Non-Verbal Communications

Han Leenhouts on stage with microphone - pointing

Straight Talk from Han Leenhouts (Part 2)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Asia, Best Practices, Brazil, China, Communications, Culture, Dubai, Europe, Gender, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Language, Latin America, Marketing, Mexico, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Singapore, Strategy, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Verbal Communications

Han Leenhouts Unfiltered! (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of a two-part interview with Han Leenhouts author of Sales & Pepper, based in The Hague (Den Haag), The Netherlands.

This is one of the most fun, exciting, and inspirational episodes that we’ve had on The Global Exhibitor Podcast! In this interview, hosted by Jeff Hannah you can experience Han’s electric personality, and magnetic passion through his dynamic, engaging, and direct (Dutch) style. The primary focus of this episode is the importance of booth staff selection, training and engagement.

In this episode, Jeff asks Han to differentiate between the Dutch culture and mindset in comparison to other countries in Europe. Han talks about what Americans might not understand when working with the Dutch. They talk about the direct communications style, and the importance of being authentic and genuine.

Han emphasizes the importance of booth staff training and what the process generally looks like – involving both pre-show training as well as on-site coaching. He talks about setting goals for the show and how to measure where those goals are met.

Han elaborates on how asking the “right” questions is an important step in learning how to engage with people you have never met before. The right questions help to quickly qualify your potential leads and determine where to take the conversation. Han is a firm believer in being bold, taking risks, and stepping out of your comfort zone – which is what it takes in order to be really successful in trade show marketing.

As a side note, Jeff and Han briefly discuss perspectives on the war in Ukraine, as well as how Dutch DJ’s compare to others in the world! You don’t want to miss that!

Han Leenhouts is an internationally acclaimed author, keynote speaker, trainer, and coach in the trade show industry. Han is the author of Sales & Pepper, a book focused on the best ways to engage with people on the trade show floor, in conjunction with an effective exhibit. He is also the author of Peppertalk 2.0, which is focused on open-ended, thought-provoking questions which can be used to effectively engage with others on the show floor. Han owns Sales & Pepper, a training and coaching firm based in The Netherlands.

This interview was recorded live in Las Vegas at the luxurious Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, with host Jeff Hannah. Please also join us for Part 1 of this interview with Han Leenhouts.

Email: han@salesandpepper.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanleenhouts/

Website: https://salesandpepper.com/

Han Leenhouts on stage with microphone - pointing

Straight Talk from Han Leenhouts (Part 1)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Asia, Best Practices, Brazil, China, Communications, Culture, Dubai, Europe, Gender, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Language, Latin America, Marketing, Mexico, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Singapore, Strategy, Taiwan, Thailand, The Netherlands, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Verbal Communications

Han Leenhouts Unfiltered! (Part 1)

This is Part 1 of a two-part interview with Han Leenhouts author of Sales & Pepper, based in The Hague (Den Haag), The Netherlands.

This is one of the most fun, exciting, and inspirational episodes that we’ve had on The Global Exhibitor Podcast! In this interview, hosted by Jeff Hannah you can experience Han’s electric personality, and magnetic passion through his dynamic, engaging, and direct (Dutch) style. The primary focus of this episode is the importance of booth staff selection, training and engagement.

Han is focused on outcomes! But, far too many get it wrong! As part of his consultative, training, and coaching initiatives, Han works globally with brands to help establish and reach goals for their trade show participation. With clearly defined goals in mind, you can then work to achieve those goals – and recognize when you have or haven’t. Having the goals is important, but is not everything. Making the most of show floor interactions can make or break any trade show participation. Staff training is the next, hugely important component. Much of the booth staff training can happen in the planning phases, but some of it must happen on the show floor, in the actual physical environment in order to fully utilize the exhibit in the way it was designed to be used.

Jeff asks Han about his views on staffing a booth with marketing team members vs. sales vs. technical staff. Han talks in detail about how to select the right people to fill the various roles required on the show floor. Han gives his recommendations on the ideal mix of profiles for the roles, and how to play to people’s strengths. He focuses on the importance of booth staff attitude and outlook on working on the show floor. It is critical for them to understand their purpose, as well as the best ways to approach people and start meaningful interactions.

Respect for cultural differences is important for working across cultures. But, when looking for ways to engage with others, Han urges people to tap into the most basic and common human characteristics – those things we share in common – rather than focusing on our differences. Shaping questions in just the right way to capture a visitor’s attention immediately is essential in the busy, distracting, and fast-paced show floor environment. Han is a master at engaging both individuals and audiences.

