"12 Guidelines to Ensure Your Success at Trade Shows" by Andrew Linick, Ph.D.

1. Set goals. The types of people you need to meet and learning what shows they attend determines the shows you need to attend.

2. Be proactive and interact with people who pass. If you wait for people to stop and ask questions, you'll miss many opportunities.

3. Attend immediately to people entering your booth. Make sure you have at least two people in your booth that can engage people walking by and interact with browsers. People hate to wait and they'll move on.

4. Develop a 60-second presentation-a quick and to-the-point presentation that describes your product/service and the benefits offered.

5. Stress benefits-your oral presentation and booth displays should communicate instantly your product and service benefits. Interesting signs, displays, a large photo, a video or even music will draw people into your booth.

6. Qualify your prospects:

è Is there a need for your product/service?
è Can they afford it?
è Are they the decision-maker?
è Can the prospect influence the purchase? Where do they fall in the hierarchy?
è Be aware of body language.
è Establish date of application or purchase.

7. Probe and interview for buying cues. Listen for words like "when" can I order this or "can" I get it.

8. Keep a notebook handy. Record prospect information and get a business card that you can jot down relevant information on.

9. Present the benefits and features of your product/service. Stress "what's in it for them" -what can they save, gain or accomplish by purchasing your product/service.

10. Be credible and offer proof. Testimonials, articles, guarantees, pictures of people using your product or service, radio and television interviews, etc. should be available to give or send them.

11. Set up a closing agreement or arrange appointments at the show. If appointments are set for a later date, give them an appointment card stating that you will call at a certain time in the future. Show attendees look at a lot of different exhibits. Don't let them forget you.

12. Follow-up after the show. The biggest mistake many exhibitors make is that they fail to follow up. Your time and the expense of the trade show will be a disappointment, if you fail to follow up.

Copyright © 2004 by CCA. All Rights Reserved!

"Websites and Trade Shows, part 2 Using Your Web Resources to backup your Trade Show Marketing efforts -- During the Show"by Richard Hendershot

The question is "How can I use my website to support and enhance my presentation at the show?" Two things come immediately to mind:

1. Use it as a resource people can use right at the show.

2. Use it as a reference point -- a place where you direct people to find more information, special offers, and then get them on your follow up list.

1. Use Your Website as a Resource at the Show

The idea is that you have a computer or two set up right at the show where people can look at your product lines and special promotions. This does not necessarily require an internet connection. Having an actual connection has its pros and cons -- apart from the obvious cost and inconvenience involved in getting it set up.

Create a special website just for the show and put it right on the computer. No need for an internet connection. Keep it simple. Just focus on the objective at hand, which is to give people a reason to check out your products or services once they get "home". What you're trying to do is generate pre-qualified leads.

Build in a lead generation "system" to collect information on pre-qualified prospects. This could be an online form with the information stored locally on the local computer. Or probably better, just a response card they can fill out and stuff into your response box.

2. Use Your Website as a place to direct Prospects

Using your website as a reference point for prospects is really a no-brainer, right? Everybody at the show says: "For more information, check out our website." The problem is, with 50 or 100 websites to check out once your visitors get home, yours is likely to get lost in the shuffle.

You must give prospects a reason to look at your website. Create a valuable special offer they can only access online. Make a strong, clear "pitch". Put it in the form of a "valuable coupon", something like this: "Get $40 off your next purchase when you register online."

This encourages your prospect to keep the handout, and also encourages them to respond by going to your website and having another close look at your special offer. Tie in your online registration form with an autoresponder. So now when somebody registers online, they will automatically be sent a series of messages over a period of weeks or months. This is a perfect way to keep in touch with your prospects without having to worry about it. The system takes care of it for you. All you do is fine-tune the messages and handle the sales enquiries. A "system" like this gives you an automatic advantage over your not-so-organized competitors. What could be better than that?

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"Trade Show Tips...Gathering Trade Shows Leads" by Richard Hendershot, Tradeshow-display-experts.com

The most tried and true method of gathering trade show leads is the business-card-in-the-fish-bowl (BCIFB) method. Place a container such as a box or "fish bowl" somewhere near the entrance or exit point of your booth. Clearly mark it "Add your Business Card for More Information on our Products", or something like that, and you're in business.

All the most commonly used lead generating systems are variations of the BCIFB method. Your specific "system of choice" for generating trade show leads will depend on these two factors:

1. How do you filter out "garbage leads"?

2. How do you provide an incentive to your MWLs (Most Wanted Leads) - the people most likely to buy your product - to register?

