Get them ready to listen

I recently signed up to Seth Godin's blog. He wrote Purple Cow. One of the first articles I read was Are they ready to listen? In this article he points out that:

Most people, most of the time, steadfastly refuse to pay attention.

The tragic mistake of demographics and media planning is that they overlook the single most important issue: is the person you're talking to ready to listen?

Stopping traffic at a trade show is a difficult task for most. People attending a trade show have between 3 and 8 things that they want to accomplish. You spent all of this money. If you are not on their list of booths to visit, how do you get them ready to listen?

1. Messaging: if your core messages are clear, you attract the type of clients that you want. They are ready to listen because you are saying what they want to hear.
2. Pre-show: Invite attendees to stop by your trade show booth. If you have presented a compelling reason for them to stop at your booth, they will.
3. Train your people on how to stop the traffic and ask the right qualifying questions.
4. Hire a professional lead generator for at the show. They know how to get people into your booth.

If they are ready to listen, they are that much closer to buying.

What have you done that gets attendees ready to listen?