Han Leenhouts is an internationally acclaimed author, keynote speaker, trainer, and coach in the trade show industry. Han is the author of Sales & Pepper, a book focused on the best ways to engage with people on the trade show floor, in conjunction with an effective exhibit. He is also the author of Peppertalk 2.0, which is focused on open-ended, thought-provoking questions which can be used to effectively engage with others on the show floor. Han owns Sales & Pepper, a training and coaching firm based in The Netherlands.

This interview was recorded live in Las Vegas at the luxurious Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, with host Jeff Hannah. Please join us for Part 2 of this interview with Han Leenhouts.

Email: han@salesandpepper.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanleenhouts/

Website: https://salesandpepper.com/

Exhibit at EuroShop

Tradeshow Engagement Optimization with Lee Ali (Part 2)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Asia, Best Practices, Branding, China, Communications, Culture, Europe, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Language, Latin America, London, Manchester, Marketing, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Singapore, Strategy, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Verbal Communications, Yorkshire

Tradeshow Engagement Optimization with Lee Ali (Part 2)

This is Part 2 of an interview with Lee Ali of Expo Stars Interactive, based in Manchester, England. Host Jeff Hannah asks Lee about the Five E’s of Engagement, booth staffing recommendations, and getting the right people in the right places in an exhibit.

Lee and Jeff discuss various outlooks regarding the attendee experience model in the post-COVID world. How have expectations of engagements and interactions changed during the past couple of years? What problems are we seeing now? And how are expectations continuing to change? It is more important than ever to staff your booth in the right way in order to achieve more successful outcomes.

A key insight that Lee has is that booth staffers tend to do too much talking and not enough listening as they are working an exhibit. Additionally, Lee makes some somewhat controversial statements about whether or not exhibiting is primarily a marketing activity or a sales activity. Jeff asks Lee about how to find the correct balance between sales, marketing, product or technical specialists, and senior executives.

Lee Ali is an international speaker, entrepreneur, business coach, mentor, sales strategist and a qualified iMA practitioner. He is widely regarded as the go-to source for attendee engagement and lead generation at global tradeshow exhibitions, conferences and live marketing events.

Lee’s passion from very early on in his business career has been understanding what makes people buy and how to truly connect with them so that they are deeply engaged with what you do.

As well as contributing his valuable insights to industry press and media, Lee has been invited to speak at various conferences across the world on audience engagement including; UFI Asia Pacific Conference in Malaysia, Middle East Event Show in Dubai, Sales and Marketing Expo in LA, The Business Show in London, Expo Expo! in Las Vegas, EXHIBITORLIVE in Las Vegas, Event Tech Live in London and more. Lee also hosts the “In Conversation with Expo Stars” podcast interviewing experts from the tradeshow industry.

Lee founded Expo Stars Interactive, an award winning exhibition engagement company, to support exhibitors worldwide to engage more attendees to their booth, convert them into qualified sales leads, raise their brand awareness, and deliver measurable results.

Since 2007, the Expo Stars team have been supporting exhibitors at all the major global exhibitions including Arab Health, Mobile World Congress, CES, GITEX, BAUMA, HPE Discover, Cisco Live, Black Hat, Microsoft Convergence, CONEXPO-CON/AGG and many more.

Lee is also passionate about health and well-being. He is a qualified Reiki practitioner and incorporates the power of positive energy into his unique 5 E’s framework for personal, business, sales and marketing success.

This interview was recorded online from both Manchester, England (UK) and Dayton, Ohio (USA) with host Jeff Hannah.

Part 1 of the interview with Lee.

Email: lee@expostars.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeali5/

Website: https://www.expostars.com/

Lee Ali, MD of Expo Stars Interactive

Lee Ali
Exhibit at EuroShop

Tradeshow Engagement Optimization with Lee Ali (Part 1)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Abu Dhabi, Argentina, Asia, Best Practices, Brazil, China, Communications, Culture, Dubai, Europe, Germany, Graphics, Hong Kong, Language, Latin America, London, Manchester, Marketing, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Strategy, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Verbal Communications, Yorkshire

Tradeshow Engagement Optimization with Lee Ali (Part 1)

In this episode, host Jeff Hannah interviews Lee Ali of Expo Stars Interactive, based in Manchester, England. In this episode, Jeff asks Lee about several unique aspects of his work and business model. This is part one of a two-part series with Lee.

