CRM (4) EQ emotional quotient which will come in handy for relationship building and follow up, and (5) the physical STAMINA to remain standing for upwards of 5 hours everyday while the event lasts.

Don't expect to make a sale or close a deal everyday at a trade fair if you deal in high ticket items which multiple people have to decide on before going ahead.

If this is the case, be prepared to have simple conversations at the event to follow up with them at a later date to see if there's a possibility for business to happen between both of you.

To get more on this and other topics discussed on the show, Subscribe For Free! to SALES FOR THE NIGERIAN BUSINESS PERSON in Spotify, Google podcasts, Apple/ iTunes, Pocket casts, & Anchor.