Connecting with prospects

I was reminded today of how long it takes to establish a relationship.

A colleague in Tucson, Fred Narcaroti, and I spent some time talking about how to build business. Fred pointed out that it takes a minimum of three contacts for a person to know you well enough to ask you about your business, let along award you business (a contract). When you apply this to trade shows and the world of face-to-face selling, you have to agree: a trade show is a step in the process of changing suspects into prospects and then into clients.

On the trade show floor, you most likely are meeting your contact for the first time. It could be the very first contact or could be the first face-to-face talk. It might could be the time you meet to close a deal. The point is, it is a step in a process. Whether it's three times, as Fred suggests, or 6 or 9 times, you have to make the connection on more than a "hi-how-are-you-can-I-sell-you-something" basis. As we've discussed earlier in this space, people do business with people who they like. And it akes time to get to know someone.

Lesson Learned: take the time to get to know your prospects and be patient.

TTSG

Trade shows, networking and LinkedIn

What do these three things have in common? They are all about making positive, direct contact with people.

While I am, and probably always will be, the advocate for face-to-face contact (the first two), the third item is growing in both popularity and effectiveness. But I have learned, as with the other two, these methods work best when they are a part of a larger campaign.

Let's skip right to LinkedIn: I learned a valuable lesson just yesterday on it's power and usefulness. For those of you not familiar, it is, in quick summary, the social media choice for B2B types, a Facebook for business people. Within in it, you post a profile and make connections. With those connections you can ask for and make recommendations and introductions. And here is where it gets complicated for some.

Making a recommendation or introduction is a priviledge. As a connection pointed out to me, we are the guardians of our relationships and play a role of "trusted advisor". In other words, don't go willy-nilly connecting or recommending people you just met. This isn't an electronic bar scene where one is out to score, but rather an extension of the trade show floor where you either start a conversation (or relationship) or take another step in the process. Don't abuse what you have been trusted with.

Lesson Learned: place value on the relationships you have and are developing and respect, not abuse, those that have entrusted you.

TTSG

An open letter to Steve Jobs about trade shows

Dear Steve,

In yesterday's release about MacWorld 2009, did you really say "Trade shows do not deliver the same return on investment that they did in the past."? I realize the real news in the release was about you not being the keynote at this event, but, come on, that isn't really the kind of message you, an advocate of effective brand selling, wants to deliver in this economy, now is it?

I can understand if MacWorld has run its course as a B2B trade show or a platform for you and Apple. I can also understand if the sales cycle of Apple has gotten to the point that shows don't fit your marketing mix. But to write off shows with a general sweep of the hand as not driving sales well and being a "once-a-year shot" is unfair to an entire industry.

Even without the stats from our friends at CEIR or Exhibitor Magazine , trade shows still are the best return on investment when it comes to face-to-face selling. The basic math says you can meet more customers/prospects/suspects for the price of a single air fare and expenses in one place than you can with one-on-one sales calls. Plus you get the benefit of featuring your brand in a showcase where business leaders and leading buyers are in one place where you are side by side with your partners and competitiors. And let's not forget that face-to-face selling closes sales faster than multiple e-mails, phone calls and text messages. You are better off standing next to your client than you are watching them on a screen. The live experience just can't be replaced.

So, please, don't write off an entire show or industry just because it doesn't fit your specific needs. Of course your products are best sold through your stores or on line. But where else can you be the face of a whole industry, a thought leader? Where else can you encounter people and start conversations that might not otherwise have been possible?

I realize shows are expensive and ROI is important, particularly in this economy. However, there is also ROO (return on objective) and the almost immeasureable brand impact that must also be considered.

Thanks for reading, Steve. Happy holidays and best wishes to you and your family and good health to you. I appreciate all you've done for your industry, technology, entertainment and America. Be thinking about your friends in the trade show industry and what we could really be doing together in 2009 and beyond.

The Trade Show Guy (TTSG)

Getting answers to your questions

Recently a client asked her incumbent exhibit house a simple question and got the runaround. I'm still not sure why.

The question she asked was for a set of set up or construction drawings. She is adding a graphic to a backwall of a booth she has in her warehouse and needs the dimensions of the wall for her graphic vendor.

The reply to her request was off-putting and cryptic--no, they didn't have any drawings and the sent her the space layout for a long-past show. No help at all.

Now, why the constructor of an exhibit doesn't have assembly or engineering drawings is beyond me. How did it get built? How is it assembled by the I&D crew? Could it be because they weren't being asked to produce the new graphic that they were being evasive? Hmmm.....

There is absolutely no reason my client shouldn't have gotten a set of drawings. She, after all, owns the booth. As it is, she is now having to be inconvenienced by pulling the wall from the crate and measuring it by hand. This involves forklift drivers, time, travel, etc., etc., etc.

Lesson Learned: you own the drawings, designs and electronic files and all that comes with your booth. be sure to ask for it or an explanation of why you don't or can't have it. Be straight with your vendor and have high expectations.

TTSG

Using space to tell your story

Over the weekend just past, I had the opportunity to visit the King Tut traveling exhibit here in Dallas. It was a great sensory experience and really brought the artifacts and story to life.

Keep that in mind when you design or lay out your trade show exhibit.

