There is no doubt that free promotional gifts work to attract attention and increase awareness of your business, product or service offering and you.  Those that believe they do not work are simply not using this promotional tool in an appropriate manner and the end result is a warm fuzzy feeling for being generous or frustration at producing no results.  Those who do use promotional gifts properly end up with more face time with prospects, increased networking opportunities and ultimately, more sales and profits.

I’ve seen promotional gifts arrayed like a candy display on so many trade show displays at every trade show I’ve attended with staff who do not understand why giveaways are there in the first place.  When I’ve exhibited, I’ve seen attendees helping themselves to whatever free promotional gift was on offer and walk off without even making eye contact with myself or my staff.

If I want to give away free stuff, there are cheaper ways to do it than renting space at an exhibition!

Giveaways are first and foremost to be used to engage prospects into your booth and have a meaningful business conversation.  The focus is business; qualifying your prospect, providing information on your product or service that meets their needs and ultimately, gaining an order either at the show or afterwards on follow up.

It makes sense in this light to use free promotional gifts as a reward.

When you provide a giveaway, tie the gift to something that is relevant to your business and the purpose of your presence at the tradeshow.  I like to have the prospect complete a short quiz on the product line, usually a simple question or maybe three but no more which also includes their name and contact information.  Even better, have the prospect go through a demonstration of the product before they qualify for a giveaway.

Because I am not giving out a ton of freebies, I have the budget to buy a smaller volume of much better promotional gifts than my usual neighbors at tradeshows and these are valued much more highly than the run-of-the-mill gifts.

I’ve also learned to say “No!” when someone asks for a gift but does not wish to engage in business discussion; every old tradeshow hand has seen attendees with plastic bags bulging with promotional gifts as they move from booth to booth in search of a freebie but actually do very little business and bluntly are a waste of my time.  Best to say “No!” and they learn not to bother you unless they are serious about doing business.

Whatever giveaway you are looking to use, make sure your booth staff are fully aware of what the gift is for – it is a reward for attendees who actively engage in business discussion.