REFLECTIONS OF AN EXHIBITOR
With the exception of one ‘flip-flop’ wearing exhibitor I encountered recently, have you noticed how similar visitors and exhibitors are, and yet they do not always appear to behave similarly at the same event? Logically it makes sense – they are both in a neutral venue looking for something. For exhibitors it can be new business, leads, sales, orders, converts or old faces. Visitors attend seeking suppliers, ideas and education. They behave the same way because in many cases they are in fact the same people – exhibitors have probably visited many shows and a good number of visitors have at some time been an exhibitor.
Why then does wearing a visitor’s badge apparently widen the behavioural gulf from those who put on the exhibitor badge and how can we narrow the chasm? The answer it seems, lies with behavioural psychology – or more specifically one branch within it; namely mirroring behaviours. From research we know that we are more likely to buy from and do business with someone we like and trust. At a typical three day event the visitor will not get to know anyone well enough and yet, they find themselves inexorably ‘attracted’ to similar, likeable and hopefully trustworthy people. Some exhibitors seem to have a knack of putting visitors at ease and talking with them like they’ve been friends for years.
In the confines of this column, (and not wishing to embark on a disquisition about Neuro Linguistic Programming) we can argue that there are three simple areas within which we can make a difference: Rate of Speech, Vocabulary and Body Language. Addressing these in order then, given that the average rate of speech is calculated to be about 140 words per minute, speaking too quickly or too slowly widens the gap between you and your visitor. Assuming you reflect the norm in terms of rate of speech, if your visitor speaks quickly the advice is to speed up slightly and they will slow down to meet you. Conversely if they speak slowly, slow down your rate of speech and they will speed up towards your rate. In terms of vocabulary listen for the level of diction and vocabulary they use and reflect this. You are easily capable of deciding whether to “impart some information”, “share some thoughts” or “dish the dirt”. Finally with experts alleging that body language accounts for some 80 – 85 percent of our communication, ensure you maintain open and positive mannerisms throughout your interchange.
Remember other than a badge signifying one party is a ‘buyer’ and the other a ‘seller’ we are probably the same as they are. We laugh at the same things and cringe at the same things. Use your own experience as a visitor at other events to formulate how your visitor prefers to be treated. Next time you look in a mirror, try to see the visitor looking back at you smiling – but hopefully not wearing flip-flops!