Trade show magicians are one of the many ways to build booth traffic and separate your company from others on the floor.

At a trade show you not only have to compete against your competition's sales reps but also you have to compete against all the 'attention-grabbing' strategies they use.

Louder doesn't always mean more traffic.

One thing that really draws a crowd IS a crowd.

If you want to build a small crowd that grows larger, consider how magic works on people.

It is irresistible!

Even better, a good trade show magician understands his (or her) role on the floor and works for you to build an interested, feel-good crowd.

If you are planning to use trade show magic to draw a crowd . . . and it will, then you need to go one step further.

Just doing magic for the audience that will build in your booth is not enough.

You have to have a plan!

There are really two things you have to do to make this not just a good strategy but a great one.

First.

You have to find a way to engage people during or after the magic to find who they are. Look at your booth layout, train your staff and create some sign up tools.

But in some way you have to take advantage of the fact a large crowd has stopped at your booth.

Second.

You must ensure your key marketing message is incorporated into the act. Trade show magic is not really about entertaining people, although good magic does just that. People in good moods are easier to approach and build rapport with.

But this is a chance to add that EXTRA piece of having a larger group hear your key marketing message.

This will work great if your trade show audience is as laser-focused as your target market.

For example, if your target is dentists, and you are at a dental convention you don't need to spend much time qualifying to discover if you have a dentist in front of you or not. They will be.

But if you are at a technology show, you may be talking to anyone from the VP to a programmer so you need to find out who they are.

So take this chance to get your message to your audience. A special offer at the end would do the trick.

Spend the time BEFORE the show during your planning sessions (you do do planning don't you?) to use trade show magic to go to the next level.