The Dallas Museum of Art transformed itself for this exhibit. I am fortunate to have seen some of these artifacts when they first traveled the US back in the late 1970s. A lot has changed in what they show and how they show it. The three key things I came away with as an exhibit person were these:

1. Use light to your advantage
2. Be consistent and clear with your message(s)
3. Don't clutter the space

Using light. Each artifact in the displays was lit carefully and correctly based upon it's material and place in the story. Glass or plex cases surrounded artifacts to not only protect, but enhance (with light) what was being shown. The absence of light was also used and floors, walls and ceilings were black or dark colors to not distract from the photos or artifacts.

Consistent messages. The displays were arranged in such a way as to tell a story. It was a chronology of sorts so that you understood Tut's family origins and the history of what he dis politically and culturally. By the time you reached the "burial chamber" you knew who he was and what he brought with him. And where he seems to be "going" into history yet written.

Clutter. While there were thousands of artifacts found in the burial chamber, only a select few (and those Germain to conveying the tightly-formed story) were used. Photos of the actual excavation and discovery in 1922 were hung in key locations. Technology was used carefully and when appropriate.

If you get the chance to see this exhibit, please do. It's both a treat for the student in us all as well as the exhibitor that works within us.

Lesson learned: craft your messages and use light and space carefully and sparingly to reach your audience.

TTSG

Assessing your trade show program

In conversation with a client yesterday, the topic of how to allocate marketing budget within business units (and to specific shows) came up.

How do you divvy up the marketing pie across markets so that you exhibit at the most effective shows?

My client is a savvy guy and is really taking a hard look at how money is dispersed. As an illustration, his company has three major business units and attends about 8 to 10 shows during the year. Budgets for shows vary widely, with one marquee show taking 50% to 60% of the total trade show budget (and the corresponding business unit commanding a budget 10 times larger than either of the other two). There shouldn't be anything wrong with this, except that, using even the simple "cost per lead" measure, several smaller shows account for more leads (10 times in some cases) and more sales (measurable, booked sales).

You could use the lead count measure, but you might be shortchanging the show. Perhaps the staff is not trained or the show wasn't promoted enough in advance to give them the right introduction to prospects on the show floor. Whatever, something is amiss in why this show commands the lion's share of the budget and company's attention. Particularly when smaller, less expensive (both dollars and staff time) draw more leads and close more sales.

You could allocate budget based on revenue generated by each business unit. In our example, it would be more balanced: the three units are a 50-30-20 split. So, instead of getting 80% to 90% of the trade show budget, the unit would get only 50%. This causes managers and sales people to be more strategic (and accountable) for their trade show decisions.

Don't forget that not all measures are numeric: your presence at a show speaks volumes to your marketplace, so don't forget the intangible measures and costs of going or not going.

The talk with my client ended with the oft-repeated "plan": take 3 years to get to know your program.

• The first year is learning the where and what of the past and present and learning the marketplace.
• The second year is time for fine-tuning--vendors, methods, simple image things.
• The 3rd year is the time for more significant change. By then you know the market, can judge shows and their impact (both internally and externally) and can shape your path to the future.

Lesson Learned: be realistic and forward-thinking in choosing shows and managing your program. Don't go just to go and be fare to the markets you serve itnernally.

TTSG

Booth attractions: Using celebrities...in whatever form

Having a "draw" at your exhibit is an important part of the lead-gathering process. Whether it's a serious presentation or a live-action dance team or entertainer, it's all about the lead--and the attention on the show floor.

The Buzz.

At the recent NACS show in Chicago, having a celebrity or key figure seemed to be the way to go. With MM/Mars and other NASCAR sponsors in the hall, they leaned on their relationship with their sponsored driver. Now, I've never met Kyle Busch in person, but I understand this cutout is near life size. Visitors to the booth shot photos of (and with) the cardboard Kyle and, with the other icons in the both (the MM characters, either in walkaround suits or plastic replicas), drew attention to the brand.

Other celebs and public figures made the scene, too. Once exhibitor built their whole exhibit around the election. The candy company did a mock vote with candy flavors and themed the entire booth and interaction at their exhibit around the election and the two major party candidates. No word on who won this vote, but the cutouts were proportional and a good attention-getter for a small (10x10) exhibitor. I imagine they did pres-show mailings and post-show followup using the theme.

Still others used live action icons. The jerky company brought out Bigfoot, both in carboard and costumed form. You could get a still photo with the real guy or you could pose with the cutout. Videos from their TV ad campaign played in the booth.

Chiquita Bananas did wonders with a small island booth. Simple display racks of fresh bananas in a structure keyed to their brand and colors was the backdrop. An actress/model, dressed as the 1960s TV ad icon worked in the booth, posing for photos with visitors and stocking fruit. The model was also well-versed and armed with the verbal messages that the Chiquita people wanted conveyed to their C-store audience. that's pervasive branding.

Still others relied on our memories and sense of fun. The Icee Bear, Myley Cyrus and the Blues Brothers all made appearances. Even the Chester's Chicken Rooster was walking the aisles. Free food samples and interactive characters brought attention to a myraid of brands in a busy space. But it seemed to work for them. And many of them did it right--integrating brand and message in a fun, memorable way. But always, always tie it to the gathering of leads and follow up.

Lesson Learned: integrate your brand message in a fun, memorable way and the prospect will remember you.

TTSG