"Garbage Leads"

So-called "garbage leads" are always a concern in any lead generating effort. You don't want to waste time and money contacting people who have no interest in your product/service. The negative value of garbage trade show leads will depend on your follow up strategy. If you plan to enter each contact name in a database and then pursue a systematic follow up strategy that includes telephone, email, and snail mail, then the cost of garbage leads gets magnified. On the other hand, if your plan doesn't go beyond a one-step follow up (email, snail mail, or phone call), then the negative value of garbage leads is not that big a deal.

The easiest way to filter garbage leads is to ask people to fill out a simple "Yes I am interested" form. So instead of them throwing a business card in your fish bowl, you're asking them to stop, fill out a form, and place it in a kind of "registration box". You can make your form as brief or as complicated as you like. Obviously the briefest form will get the highest response.

Just the act of having to write something down will be a deterrent to many show surfers. If it seems like it would be too negative (resulting in you filtering out leads you really want), then you could simplify the system by attaching a stapler to a chain(!) and asking interested people to just staple a copy of their business card to the registration form. This has several important advantages:

1. You get the contact information you want.
2. You filter out those with absolutely no interest.
3. You catch the maximum number of prospects by reducing the hassle of registering.
4. You get people without business cards.

Incentives to "Register"

Sometimes you want the maximum number of trade show leads possible. "Qualification" is not that big a deal because either you have the "system" to handle extra garbage leads, or your garbage quotient is very low. What does that mean? Simply that your product has a very broad appeal, and that virtually everyone is a candidate. Obviously no product is completely un-targeted; but equally obviously, some products (e.g., many consumer goods) have a much broader target group than, for instance, specialized industrial goods.

In the case of broadly targeted goods, you may want to get the maximum number of trade show leads so you can send your sales team to work on them - especially if there is no major cost or downside in doing this. (But beware, there's always a cost of some sort!) This is when you should provide an "incentive" to get people to "sign up".

What kind of incentive? Usually it will be some sort of giveaway: "Sign up and we'll send you a valuable X." Where "X" is your premium of choice: pen, hat, balloon, bag, etc, etc. Of course you don't have to send it after the show, either. You can have a "info for hat/pen/bag" trade right there at the show, if you think you can tactfully manage it ("Give me your name, and I'll give you a hat." Hmmmm.)

Another type of premium rapidly gaining popularity is the "digital" item: software, music, "e-books", digital services of one kind or another. The nice thing about these is that they can be delivered online - so there is no significant cost. For example, you could say "Register and we'll send you 5 free e-books." (a popular tactic used for internet sales). Then your follow up can consist of an email greeting-plus-pitch along with the link to their premium. Pretty painless. And there are lots of free e-books out there just crying out to be given away (because they have subtle embedded links and promos in them). Or you can create your own, and embed your own promotions.

The other popular incentive is a "draw", where you give away something of perceived value: a vacuum cleaner, a bicycle, a gas barbecue, a computer, etc., etc. Or if you have some high margin products of your own (e.g., the wedding photographer), you can give away some of your own products or services as an incentive for trade show leads.

This can get expensive, but only you know how much you should be "paying" for trade show leads. If your product has no built-in premium space, and if your conversion rate increase (by giving a premium rather than not), is negligible, then obviously you should not give premiums.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

"How to Have Your Product Exhibited FREE at Trade Shows...Without Having to Pay for Traveling Expenses or Booth Rental"
by Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D., One of America¹s Top Trade Show Direct Marketing Experts�

What happens when you have a product to exhibit at a trade show but you can¹t afford to rent the boot? What if the show is out of town and you can¹t afford the traveling expense? There is still a way for you to get your product exhibited at no cost to you. I call it the Piggyback Method� and I¹ve used it many, many times with great success.

Create your own money-making machine in your absence!

First contact the people who are putting on the show. Then get a list of last year¹s exhibitors and a list of exhibitors who have already signed up for the current year. Next you (or hire a professional direct response advertising copywriter at a cost of $500 per page) to write a benefit oriented sales letter to several of these exhibitors. You describe your product¹s benefits with great enthusiasm and include your best offer.

Not only is the offer you make the key to success or failure, but the way in which your offer is presented will have an equally dramatic effect on your results. Let¹s take a look at three ways to say the same offer:

1. Half Price!
2. Buy one‹get one free!
3. 50% off!

Which offer did you choose as having the best deal? Although each statement expressed the same offer‹number two outpulled offers one and three by better than 40 percent. Consumers perceived the statement ŒBuy one‹get one free!¹ as the most attractive offer.

