08/07/2025
If You Exhibit – Read This First
Over the past two weeks, I’ve attended the Barnsley Business Expo and the Midlands Business Expo. These events are designed to create opportunities, yet I walked an entire row of stands at the Midlands show, and only one person spoke to me. Just one. That same person was the only one who followed up afterwards Suly Peerally a website conversion specialist, by 5pm on the day of the Midlands Expo had sent me a loom video of how my website could improve to aid conversion, that was impressive and stands out.
I even went back and tried to start conversations. It was hard work.
Here are my golden rules for exhibitions based on real experience
❌ What NOT to do:
- Sit behind your desk all day looking unapproachable
- Bury yourself in your laptop or phone
- Avoid eye contact with visitors
- Let people walk by without a simple “hello”
- Fail to capture contact details, you are there to grow your network
✅ What TO do instead:
- Stand in front of your desk, look open to conversation, smile and engage
- Prioritise speaking with visitors over chatting with colleagues
- If you're nervous about rejection, flip the mindset: make it a game. Aim for 20 rejections, you will be surprised how many conversations you win along the way
- Capture visitor details in any format (QR code, form, paper business card, digital business card, whatever works)
- Follow up immediately, don’t let warm interest go cold
- Have an idea about what you want to get out of the event
And there is lots more tips too, exhibitions aren’t just a tick box exercise. They’re a chance to connect, create new relationships, re-establish old ones, and move your business forward.
At Nexus 360, we help businesses make the most of every event, by enabling multi-channel lead capture, automating follow-ups, and and nurturing leads into sales.
If you’re exhibiting soon and want to learn more about how we can help make the most from it then send me a message and we can have a chat.
Get visible. Get talking. And remember—the fortune really is in the follow-up.