| There are lots of ways to improve your
team's performance at tradeshows. From snazzy new displays to intensive training to
rewards and incentives for top producers, it's difficult to even count the myriad ways
What's not difficult is to realize that some of these improvement methods come with hefty
price tags.
Don't despair. There are many ways to pump up performance
without breaking the bank. In fact, I've collected 27 low or no cost ways to improve your
next tradeshow:
1. Research the show BEFORE you commit: Does it attract a
large number of people from your target audience?
2. Give yourself enough time: Planning and preparation for
a major show can take 12-18 months.
3. Involve top management in the planning process. You'll
get better results from your team if they know upper management is supporting their
efforts.
4. Send e-mail reminders to loyal customers and strong
prospects before the show, urging them to stop by your booth.
5. Define goals and objectives for show participation.
6. Share these goals and objectives with your booth staff.
They can't achieve your goals and objectives if they don't know what they are.
7. Plan for security as needed: you don't want expensive
prototypes or demo models 'walking away'.
8. Brief your team on common tradeshow espionage practices
and how to defend against them.
9. Send enough people to ensure adequate booth coverage
throughout the show.
10. Give each booth staffer a specific role, with job
expectations clearly spelled out.
11. Stress the value of friendly greetings, polite manners,
and appropriate body language.
12. Take the time to familiarize your team with the lead
collection technology you'll be using before the show.
13. Make sure at least some of the people going to the show
are prepared to answer technical questions. 14. Send friendly, personable people with a
genuine enthusiasm for your company, its products and services. These may not be your most
senior people: make your choices based on effectiveness, not seniority.
15. Check in with your team throughout the show to assess
performance, reward positive behaviors, and stop negative trends before they get out of
hand.
16. Establish a dress code for your staffers: They'll look
more professional and act as better ambassadors for your company.
17. Don't forget the shoes, hair, and accessories: people
notice the details. Manicures are crucial, as your team will be shaking hands hundreds,
perhaps thousands, of times during the show.
18. Two words: Breath Mints.
19. Practice asking qualifying questions with your booth
staffers.
20. Product demonstrations are a great way to draw a crowd:
Make sure your team knows how to give an effective, engaging presentation by having them
practice before the show.
21. If you are sponsoring entertainment, a speaker, or
other event, make sure your team knows what to do during this time. From working the crowd
to collecting leads, there's plenty they should be doing to promote your company's name
and image.
22. Designate a 'go-to' person to act as a liaison with
show management. The better your relationship with management is, the better your show
experience will be.
23. That exhibitor's service manual the show organizers
sent you when you registered? Read it: it's chock full of valuable information to help
ensure a stress-free show.
24. Copy appropriate pages from the exhibitor service
manual and pass them along to the relevant staffers: It doesn't help you to know when
everything has to be broken down and off the show floor if you're not the person doing
that work.
25. Order services ahead of time. Making deadlines = big
savings.
26. Establish a follow up protocol for hot leads, promising
prospects, and likely customers. Use this protocol to turn leads into sales.
27. Say “Thank You” to attendees for stopping by,
to anyone who fills out survey information or participates in a demonstration, during your
follow up calls. |
