Once you get into a convention, where your table is located can be a crapgame. Are you next to the food court, bathrooms, or stuck in a corner?

With smaller shows it might not matter, but with large shows location can make a big difference in sales. Sometimes you just make the best of it. Other times what appears to be a prime spot turns tragic or vis versa.

We ran into something similar at a recent convention. The spot we were given was very nice, but on both side of us were large displays which didn’t, at first, appear to be a problem.

The one blocked our view in one direction, so we quickly reversed the display of our table. Unfortunately, the customers, or rather the friend of customers, on the other side of us, insisted on blocking our display. Not only did this prevent possible customers from seeing our booth, but those trying to find us walked right by. Even with the banner we had up. There’s a lot to look at in a large convention and it’s easy to stop seeing what’s right in front of you.

This is when being nice to those around you pays off.

The next morning, I rearranged the table again, and when talking to my neighbor explained what had happened to previous day. He was mortified and quickly rearranged his own tables. Both of us where much happier with the new table displays and the congestion quickly lessened. Sales went up and we both were happy.

Two big things were learned here. First, were how certain displays can affect the flow of a crowded aisle. Second, is that displays are not set in stone. Just because you’ve been doing something a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t change it how something’s done.

No matter what happens at a show there is always something new to learn. Whether it’s talking to other vendors who offer suggestion to problems or experimenting to find out what works. Each step builds on the one before.