Candy...

The candy dish is an effective tool when trying to draw traffic to a booth, especially at a farm show.

The real entertainment, however, is the way in which people partake in the candy. There are five general types of candy takers and in just four hours at one show – have noticed one of each type. Some types are obvious before they ever approach the bowl – others surprise you.

The picker – This candy eater simply plucks whatever is on the top of the bowl. For the picker it’s all about convenience. However, these will inspect the candy for a flavor and will ‘pick’ through the bowl in order to find one that suits their taste. Once they find a piece they skedaddle out of sight and are usually not seen again. On occasion a picker will return, provided his favorite candy is in the dish. These folks may or may not check out the product in the booth – it all depends on the type of candy available.

The Grazer – This person may or may not take a piece of candy, but will likely stare into the bowl for an extended period of time. They like to scope it out and for some grazers it almost appears as though they are willing the candy to change before their very eyes. Hoping the bowl will magically change to chocolate, for example. It doesn’t work, but the best part is that these folks will usually at least look at what is displayed in the booth area as they contemplate that small sucker.

The sweet tooth – Generally this is where children fit into the equation. Kids will run to the bowl and take a piece and run because the mission is to score sweets. The adult version of the sweet tooth will not even give the booth a look, much like the child version, but will often times take several pieces of candy and sometimes stick an entire hand in to take a fistful, and then shove it into their trade show bag. The motto of the sweet tooth is ‘free candy, I can’t get enough,” and they live by this motto.

The vacuum – These people take anything not bolted down. They don’t just take candy, but they will nab pens, paper, cards and sometimes the prize. They don't care what it is, as long as they don't have to pay for it. Loot is the number one goal for this group of folks and the ultimate goal is all they set their sights on. It almost seems folks in this group enter the ‘heaviest trade show bag’ contest.

The vulture – The vulture is simple. They circle the booth until the variety of candy can be confirmed. If it is a positive confirmation, such as their favorite brand they swoop in quickly and buzz off immediately. They don’t look at the booth, they don’t make eye contact with you – they literally pick the candy off mid-flight.

You may not consider yourself any of the previous, but the next time you visit a candy dish think about your approach. You just might surprise yourself.