Build ROI, Reduce IOU's
Trade Shows are a great way to build sales, but their true potential is not always realized. Would you like to reduce your expenses and generate a greater return on your exhibit marketing investment? Learning the Four Keys to Successful Exhibiting will get you off to a great start!
Trade shows are a proven means of making more contacts in less time than traditional sales. On average, sales consultants need to make 3.9 contacts by phone with a potential client to close a sale. In contrast, only 1.2 contacts are needed after a trade show to close a deal and move on to your next client.
While successful sales depend on many factors, the lion’s share (80% or more) is a direct result of how your staff interact with other people. Face-to-Face marketing techniques make a tremendous difference. Similarly, knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your sales staff at a trade show can help you to orchestrate their talents to your advantage.
Success Key #1: Have a well-balanced team.
Use a front line of effective greeters, a centre core of effective communicators and a backfield of knowledgeable specialists. Balancing your team will help you to identify and qualify real potential clients, rather than wasting time with casual visitors, competitors and “tire-kickers.”
Success Key #2: Have a well-designed and functional display.
Your booth should effectively identify the Who, What and Why of your company. Avoid unclear messages, too many details and leave room to move around your booth space. Your booth should be large enough to accommodate enough visitors to achieve your contact objectives.
Success Key #3: Plan an attention-grabbing promotional activity.
This should be designed to capture the attention of your potential clients, add something memorable to their visit and leave them with something tangible that they will associate with your company. Make sure that of all the booths they visit, your booth is the one they will remember. At this stage you also want to gather information for prompt follow-up on any interest shown.
Success Key #4:
Make sure your booth staff employees are well trained. First, enroll your booth staff employees in a proven training program so that they know how to greet and qualify real potential new clients. They should learn how to briefly and effectively communicate with visitors to pinpoint customers’ needs and explain how your company can fill those needs. Second, think about hiring professionally-trained exhibit attendants for the show. They will quickly target potential leads and transfer them to your own specialists and sales people.
There are many factors that contribute to successful exhibiting at trade shows, but your bottom line will depend on having the right people and making sure those people have the right training . A well-planned and well-executed “face-to-face” application of the Four Keys to Successful Exhibiting will help you reap a fine harvest of new clients from your next trade show.