Now getting back to what to offer an exhibitor, you offer her some sort of deal to exhibit your product in her booth. A 10% commission on sales or exclusive sales rights in a particular territory (regional, by state, county, zip code) can do the trick. The types of arrangements you make are different in each case. They depend on your product or service the proper markup, the exhibitor and you. This concept has worked for my clients and myself many times!

A few years ago we had a small premium product that was a good item but did not warrant our going from New York to Los Angeles for the National Premium Show. We sent samples of our premium to half a dozen exhibitors and got back three acceptances from which we selected the top exhibitor. Not only did we get wonderful exposure on our product at no cost to us, but the exhibitor turned out to be one of our best sales representatives on that product! They bought in over $75,000 in extra sales we would not have received from that one national trade show. Using this idea think about your unlimited possibilities!!

If You Want to AttendŠ Here¹s How to Get Other Exhibitors to Pay Your Expenses

When you exhibit at a trade show, don¹t wear merchandising blinders. If you are manufacturing a product that can fit into another person¹s line and s/he¹s exhibiting at the same show, go over and visit her. Many times you can make enough in a single sale to that one exhibitor to pay for the entire cost of the show. In addition, we have always been successful in selling merchandise at the show directly to jobbers, distributors and curiosity seekers who visit our booth. There have been many cases where this extra money has more than paid for our travel expenses and booth rental.

Editor¹s note: Since 1968, Trade Show and Direct Marketing Genius Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D. has been sharing secrets for increasing client annual sales from 25% to 500% using tested creative selling methods. He has helped grow more than 500 companies, including five div¹s of the Grumman Corporation, Time, Inc., R.I. Mortgage Store, Universal Nutrition Corp. and Yahoo.com. An international speaker, Dr. Linick conducts worldwide seminars/workshops and delivers keynote speeches for several trade associations, corporations and groups, including The National Newsletter Assn., American Marketing Assn., L.I. Direct Marketing Assn., Travel Associates, SPATA - Society of Polish American Travel Agents and Meeting World. Email linickgrp@att.net or visit http://www.lgroup.addr.com Phone: 631.924-3888.

© 2004 by Andrew S. Linick, Ph.D. All Rights Reserved.

How Sales Professionals Leverage Shows and Events By Keith Reznick, President of Creative Training Solutions

Many Sales Executives and their sales teams have recognized that face-to-face contact is more important than ever in today's business ever changing business environment where, among other things:

Most products, services and solutions are perceived as commodities.

Mergers and acquisitions have prospects and customers wondering "Who am I doing business with anyway ..."

Most customers can't define their best suppliers' current capabilities.

Most marketing, sales and sales support personnel can't properly answer the question "Tell me a little bit about your company..."

The stereotypical view is that most sales people don't want to work shows and events. Like most stereotypes, this one isn't necessarily true. More and more, salespeople are recognizing that shows and events are evolving from marketing events into marketing and sales events. They've learned that for many prospects and customers, a show or event is the one and only time they will ever have face-to-face contact with anyone from their company.

Shows and events as sales activities are, more than ever, the most cost-effective and time-efficient way to:

Create sales opportunities

Accelerate the buying and selling process

Ensure that prospects' and customers' perceptions are updated and accurate

Differentiate a company, its people and its capabilities

Reduce or eliminate competitive options

Enhance existing relationships

Why do salespeople stereotypically not want to work a show? One answer is the opportunity cost. A salesperson with a $1 million budget has an opportunity cost of $500 an hour. A rep with a $2 million budget means is expected to sell $1000 an hour, fifty weeks a year, forty hours a week. If a sales person is asked to work a three day show, they often think "Three days at the show, a day for travel and a day to get caught up - a five day investment. At $500 an hour, my opportunity cost is $20,000." A two million dollar budget translates into an opportunity cost of $40,000. From this perspective it's not difficult to understand the stereotype about salespeople and shows. Thankfully, more and more sales professionals are realizing that if they plan properly, they can often accomplish as much (if not more) at a show or event than they would in a month or more in the field! How can they do this? Let's take a look.

Goal: Generate qualified leads in the most time-efficient manner

Lead generation - identifying new sales opportunities - with either existing or new customers, is an ongoing need for a professional salesperson. At a well-attended show, the average booth worker will generate two to four good leads for each hour in the booth. At a three day show which is open seven hours a day, the average booth worker will generate between 42 and 84 leads. To be conservative, cut the number in half and say that the average booth worker will generate 20 to 40 leads. Ask a salesperson how many long it would take to generate a comparable number of leads through canvassing, telemarketing, an e-mail blitz or any other marketing vehicle. To increase the number and enhance the quality of leads generated, a salesperson should be involved before, during and after the show.