Lee discusses his Remote Exhibiting Model, which is a new development born in the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, when companies were prevented from traveling due to restrictions of one kind or another. This Model allows companies to still participate in trade shows in a very real, legitimate, and effective way, even when their own staff members cannot attend IRL.

Lee also discusses his outlook regarding the attendee experience model in the post-COVID world. How have expectations of engagements and interactions changed during the past couple of years? And how do they continue to change? Due to show attendance still down from the previous era, exhibitors are spending similar (if not more) dollars but getting access to fewer attendees. So, what can and should exhibitors do to address that in the most effective way possible?

Lee shares insights on cultural differences and their relative importance in the exhibition world and on the show floor. And he talks in depth about a new phrase which he recently coined, “Tradeshow Engagement Optimization” – also known as TEO.

Lee Ali is an international speaker, entrepreneur, business coach, mentor, sales strategist and a qualified iMA practitioner. He is widely regarded as the go-to source for attendee engagement and lead generation at global tradeshow exhibitions, conferences and live marketing events.

Lee’s passion from very early on in his business career has been understanding what makes people buy and how to truly connect with them so that they are deeply engaged with what you do.

As well as contributing his valuable insights to industry press and media, Lee has been invited to speak at various conferences across the world on audience engagement including; UFI Asia Pacific Conference in Malaysia, Middle East Event Show in Dubai, Sales and Marketing Expo in LA, The Business Show in London, Expo Expo! in Las Vegas, EXHIBITORLIVE in Las Vegas, Event Tech Live in London and more. Lee also hosts the “In Conversation with Expo Stars” podcast interviewing experts from the tradeshow industry.

Lee founded Expo Stars Interactive, an award winning exhibition engagement company, to support exhibitors worldwide to engage more attendees to their booth, convert them into qualified sales leads, raise their brand awareness, and deliver measurable results.

Since 2007, the Expo Stars team have been supporting exhibitors at all the major global exhibitions including Arab Health, Mobile World Congress, CES, GITEX, BAUMA, HPE Discover, Cisco Live, Black Hat, Microsoft Convergence, CONEXPO-CON/AGG and many more.

Lee is also passionate about health and well-being. He is a qualified Reiki practitioner and incorporates the power of positive energy into his unique 5 E’s framework for personal, business, sales and marketing success.

This interview was recorded online from both Manchester, England (UK) and Dayton, Ohio (USA) with host Jeff Hannah.

Part 2 of the Interview with Lee.

Email: lee@expostars.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeali5/

Website: https://www.expostars.com/

Lee Ali, MD of Expo Stars Interactive

Lee Ali
Exhibit at EuroShop 2020

Engagement Strategies with Designer Scott Wojda

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Best Practices, Branding, Communications, Culture, Design, Dusseldorf, Europe, Germany, Graphics, Language, Lighting, Marketing, Middle East, New Zealand, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Strategy, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United States

Czech Republic Designer Scott Wojda Discusses His Unique Approach to Engagements

Host Jeff Hannah interviews Scott Wojda, President of Global Creative Group based in the Czech Republic. Jeff interviewed Scott during EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

Jeff has a very interesting conversation with Scott about his agency’s approach to storytelling, strategy, creating engagements, and the overall design of exhibitry. Scott has a deep understanding of how to capture peoples’ interest, and a unique approach to translating that into outstanding environments.

Growing-up in California, Scott is bilingual and of Czech heritage. He earned a degree in Industrial Design at the highly acclaimed Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He now lives with his family in the Czech Republic, where his company, Global Creative Group is headquartered.

Global Creative Group is a digital event agency with locations in Southern California and in the Czech Republic. Global Creative Group works with brands from around the world to design outstanding exhibits which attract, engage, and tell meaningful stories.

This interview was recorded during EuroShop 2020 at the Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany at the Exhibitor Magazine booth on the show floor.

This trade show (EuroShop) was one of the last major trade shows to be held before the COVID-19 Pandemic caused shows globally to be cancelled. EuroShop is the world’s largest trade fair for the retail industry, trade shows and associated sectors. There are over 90,000 attendees at the show, with more than 2,000 exhibitors from 56 countries.

