I’ve used prize draws in the past and use them today and I have no doubts that I’ll be using them in the future.

The question isn’t whether prize draws work or not but how to make sure they work for you – the question is really like “How long is a piece of string?”

A good prize draw will attract visitors to your trade show display and you will be able to very simply and easily capture a lot of information about the attendee; after all if they expect to be notified of winning a prize they have to tell me how to be contacted now don’t they!

I make sure that the prize or prizes are something worthwhile; a bottle of champagne or fancy wine; a voucher for a weekend break or dinner at a swanky restaurant are all things I have used, and even on one occasion, we had a car up for grabs but that was for something very special and we shared the cost and the draw offering amongst several exhibitors.

The key thing is – the prizes have got to be worth it!

I also make sure that attendees who wish to enter have got to do something more than pop a business card in a box; sure they have to do that but I make them complete a prize draw questionnaire which requires they get correct answers to questions related to my company or especially, the product range I am promoting.

Then they have to attach their business card to the question card and in it goes to the draw.

the results have been pretty good in my experience and I almost always end up selling something to whoever wins in the draw; it is hard to say no to someone who has just given you a really decent gift.

Just as with any other contacts you collect at a trade show, you must follow up on teh contacts you have collected; it is worthwhile notifying the losers by telephone just as much as the winners and again, I have made numerous good referral contacts and better, new customers from such a tactic.

Yes, prize draws work!