With Graph Expo just past and Graphics Canada coming up quickly in November, our thoughts naturally turn to trade shows. And one of the biggest trade show frustrations is the inability to turn prospects into clients through a viable follow-up plan.
The number one obstacle to successfully implementing a follow-up plan is the quality of the leads. Often exhibitors come home from a trade show with a handful of business cards or a box filled with ballots and diligently begin their follow-up. It doesn’t take long to realize that the business cards contain very little useful information. Beyond name, title, and address, there is not much you know about the prospect. Each follow-up conversation now starts from the beginning. It’s as if you and the prospect were complete strangers.
The exhibit industry and its experts continuously advocate proper lead collecting tools and techniques and yet exhibitors seem reluctant to embrace these new technologies. Companies understand the value of obtaining good contact information, but often the boothers on the front line feel awkward asking the pertinent questions necessary for good information gathering.
Here are some tips to help you get better quality information at your next show:
Use lead retrieval systems intelligently
There are dozens of electronic lead-collecting systems on the market today. Most of them do the job well but often have limitations. Before you sign up, make sure the system gives you the information you want, when you want it. Although many systems claim to be customizable, make sure that the customized features allow you access to information that is pertinent to your specific situation.
Develop the key questions you need in advance
You need to know how closely a show visitor fits into your customer profile. Questions such as buying authority, budget, need and past experience are more important that a simple list of products and services they are looking for.
Have a manual lead recording system as back up
If the electronic lead retrieval system falls short or if there is no system available at a show, then a manual lead collecting system will help. Keep the form you use small and the amount of information you are collecting brief and to the point.
Be consistent throughout all your shows
Gathering good information at some shows and not others is a waste of valuable resources. Contact information is valid whether your exhibiting objective is to ultimately make sales or support a branding initiative. In both cases you need good information to ensure that you are accomplishing what you set out to do.
Train your staff
Working at a trade show is difficult. It can be a hostile and unfriendly environment. Many of your staff simply might not be comfortable working at a booth. Those who have booth experience often fall into bad habits that only training can fix. Your staff needs specialized training, which should focus on the techniques for gathering lead information. It’s the part of their job that will take up the greatest amount of time so helping them gain the confidence to do the job correctly is crucial.
Reward those who do it right
Being there and getting leads is often not enough. Sales people for example, earn their salary making sales—not getting leads. Support staff often lack the vision to see the big picture, so, for them, spending time at the booth lacks purpose. A system of rewarding excellent performance is important. It might include cash prizes, trips, spousal invitations to travel, dinner and theatre tickets, or special recognition in company publications.
Consider these few steps next time you are participating in a show and see what a difference they will make. If you only rely on business cards dropped into a draw box or scattered bits of information to evaluate your show results, you are putting yourself at a disadvantage.
Barry Siskind is North America’s foremost trade and consumer show expert. He is author of Powerful Exhibit Marketing. Visit siskindtraining.com and learn how you can dramatically improve the bottom line at your next show
