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How to make the most of ConnectNigeria’s e-business fair

By Ikenna Nwachukwu
22 January 2018   |   3:33 am
Businesses have a lot to gain from attending trade events. Commercial exhibitions and industry conferences present them with the chance to give their brands great public exposure...

Businesses have a lot to gain from attending trade events. Commercial exhibitions and industry conferences present them with the chance to give their brands great public exposure, make big sales, learn current industry best practices and trends, and link up with new business partners and prospects. And at ConnectNigeria’s E-Business Fair, Africa’s largest SME event, entrepreneurs are set to gain all these and more.

Thousands of SMEs, startups, top brands and attendees will gather to showcase their products and services, forge new business alliances, and scoop up great bargains. Nigeria’s finest business-tech experts, corporate executives and high-flying startup founders will reveal their favourite business growth strategies to entrepreneurs at the event’s panel sessions. Deals will be done, sales will be made, connections will be created, ideas will be born. And it’s free to attend!
Here are some tips to help you maximize your experience and make the most of the opportunities you’ll find at the ConnectNigeria E-Business Fair.

Set goals
Plan for a successful outing at the fair by setting goals to achieve at the event. Ask yourself these questions: Why do I want to attend this trade show? Do I intend to make massive sales, get the public to notice my brand, or find out what my competitors are up to? Having decided what your general goals are, you should go on to set specific targets. Note the volume of sales you want to make, the number of leads you would like to generate, and the number of potential partners you want to talk to.

Make your booth stand out
A stand that is set up in a creative, eye-catching way will do the trick. You may use interactive touchscreen devices to attract and engage visitors to your stand. Those displays should have some information about your product and how it works. They could help turn your visitors into buying customers.

Use social media
Advertise your participation at the ConnectNigeria E-Business Fair on social media and create an exciting buildup to the event before it takes place. Share updates on the show while it’s going on. A good tool for this is Twitter. It could help if you are able to use the event’s official hashtag, so that people interested in the event will know that you are there.

Tick the good impressions box
People do judge books by their covers; they also judge people by the clothes they wear. Decent, smart, professional; these should be your dress rules for the event. Courtesy and congeniality are good assets to deploy in conversations you have with people. They will be more eager to know what your business is about if they find you to be a down-to-earth person, rather than a marketer preoccupied with selling his product to them.

Make your staff compete
You can get the most out of your staff by framing their participation at the E-Business Fair as a competition. The rule would be to award a gift to the person who makes the greatest volume of sales or racks up the highest number of leads. This could motivate your staff to put in much more effort and get more creative in the quest to qualify for a reward from their bosses.

Exchange business cards. Lots of them.
This simply means that you should make as many new connections as you can at the event. You may find a good number of partners, suppliers and leads by interacting with other businesses. Don’t forget to exchange business cards after every meaningful discussion with a potentially valuable contact.

Follow up leads
This should be done soon after the trade show ends. Leads gathered should be ranked based on the likelihood that they will translate to sales, and the sort of benefits they could add to your business. The ones at the top of the list should be pursued first and given the most attention.

Stay updated
Keep in touch with ConnectNigeria for more information as the countdown to the E-Business Fair continues. Visit connectnigeria.com, and follow on social media – @ConnectNigeria

ConnectNigeria’s e-business fair will take place on Saturday, 3rd February, 2018 in Lagos. Register to attend for free on the website. Intending exhibitors or sponsors can call 0809 800 5000.

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