Sales Laundry

Archive for the ‘Trade Shows’ Category

Trade show season is upon us and for those representatives that depend upon them to make their fortunes, I thought I would relate a story that might help spark some sales creativity.

Our company, focused on the financial services vertical, more specifically banks, decided at the last minute to rent a booth at one of the annual banking association shows.

At the time I was working in a new territory for the company building a new client base and relaying references from our client banks that were thrilled with our expertise and skill at eliminating a lot of the technology and regulatory headaches faced by the banking industry.

Approximately two days before the show I got a call asking me to staff the booth for the show with two of my fellow team members.

Two days and many miles later, I arrived early to make sure we got the booth setup and that we had all of the services/equipment we were paying the show company for.

As it seems to go sometimes, we had no carpet, we had no electricity but what we did have in abundance was mass confusion on the part of the show company related to what we had ordered, what was needed and when anything could get done.

Even allowing the extra time the show opened before we were able to work out all of the details and get our show strategy in place, but on the bright side, we did have a bowl full of candy.

Our last minute booth selection put us along the back wall, in a corner, that was far away from the sessions the bankers were attending. You had to want to go back there to find us. If you did manage to find the row, the massive stretch of concrete down one side convinced some to forego our isle and the exhibiting vendors on it, altogether.

Doing their part, the show sponsors staged raffles and other events almost every hour to keep the show patrons engaged, the challenge for us was that none of the sponsored events were close to our booth, so far from seeing a traffic bump each event was in fact a net drain on participants in our area.

We realized pretty quickly that to have any chance of making the show a success, we were going to need to generate some excitement to get patrons flocking to our side of the exhibit hall.

Plan A was to raffle off an expensive iPod and to place a hawker out in the aisle redirecting traffic to the booth. We later expanded this by sending two hawkers all over the show floor talking to and collecting business cards from any interested attendee.

The iPod drew interest at the time because no one else was doing it, not the case today, but even then that was not a compelling reason to get them to our booth, it was only a strong enough draw if they were in the immediate area.

Plan B inadvertently came to me while I was driving around trying to find a place to park for the event. I saw a group of 8 or 10 people having fun rolling around on Segways on some sort of tour of the city.

While at the show, I called the tourist board and found the number to the Segway Tours company, gave them a call and effectively negotiated a package including the Segway and an instructor to give lessons in and around our booth while we were at the show.

The Segway was a fantastic draw. We had lines of bankers at our booth waiting, working with the instructor or riding around the large concrete expanse around our booth.

When one banker would see another banker he knew riding around the show floor, he would head to our booth to get his turn.
The show turned out to be a success, with a lot of leads, a pile of new contacts, and a ton of awareness for who we were. For better or worse, over the next few weeks as I traveled around on follow up meetings I was introduced as the Segway guy.

The year that followed that event proved to be the best year to date for our company. I can’t tie all of our success to that one trade show, but I can say that the show was the spark that gave us an opportunity to demonstrate how the life of a banker would be better with us than without us.

Got a success story or tip? I want to read it. Any wild failures that led to a great lesson learned? I would like to read that, too.

Photo courtesy of  isdnvoices.com

Are you getting any value out of the time and money you are spending at trade shows?

 While I can’t say I get a lot of value out of all of them, I can give you my tips for maximizing the time and the dollars you are spending to attend.

I am not going to go over the merits of having a booth vs. not having a booth here.  Most of these points apply either way, but I write this assuming, for the most part, you are not tethered to a booth.

