Tradeshows serve a purpose

This article comes from America - see footnote - and we don't fully agree with all the author says. Our comments are printed in RED. Also, please be tolerant about the 'grammar'! Although this is an unusually long post, it is not the complete article, which can be found here.

 

Tradeshows serve a purpose. Tradeshows are also very expensive.

(Not really! Statistically, trade show leads - especially if you use OUR techniques - are among the most cost-effective [CHEAP] leads you can garner.)

Trade Shows are the Most Expensive leads you’ll ever generate. Make sure you Do Events Right. The First Time and Every Time.

 

10 Tips for Trade Show Success

 

1. Be Ready – from the First 5 to the Last 5

“It takes only ONE good deal to make it all worthwhile. That lead might come in the first 5 or last 5 minutes” ~Martin Tuip

You never know when someone is ready to buy … So YOU NEED TO BE READY. I would argue and add that trade shows aren’t all about selling on the show floor. This really depends upon the event. However, a critical element of tradeshows is driving AWARENESS. If people don’t know about your product or service they will likely never become a customer.

 NOT a good layout for a stand. Contact us if you'd like to know why!

2. Bring the Right People to man your stand

I have worked in the computer hardware and software industry for over 20 years. In all this time … hardly anyone wants to talk to a sales person.

 

3. Train your people - or use ours for a guaranteed result!

A few simple tips:

• NEVER stand around talking to each other. As a general rule of thumb … never have more than two employees talking to each other. See Tip #6
• NEVER sit in the back of the booth. Engage the Attendees.
• REMEMBER why you are at the event … to talk to prospects, customers and partners.

4. Have a Booth Schedule

• Tradeshows are tiring
• Provide a schedule for booth staffing and responsibilities
• Allow people to take breaks. They’ll need them.
• Rule of Thumb: Schedule 2-3 hours of booth time then give people a break

5. No Food or Drinks in the Booth

 

• There is a time and place for Food and Drink … the booth is not that place.
• PRO TIP – Let people know they WILL have breaks. Let them know to finish their food and drinks before coming back to the booth.

6. The Rule of Two

Have you ever seen a booth where all the people working the booth are talking to each other? Were you likely to approach the booth? Most people wont.

 

7. Open Ended Questions

Opening Lines – Open Ended Questions WORK

• Never ask a Yes or No question.
  • For example,
  • DON’T ask … Can I answer any questions for you?
  • It’s too easy for the attendee to say … NO and move on.

                 Remember … Engage!

8. Social Media Works

Social Media channels can have a significant impact on the perception of the company, the products and services being presented.

 

9. SWAG

SWAG is sometimes called Schwag, but it’s the same thing … SWAG is Stuff We All Get. All the Tchotchkes and giveaways will not make for a great product or service, but they sure can drive a lot of AWARENESS. I’m not against SWAG, but you need to realize they can be a distraction from the purpose of the event. This needs careful thought - as a rule we advise NO giveaways.

 

10. Trip Report / Post Mortem

It is important to do a wrap up of the event for sponsors. Call it a trip report, call it a post mortem, call it anything you want. Just take the time to document the event, the actions, the follow ups while they are still fresh in the minds of everyone that attended. Make sure it includes all staffers that attended the event.

 

 

Author:

Jeff is a veteran in the Enterprise Content Management industry. Over the past 20 years he has worked with customers and partners to design, develop and deploy solutions around the world. Jeff is currently the Director of Strategic Alliances at Winshuttle. He has worked for Microsoft, FileNet (IBM), K2, Captaris, Open Text, Kofax and Kodak. He speaks and blogs about ECM and the Intersection between Social, Mobile and Cloud Computing.