Pre-show activities including:

Working with marketing to develop a lead form that captures specific qualifying information -- from a salesperson's perspective - including the size of the opportunity, timing of the decision, budget, the person's role in the decision process, competition, etc.

Supporting marketing's pre-show promotion efforts by providing lists of:

o Existing and former customers
o Prospects from other divisions or departments of existing customers
o Hard to reach decision makers
o Geographically dispersed prospects

" Making follow up phone calls to increase the number of attendees that visit the booth
Pre-arranging appointments with priority names from the pre-show promotion
At-show activities including:

Providing the trade show or event manager with their list of pre-arranged appointments
Conducting all of the appointments they've arranged
Supporting their associates and not just focusing on own accounts or territory

Post-show activities including:

Quickly following up on leads generated
Tracking post-show contact and lead conversion activities
Reporting these activities and revenue generated to help calculate the show or event's ROI
Goal: Enhance competitive posture and relationships

In order to enhance their competitive posture and relationships with existing customers, reduce or eliminate competitive options with active sales opportunities, many sales people are pre-arranging meetings that include:

Tours of the exhibit to ensure that prospects' and customers' perceptions are updated and accurate
Executive-to-executive appointments to build or enhance relationships at the decision making level of the customer organization
Demonstrations of products or equipment that would otherwise be difficult to display
Personnel the customer would generally not have access to including technical people, research and development staff, senior managers, PR and others

To derive this value, a salesperson should support:

Pre-show activities including:

Scheduling and coordinating the appropriate people for the at-show meetings
Establishing and conveying to their associates specific goals and objectives each meeting
Providing background information to all involved to help them prepare for, and be productive at, each meeting
Defining and helping to secure whatever resources will be required
Working with the trade show or event manager to help coordinate the venue where the meeting will occur (other than in the booth)

At-show activities including:

Checking the meeting venue, its set-up, audiovisual, food etc.
Conducting the meeting
Debriefing with associates after the meeting

Post-show activities including:

Following up to honor commitments made
Tracking their post-show or post-event activities
Reporting results and revenue as appropriate

Goal: Accelerate the decision process

According to research conducted by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR.org), shows and events reduce the number of sales calls required to close business. From the trade show manager's perspective, this is a quantifiable value (savings on sales calls) that should be factored into any ROI calculations being done. Sales people derive quantifiable value by accelerating the decision process in several ways.

Properly planned and executed at-show meetings will often reduce (or completely eliminate) the number of competitive options being considered by a prospect or customer. A second way the sales person derives value is by being able to do multiple things at a show as compared to doing the same things in the field, one meeting or task at a time. The salesperson can guide the buyer to a decision faster at a show or event than if they tried to accomplish the same things in the field. The time saved can be quantified and they can use this "found" time to create or pursue other sales opportunities. To derive this value, a salesperson should be involved with:

Pre-show activities including:

Scheduling as many appointments as possible with prospects and customers who are actively involved in making a purchase decision
Arranging for the appropriate resources and personnel required to move they buyer or buying team through as many steps in the buying process as possible

At-show activities including:

Confirming that the meeting has been staged properly
Conducting the meeting
Debriefing with associates after the meeting

Post-show activities including:

Following up to honor commitments made at each meeting
Tracking their activity after the show or event
Reporting their activities and revenue generated as appropriate

Goal: Develop competitive insight

A show can help a salesperson develop a better understanding of their competitors' products and services, capabilities and solutions, strengths and weaknesses. Although it's rare that they will get information about specific products and services that they don't already have or could get off the internet, they will still be able to gather additional insight into their competitors' strategies, solutions, key messages etc. To derive this value, a salesperson should be involved with:

Pre-show activities including:

Developing goals, strategies and plans to develop competitive insight
Coordinating these activities at a show
Developing a list of specific competitors
Developing a list of specific questions to ask or information to gather
Assigning specific competitors to specific people at the show

At-show activities including:

Executing the strategy and plan

Post-show activities including:

Collecting, assembling and then redistributing all of the competitive information captured at the show
Developing plans relating to how to use the information gathered

Shows and events offer tremendous opportunities and quantifiable return to professional salespeople. Those who dread shows will continue to do so until they understand, and quantify, they value that can be derived through active participation in shows and events.

This article was written by Keith Reznick (Email Keith), President of Creative Training Solutions (www.creativetraining.com). His company delivers training programs for exhibit workers as well as a curriculum of workshops for professional salespeople. Creative Training Solutions recently introduced an online version of The Trade Show Advantage® as a compliment to the live version of the workshop, one of the most well attended (over 30,000 people have participated) and successful courses in the world for teaching event workers how to interact with prospects and customers more effectively on the show floor

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