1. Define a strategy for the show.  Figure out exactly what you want to achieve before you set one foot on the show floor.  With clear objectives it will be much easier to stay focused and tune out the chaos that can ensue when the show floor opens. 
2. While the show is still several weeks out, identify who you would like to meet with at the trade show.  For best results, avoid the standard practice of showing up and winging it.
3. Setup email campaigns and/or call these prospects and try to setup an actual meeting time at the show.  Meet in your booth, a lobby coffee shop or a good couch, whatever works.  TIP:  Pack a snack in case your schedule forces you to miss lunch.
4. There are an amazing number of people that will take a meeting at a trade show having no idea if you can benefit one another.  For the prospects you do identify, do a little research and figure out how you can potentially benefit one another or don’t take the meeting.
5. Confirm your meetings with the prospect face to face or voice to voice on the telephone.   TIP:  Only confirm with something that can feel responsibility or guilt.  I have seen some pretty sophisticated voice mail systems, but never one that will take a meeting with you if his or her owner skips out on you.
6. The tag scanners at trade shows can be great when all you need is an effective swap of electronic business cards.  Be careful not to fall into the trap of scanning the prospects name tag and just trusting yourself to remember what you talked about.  I use a 5”x5” ruled notebook for this purpose with a handy dandy $3.00 mini stapler.  
   

   Swingline Slim T Mini Stapler

   When we exchange business cards to start, I staple the card on the first blank page on the spot and write my meeting notes.  In doing this I have found that I do not lose business cards, I know everyone I met with because I have all of their cards stapled in the book and in the order of how they were sitting in the meeting so I can keep faces associated with names.  I will write more on the value of this little spiral in a future post.

    

    

7. In my most recent trade show visits I have had a full multimedia presentation and a demo reel showing our work.  I keep a copy of everything loaded on my Blackberry as well as my laptop and use the most convenient one based on the situation.
8. Get a rolling bag.  Skip the free bag you get at registration, or the laptop bag you carry around on your shoulder, if you will be carrying your laptop or anything significant in the way of sales literature buy a rolling bag with the a retractable handle.  TIP:  Pay close attention to the quality of the retractable handle.  A bad handle will pinch your hands and in some cases draw blood.
9. In some cases I have had up to 40 meetings over the course of a 5 day show.  I keep a small version of my schedule with meeting times, names of contacts and firms, and contact numbers to stay in touch at the show.  I typically keep this information on the backside of the name tag on the lanyard around my neck.
10. Business cards.  Take twice as many as you think you will need and hand them out to anyone you talk to.  Never miss an opportunity to build some awareness about you or your offerings.
11. Talk!  This is no time to be timid.  Develop some ice breakers in advance of the show if you have to.  I talk to people everywhere.  In the lobby, at lunch, at the hotel, over breakfast, on the shuttle to and from the hotel, anywhere there is an opportunity to have a short conversation.  Don’t whack all these people over the head with your offerings, but when you find one that seems like a fit schedule a time to meet “officially” or have a good 30 second elevator pitch prepared to entice them to want more information.
12. Get a hotel room as close to the show venue as possible.  The hotels closer to the show are a bit more expensive and fill up fast, but having the ability to get back and forth to the hotel without enduring significant time loss or  logistics issues will be money well spent.
13. Evening events.  In many cases there are show sponsored events and private parties scheduled once the day on the show floor is done.  Plan to attend these if you do not have any evening meetings or dinner appointments setup.  Look for the invitation cards while you are at the show and ask around as you meet with people to find out what private events are scheduled.
14. Plan a private event.  If it makes sense for your offerings and if you have the budget, setup a private event one night after the show.  A few drinks, great snacks or a nice dinner can loosen tongues and allow conversations to take place that would be difficult anywhere else.
15. Be prepared to meet a prospect anywhere.  I think of it as traveling heavy, with my rolling bag, all my materials, my laptop, etc. or traveling light with just my mobile phone (with presentations loaded,) business cards, and a small notepad.  I will sometimes carry my 5” x 5” notebook tucked into the small of my back under my jacket.  It works well for me.

Trade shows can be an incredible source for contacts, leads, and opportunities or complete dismal failures.  From maximum success I develop my goals; I develop a primary and secondary strategy unique to each show I attend.  I try to remove as much mystery as possible by defining my prospects, pre-scheduling my meetings, and researching my prospects developing a mini strategy for each meeting.

The last thing I can say is even with all this planning, keep a degree of flexibility built into your schedule.  As I have discovered, even with all my planning, I will on occasion forget something important, like remembering to pack my pants.

Got your own trade show tip?  Is there something you have done to turn a miserable show into a screaming success?  I want to hear about it.

Image courtesy of managemytradeshows.com