233 - Coach Nick Saban's Lessons - Halftime Adjustments for Tradeshows

233 - Coach Nick Saban's Lessons - Halftime Adjustments for Tradeshows

Author: Jim Cermak October 9, 2023 Duration: 9:03

Learn Lessons from Nick Saban, championship coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide Football team, on halftime adjustments he makes to dominate the 2nd half of games. Trade Show University founder and host, Jim Cermak, helps exhibitors and show planners understand how to take those lessons and use them for Victories at upcoming tradeshows and events!

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Nick Saban is known by some as the most successful second half coach in football history, because he knows how to make adjustments.

So that's, we're going to learn today is what does he do at halftime that you can learn about your trade shows and adjustments you can make and learn from him. So you could have an amazing show, not just the beginning of the show, but the end of the show as well.


Nick was recently interviewed and someone asked him, what is your key to success coming out from halftime? Especially there's times you're, you're dominated in the first half and how do you come back and end up winning time and time again.


1) You've got to have Good information.

That means you've got to have good data. You've got to be paying attention. What is happening when you're engaging with attendees? Are they reacting positively to the questions you are asking them? Which part of your booth are they being gravitated to? or are they not being drawn to your booth at all?


At some point you've got to Call timeout, get your team together. If it's a multi day show, it's at the end of that first day to make sure everyone is on board and you can find out what's going, what's working, what isn't, and how do you make those halftime adjustments?


2) You need to give assignments.

Everyone should have something that they're responsible for, for keeping track of, have one person whose assignment is where are people drawn to, where are they naturally walking up to in your booth? Who are they naturally walking up to? What kind of questions are working and which ones are not working? What things are people resonating with and which ones are they not? Are they loving your giveaways? You've got to give assignments to each person in your booth and have them responsible for paying attention So you can get good data good information.


3) You need to adjust what's not working and double down on what is just what's not working and double down on what is.

If something's not working, you got to mix it up, you got to have different people out front trying different things, adjusting your people, the literature, what is going on in your booth. Adjust the questions that you're asking people so that you can have better results. And if something's working, do more of it.


4) Change things up day two. Well, he, he didn't say change things up day two. That's me saying it. What he said was have a game plan ready to start the second half, even before the game. So he said, every coach has those. First, so many plays that they run at the beginning of a, of a game.


And you should have a set number of plays ready to run at the beginning of the second half. Now you may make adjustments and say, Oh, based on what we saw in the first half, we're not going to run this play these plays in the second half, but you got to have that in your back pocket so that you're not spending a whole lot of time trying to figure out what's next.


You could already have that game plan. And so by me saying change things up Day two. If you're in a multi day show, at the beginning of the second day, you completely change things up. Maybe you have different pull up banners, different display pieces or literature out. Maybe you have a completely different theme of the second day. And you tell people ahead of time, you got to come back tomorrow because we're showing something completely different tomorrow. Maybe you're demoing a different software or a different product.


So people that come the first day, you can say, just cause you saw us today. It doesn't mean you've seen everything we've got to offer. You've got to come tomorrow because we're showing, we're unveiling a new product tomorrow. So change things up day two and do something different. What would you rather have? Would you rather have people coming once to your booth or walk by once or multiple times?


Is that a lot of work? A lot of preparation? Absolutely it is. But that can mean. Tremendous results and stickiness and memorability that no one else will have.


Want some help putting together a plan, we can jump on a Free 15-minute call. Go to https://tradeshowu.biz/services


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Mentioned in this episode:

Exhibitor Expert Review - exclusively from Trade Show University

Ready to exhibit at your next Show? Don’t make the mistake of waiting until you get to the show to learn lessons on what you can do better and tweaks you can make for next time. You can do that BEFORE this next show and accelerate your results! I can help you get locked in for Success with an Expert Review! • Having a professional set of outside "eyes" is important because You Don't Know what You Don't Know! • 30+ year Trade Show expert will review: o Design o Messaging o Goals & Metrics o Engagement Questions o Attendee journey • Identify the Gaps and Opportunities you don’t even know exist! • And get you capturing more Qualified Leads than ever before • Visit Tradeshowu.biz/services

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Jim Cermak hosts Trade Show University for Virtual & Live Events, a deep and practical resource for anyone whose business depends on connecting with an audience, whether on a convention floor or through a screen. This isn't about vague inspiration; it's a working toolkit built from conversations with seasoned experts and Jim's own extensive experience. Each episode functions like a focused seminar, delivering actionable tips and training that exhibitors, marketers, and show planners can apply immediately to see a real difference in their engagement and return on investment. With a library spanning over 220 episodes, the podcast covers the full spectrum of modern event planning-from crafting a compelling virtual booth experience to mastering the logistics and psychology of a live trade show. You'll hear candid discussions on common pitfalls, innovative strategies that are working right now, and breakdowns of what truly moves the needle for businesses. Beyond the audio, the community around this podcast extends into consulting and collaborative training, emphasizing real-world application. For professionals tired of wasting time and budget on events that don't deliver, this series offers a clear path forward, turning every appearance into a measurable success.
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