Global Creative Group

Email: scott@globalcreative.eu

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottwojda

Jeff Hannah with Scott Wojda at EuroShop

Jeff Hannah & Scott Wojda
Joey DiFranco & Jeff Hannah Rethinking Events

Rethinking Events with Joey DiFranco & Jeff Hannah

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Best Practices, Branding, Communications, Covid-19, Design, Graphics, Language, Leadership, Marketing, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Strategy, United States, Verbal Communications, Videos

Joey DiFranco & Jeff Hannah – Thought Leadership in Virtual Events

In this episode, we are re-airing a panel interview with Jeff Hannah and Joey DiFranco from the main stage at Rethinking Events, a recent virtual event which explores how virtual events are exploding and developing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Joey is a media futurist and expert in experiential technology. Joey is also the Director of the NEXT Lab at Exhibit Concepts – “New Experiential Technologies” – which is focused on all things technology-related, such as virtual events, augmented reality, virtual reality, audio-visual, and much more. Jeff Hannah is the Vice President of Interiors, International, and Creative at Exhibit Concepts, and has oversight of the NEXT Lab. Both of these industry thought leaders are interviewed by Masten Worley, Director of Sales at Exhibit Concepts.

This is a dynamic conversation which explores the role of virtual events in the overall marketing mix, what kinds of mistakes companies often make when implementing online events. They talk about the challenges and difficulties of creating and managing virtual events. And, they discuss what the future may look like in terms of the mix between virtual and in-real-life (IRL) events.

This interview was recorded in Dayton, Ohio.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joey-difranco-creative/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreyhannah/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mastenworley/

Bin Yu CEO of HitLights

Bin Yu – “My American Dream”

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Age, Asia, Authority, China, Communications, Culture, Hong Kong, Language, Leadership, Lighting, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Taiwan, United States, Verbal Communications

Bin Yu of HitLights Shares His American Dream

In this episode, host Jeff Hannah interviews Bin Yu, Ph.D, Founder & CEO of HitLights, a top provider of LED technologies for trade show exhibits, and other industry sectors. Bin is a native of China, but pursued his American dream by earning his Ph.D. at Louisiana State University (LSU) in the USA. He shares part of his fascinating entrepreneurial journey, what inspires him, and the mindset which has helped him to succeed in so many areas of life.

Jeff also discusses with Bin the differences between the Chinese and American cultures and business environments, the concept of guanxi, learning as a lifestyle, and leading millennial employees.

HitLights has offices in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in Chino, California, and in Shenzhen, China.

As founder of HitLights, Bin makes a positive impact by developing loyal and caring relationships. His company HITlights has won 2017 and 2016 Honoree of the LSU 100: Fastest Growing Tiger Businesses, The Company doubled the revenue in 2018 and launched the China-Shenzhen E-commerce office. Bin Yu has been nominated 2016 Young Businessperson of the Year by Business Report. Bin is a man of many passions, entrepreneurship, connecting/bridging, environmental protection, and LED lighting solutions. These passions have helped to sculpt the way he does business. As an EOer-Orange county, he is really grateful for the benefits that EO has brought in the last 6 years.

Giving back to the community is deeply important to Bin, and he likes to make business reflect that. So, his company Hitlights gives internship opportunities to LSU Fellowship (Entrepreneur) Program every year, and they sponsor the 2nd and 3rd LSU Student Incubator’s annual Venture Challenge.

His personal and family life purpose is to make an impact and spread positive energy by learning and connecting. He is an active runner and love scuba-diving and meditation.

This interview was recorded at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Email: byu@hitlights.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/binyuled

Jeff Hannah Speaks at EuroShop 2020

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Age, Authority, Best Practices, Branding, Communications, Culture, Dusseldorf, Europe, Gender, Germany, Graphics, Language, Latin America, Leadership, Loose Time, Marketing, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Precise Time, Relationships, Strategy, Time, United Kingdom, United States

Jeff Hannah Speaks at EuroShop 2020

In this episode, host Jeff Hannah speaks at EuroShop 2020 in Düsseldorf, Germany as part of the IFES Expo & Event Stage. Jeff’s lecture was titled Cultural Frameworks – which highlights the need for focusing on the dimensions of national culture. Jeff states that cultural differences are one of the most ignored aspects of international trade show programs.

