58
TOBACCO BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL
JULY/AUGUST 2014
Ten Tips
to Trade Show
Success
These ideas can help boost your sales at shows like
IPCPR, Tobacco Plus Convenience and Vapor World Expo
.
By Ed O’Connor
E
ver wonder if you’re making the most of the trade shows and
industry events you attend?MikeThimmesch of Skyline Exhibits
suggests that you think like an attorney as you bring forward your
trade show sales and profitability case.Witness his 10 ideas for winning
sales on the show floor.
If you’ve just realized that you have been breaking these laws all along, consider yourself on
parole. You’ve got some time to reform your ways, become a trade show law-abiding citizen, and
generate trade show success before the next TPC show in Las Vegas on January 28 and 29, 2015.
{1}
{2}
{3}
{4}
{5}
{6}
{7}
{8}
{9}
{10}
Know why you exhibit before you do anything else.
Just as intent is an important factor in the law, it is essential in exhibiting.
Too often,exhibitors reserve a booth at a showwithout knowingwhy they
are going in the first place. Without the guiding light of an overriding
goal,they can’t shape their exhibit tomatch their needs,train their staff to
aim at a common goal, or even know if they succeeded.
Exhibiting well requires both logistics and marketing.
You may say, “I object, your honor. I only have time to manage the
logistics for our trade show.” That’s not going to get you off the hook.To
succeed, you must also perform the marketing tasks well that too often
get pushed aside in favor of details like shipping, ordering show services,
and travel arrangements.
Exhibit at shows that your buyers attend.
Just as what is legal is based on jurisdiction, so will your fortunes change
when you choose from an assortment of more than 10,000 shows (in
North America alone).You have to do the homework to determine what
your best customers look like, and then find the trade shows where they
freely roam.
Design your exhibit for your buyers, not for you.
What if your lawyer talked a lot just because he liked to hear the sound
of his own voice, rather than to convince the jury? Similarly, some
companies design their exhibit to show themselves off the way they want
to be seen—rather than focusing their message to best appeal to their
clients and prospects.
Bring only willing booth staffers.
Do the people you ask to staff your booth react as if being summoned for
jury duty?Those people will take that negative attitude with them when
they meet your booth visitors. Don’t ever break this law if you want to
succeed at shows—just bring willing booth staffers, even if it costs you
more to get them there.
Always train your booth staffers.
Legal proceedings follow almost ritualistic protocol. You will please
the judge if you follow similarly repetitive steps and train your staff
for every show. Top sales people still need to know how to adapt to
trade show booth staffing. And veteran staffers don’t know your new
objectives, new products, latest pre-show and at-show promotions, and
how to use the new technology you added to your booth.
Qualify your leads to boost follow-up.
Just as not everyone is guilty, not every lead is qualified. Your booth
staffers must interrogate attendees to determine their value, and then
rank the leads (A = Immediate, B = Intermediate, C = Future). Your
reps will be more likely to follow up on the A and B leads, knowing you
have already sent the C leads (to which you continue to market) to the
holding cell.
Promote your presence before and during the show.
A good trial lawyer is a little bit the showman in order to sway the jury.
You should have no objection to taking a page out of that book and
promoting your presence before and during the show. Let attendees
know all the reasons they should visit your booth so you get their
attention, rather than your competitor.
Plan for lead follow-up before the show.
Have your closing arguments prepared before the trial ends—by
preparing your lead/follow-up systembefore you go to the show.Assign
a person to enter the leads, have fulfillment packets prepared, and have
a smooth process for getting leads quickly to the right salespeople.
Measure and report your results to keep exhibiting.
After the show ends, the jury is still out whether it was a successful
show or not. But if you track your leads to sales, compare your costs to
your sales, and then report your satisfactory return on investment, you’ll
be much more likely to be judged successful.
