The little guy cares. In the hundreds of trade shows that I’ve attended, here is my general sense: the budding entrepreneur who invests anywhere from $300 at a chamber event to $10,000 at a national convention is going to work his booth.  He cares about converting leads to sales, and he acts like it. Usually he is excited to be there and welcoming attendees into his booth. He is engaging and follows up on all leads.

Conversely, the salespeople from big companies tend to view the process not as an opportunity, but rather “BOOTH DUTY”. They use that word all the time in phrases such as “Ohhh, I got BOOTH DUTY . . . hey Jay, when do we get out of here?”  A trade show is more of a sentence to serve than it is a privilege to network.

Granted, there are many exceptions to this, but nevertheless the generalization holds true.

Just walk down the aisle at your next national show to see how many salespeople are sitting, have their arms crossed, talking amongst themselves, on their cells, eating, or looking like the alive dead. You’ll notice these signs of “poor booth behavior” are less prevalent at a home show, where entrepreneurs are trying to build their business.

Why is this?

Human nature. People respond to incentives. Entrepreneurs know they are there to put money in their pockets, and it is easy for them to see the process: 1) stop traffic; 2) qualify leads; 3) follow-up; 4) make the sale. Sales reps at big companies don’t believe that trade shows will lead to direct benefit to them; therefore it is a duty.

If they believe there is no direct benefit, it is probably because, as things are, there isn’t. Bigger companies tend to have a more convoluted system that may include territories, longer sales cycles, sophisticated distribution etc. In addition, the show may be obligatory for branding but not so effective for sales prospects.

While the salespeople may have a hundred better things to do that day, the leadership of the company usually does care, just like the entrepreneur. But the CEO is usually too far removed to get involved, and so the show goes on to help branding and market presence, but sales? Not so much.

Any leader of a larger organization would cringe at the wasted sales opportunity. Marketing is important, but sales keeps the organization breathing.

What to do?

Here are three solutions:

1) Give those on “BOOTH DUTY” goals and rewards. Plus make it competitive with teams. Competition always fuels active participation and peer pressure to produce. Don’t be stingy with the rewards – how much money are you investing in exhibit, space, giveaways, opportunity cost of exhibit team, travel, food, entertainment, etc? Cash is king, gift certificates work well, or simply ask them what they want. Believe me, they’ll tell you.

2) Bring in a trade show trainer who understands techniques to stop traffic. A trainer will also show you how to qualify leads and get attendees to agree to an appointment or follow-up call.

3) Stop doing trade shows. If your show doesn’t generate a measurable ROI, and you don’t want to try the solutions above, consider saving thousands of dollars by dumping it, and invest a bit in inbound marketing for your sales people.  They’ll never see that as a “duty”.

» Share this entry:

Helping Laura Briere, president of Vision Advertising and World Green Business Association promote her company at the Rt 2 Business Expo, I was fascinated by how many exhibitors were making the master blunder of exhibiting: sitting down while their prospects walked right by them.

It boggles my mind as to why companies spend money on a booth, graphics, space and opportunity cost only to watch as visitors stroll by their exhibits with barely a glance in their direction.  My theory is that these exhibitors believe that they are “getting their brand exposure” and that is return enough.

You do not need to be a corporate magician to to avoid this exhibiting blunder.  With no tricks or gimmicks, Amy Mosher, Director of Programs at the World Green Business Association, did something the majority of the exhibitors failed to do: she stood at the front of her booth, had open body language (smiling and no folded arms) and greeted visitors with a hello and a handshake.  After making a connection she sparked conversation by asking a question.

Here is the result: Amy was engaged in conversation about 85% of the time.  She qualified and collected contacts throughout the day.  For her, the event flew by as she made connection after connection.  All it took was a stroll down the aisle to see that she was the exception.  Most “exhibitors” were sitting behind a table of brochures and giveaways.  What they really were giving away wasn’t pens with logos, but opportunity to do business with every passing prospect that left the hall learning nothing about their company.

Avoiding this exhibiting blunder is almost cured by simply being aware of it.  If you know any exhibitors, please forward this link.  Chances are they will benefit.

 Check out my video with Laura Briere

» Share this entry: