Attracting crowds is a matter of leveraging the power of natural human curiosity. If you can get just a few people to stop and gather round, the small crowd will naturally attract more and more people until you’ve got a large audience.

This is the same phenomenon that brings traffic on a highway to a standstill for miles when a few cars slow down to gawk at even the smallest fender bender.

With so much competition in the exhibition hall, you’ll need to devise a strategy that makes your trade show display booth stand out from the crowd.

Make arrangements well in advance of show dates to take advantage of any early-bird discounts and save yourself a headache at the show. Call your event sponsor and/or the contact person at the event site to confirm all of your materials and booth have arrived and are waiting for you.

Purchase lead retrieval services if they are available from show management or contract agencies. Lead retrieval systems often come in the form of card readers, which can be used to gather important company information about visitors to your booth.

Offer a unique promotional item. This item is usually personalized with your company name and logo; try to offer an item that's useful, so that your prospects will keep it in front of them, or edible, so that prospects don't have too much to carry home in suitcases. For example, have a pen handy. Pens are small, easy to carry and functional.

Obtain a list of preregistered attendees before the show. Mail them a letter or direct mail piece that will inform them about your company's products and services and give them your booth number and location. Intice them with a giveawy, "for the first 100 people that signs up for our newsletter, receive a free item!" Or better yet, offer frequent giveaways to attract a "buzz" around your area. How many times have you said to yourself, "oooh, what's going on there, lets take a look!".

Arrange your booth to allow easy access to customers and prospects who will want to browse your booth. A banner is always highly recommended to help attract prospects from a distance. Depending on the product or service you are trying to offer, make sure its simple and to the point, yet makes the prospect want to engage you. A table or counter in front of a booth usually discourages a lot of booth traffic. If you are having an outdoor event, make sure you have the proper outdoor shelter to allow your propects to browse your material without the fear of raining or drying them up from excessive heat.

Take only your best company representatives along to staff the booth. They must be on their feet all day - greeting, smiling, talking and selling - so you want people with product knowledge, energy and enthusiasm.

Make company product literature readily available. This allows prospects with limited time the opportunity to get information about your company and peruse it later when they have more time. Know your competitors and what they offer. This might be key in closing your deal!

Follow up after the show with a letter (thanking your prospect for stopping by the booth) and a company brochure. After your prospects have had time to receive this packet, it is appropriate for a sales representative to call and discuss their potential needs. It is important to do this as soon as possible because 1) they still have you in mind and 2) you sure don't want your competitor closing the deal first. Don't forget to thank your prospects and if it warrants, send them a small promotional item as a reminder. That way, when they are ready for your service and/or product, they have that unique item that they picked up from your event or mail.