Neglecting subtle nuances in cross-cultural business can be devastating, as unrealized components of culture can damage business relationships and nullify marketing efforts. Recognizing that all business is conducted within the “context of culture” helps one to see things from a totally different perspective. This session provides a brief overview of the various dimensions of culture which should considered when exhibiting in other countries, such as:

IFES is the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services, headquartered in Europe. Jeff’s lecture was hosted by IFES as part of their series called, The Art of Exhibition, an important aspect of the educational program provided at EuroShop.

EuroShop is the world’s largest trade fair for the retail industry, trade shows and associated sectors. There are over 90,000 attendees at the show, with more than 2,000 exhibitors from 56 countries. It is the source of information and inspiration for professionals and decision-makers on every conceivable aspect of retailing. It is the showcase for trends and innovations. A hot spot for sales and marketing experts seeking new ideas to spotlight and sell their company’s products and services even better.

This interview was recorded at the Messe Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, Germany – and moderated by the infamous Han Leenhouts from The Netherlands.

Jeff Hannah on LinkedIn

Email: jeff@globalexhibitor.com

Chloe Richardson – a Woman of Many Talents! (Part 3)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Asia, Australia, Branding, Communications, Culture, Europe, Gender, Germany, Language, Latin America, Leadership, London, Marketing, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Relationships, Saudi Arabia, Strategy, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Verbal Communications, Yorkshire

Jeff Hannah Interviews Chloe Richardson – Linguist & Exhibition Sales Strategist

In this episode, host Jeff Hannah interviews Chloe Richardson, a linguist – and sales strategist within the exhibition and trade show industry globally. She speaks about 5 or 6 languages – and teaches language. She also works in the exhibition and trade show industry, specializing in sales strategy, rebook consultancy, sales team support, business development, client engagement, the customer journey and process management. And she also does translation work on a regular basis.

Chloe’s home base is in London, where she is today. But, Chloe works in a diverse array of industries across the world, including Europe, North America, Russia and Eurasia, China, India, South East Asia and Africa.

Chloe holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and Portuguese from the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom. One little secret about Chloe…is that she has spent a significant part of her life working in the entertainment industry, being a vocalist, pianist and actress. Chloe is just super-talented, extremely articulate and just fun to be around!!

Chloe shares lots of great insights across this 3-part series. She discusses the importance of language in relation to travel – and to the trade show and exhibition world in general; she talks about cultural differences, travel tips, how to engage with strangers, how to create trust & respect, perceptions across borders, and developing a better understanding of the audience you are trying to engage with.

This interview was recorded in London, United Kingdom & Dayton, Ohio, USA.

Part 1 of my interview with Chloe.

Part 2 of my interview with Chloe.

Chloe Richardson on LinkedIn

Website: www.explori.com

Email: c.richardson@explori.com

EuroShop 2017

Steve Tustain – Seeing Germany through British Eyes (Part 2)

Posted on by Jeff Hannah | In Communications, Culture, Design, Europe, Germany, Language, London, Middle East, Non-Verbal Communications, North America, Podcast, Precise Time, Relationships, Time, United Kingdom, United States, Yorkshire

Jeff Hannah Interviews Steve Tustain – a British Man Living in Germany

In this episode, host Jeff Hannah interviews Steve Tustain of MDL Expo International GmbH. They discuss the separation between private and professional life in Germany, and building credibility with German colleagues. They discuss the Bavarian (Bayern) region of Germany and how business and mindsets differ there from some other regions of Germany. Steve talks about the looming issue of Brexit, how it might impact the UK as well Europe in general. Steve gives some fantastic advice to exhibit managers and event planners who are planning shows or events in Germany and throughout Europe.

Jeff also asks Steve about how he got started in this industry with his background in architecture.

Steve Tustain was born in the UK, and studied architecture at The University of Hull in Yorkshire, England. He also studied at the Sheffield Hallam University in the United Kingdom, before moving to Germany.

Jeff and Steve had overlapping tenures at Gielissen Interiors & Exhibitions, based in Eindhoven. Steve was based in Germany, where he has lived for more than 20 years now. He has broad global experience and works across multiple industries for many recognized brands. Steve Tustain is currently the Sales Manager for MDL Expo International GmbH, based near Frankfurt.

Be sure to listen to Part 1 of this interview with Steve Tustain.

This interview was recorded in Dayton, Ohio.

MDL Expo International GmbH

Steve Tustain LinkedIn English

Steve Tustain LinkedIn Germany

Email: steve.tustain@mdl-expo.com