Is your business in the process of planning your sales and marketing activities
for the coming year? If so, there's a
possibility that you will be considering exhibiting at conferences and
expo's. It might be that you exhibit
every year, at the same events, without much thought. Whatever your stage in this process, let me
ask you to stop and consider these points.
Goals
·
If you choose to exhibit, what are your
goals?
I hope you have some, and I would certainly challenge you if you say
it's to raise awareness. Awareness of what?
·
How will you measure this?
·
Any goals you set should generally be aimed at
quality over quantity
o
Remember a bowlful of business cards are not
necessarily qualified leads
Message
·
How effective is your messaging going to be?
Expo visitors and delegates may pass your stand in a few seconds and
will rarely stop to read your banner if it has a four line paragraph and 15
products and services listed.
·
Less is more
·
Make your banner stand out with an appropriate visual
or single line statement
o
And make sure your logo is not hidden down the
bottom
·
If you've had a rebrand recently, make sure your
materials reflect this and logos and style match
·
Think about your pitch - you've got 20 seconds
to capture my attention. Practice it and
keep it consistent
o
A prize draw is a tool for engaging visitors,
not the reason for you exhibiting
Who and how
The selection of the people representing your stand is crucial to its
success. All too often I see
representatives sat behind a table more engaged with their Smartphone or tablet than the people around them.
·
If your service/product is likely to attract
technical questions, make sure you've a mix of sales people and technical
people on stand
·
Make sure your expectations of behaviours on
stand are clear and understood
o
Arrive on stand before delegates enter expo
o
Whilst on stand no sitting down or overtly checking
emails
o
Refrain from having personal drinks or food on
display
o
If
someone needs a break or some refreshments, ask them to go to the refreshment
area - who knows they even get talking to a potential customer over a latte
Extra opportunities
·
If you decide that you are going to exhibit,
then plan and book ahead
o
You may get a discount for early booking, or a
better choice of available stands
·
There may also be other opportunities that can
be useful such as:
o
Speaker slots
o
Being part of a panel discussion
o
Though think carefully about the offer of any
sponsorship opportunities, be clear about what you will get from any
sponsorship - are you simply funding a drinks reception in a room with your
banner in the corner?
Giveaways
Let me ask you a question - has a giveaway ever led you to contact a
company or look at their website?
At a major exhibition recently, it was quite refreshing to see limited
giveaways being used - rather than witnessing the 'hello and grab' scenario of
the delegate on a free stationary top-up trip.
·
If you do feel the need to have giveaways, get
creative - consider the longevity of the product and its active use/placement
by the recipient
·
Pens are cheap, but not when bought in their
'000s and they often end up in a desk draw
·
If your prospective companies are large corporates
avoid giving away USB sticks, as their IT policies will generally prohibit
their use
Be a delegate
·
Make time to visit a similar style expo to
observe the various stands and help refine what may work or improve your stand
·
These insights will save you time and money,
making your stand all the more successful
·
Speak to the stand representatives and listen to
the way they engage you and others - are they asking you open questions (and
qualifying you as a potential lead)
o
A good representative will be doing this, and if
the stand is busy they will have a technique for politely concluding your
conversation so that they can focus on the next visitor - this is where the
business card prize draw can be a useful tool
Follow up
Following up potential leads after the exhibition is the most important
part of the activity yet so often overlooked.
·
When you identify your goals you should be
planning and agreeing how the follow up process will work and who will do it,
and when
·
Follow up communications should happen within a
week of the event, and not end with one email for qualified leads
·
Sift qualified leads during or at the end of the
exhibition, with additional notes if a more in-depth conversation has happened
o
This is particularly important if the people
following up the leads were not at the exhibition or on stand all of the time
·
Prepare your emails and block out time for follow
up calling in advance
·
Send an email follow up even to the card in the
bucket that you didn't qualify, and may have only been after the bottle of
bubbly - you never know, and the 'cost' of the email is inexpensive
In the past year I have attended over 6 expos and my card has been
requested by many a stand rep, however I have only ever received a handful of
follow up emails, and one phone call.
In effect many businesses have wasted the biggest opportunity, which
was to start a communication thread with me - I may not be their customer
today, however......
Summary
·
Plan early
o
Challenge yourselves on why you are exhibiting
(is it habit)
o
Select a stand location where there will be
natural footfall
o
Consider that you may gain more/achieve your
goals by attending as a delegate
·
Agree and capture what will be the follow up
process
·
Decide who will represent your stand
o
Are they articulate and confident at interacting
with strangers?
·
Stand visuals - are they current and fit for
purpose?
·
Giveaways - can you be creative or could your
money be spent on other things such as a better stand position?
·
Explore add on opportunities
·
Review your results against your goals and have
an open discussion about the amount of success of exhibiting
·
And if you lack the resources/skills to exhibit
and/or follow up , consider using an outsourced sales provider
John is the Director, of Vector Resources Limited, who help growing businesses increase sales and improve sales performance. Find out more about outsourced sales and sales management at www.vector-resources.co.uk