Magnus Marketing Blog

Some companies actually still do the "old school" thing of participating in tradeshows. With an average investment ranging from $5,000 for local shows to over $20K for national shows, wasting time, money, or resources is not an option. In today's post I thought I would provide some insight and points related to tradeshow success.

1. Tradeshows are about SELLING. If the cost of a show is $20K, you had better generate enough business to cover the cost of the show and then some. Everything ranging from your booth, resources, support materials, and promo has to promote your service or product and lead to sales. This is not a pleasure trip, nor about market research - it is about selling. Usually, trade shows are the LAST step in the prospecting process, it is a place to meet people you have called and called over time, to set up in-person demos for prospects, and to educate your potential market.

2. Be mindful of the Giveaway. Yes, everyone loves an IPOD or some gadget, but will the people entering your drawing be QUALIFIED LEADS? I learned long ago that offering something of value, related to your company, that can lead to further service or product sales will generate and segment real opportunity from some guy who wants a new gadget. Long ago, when launching PeopleSoft services, we offered a free needs assessment and discount on services for PeopleSoft - we only got about 20 cards versus the 100, but man, those 20 were qualified opportunities (they were looking at PeopleSoft). I'd rather call 20 qualified people, versus 100 to find the 20. If you are tech company, giveaway a new server or telephone system, then upsell more servers or services from there.

3. Image is everything. Make sure that your booth conveys an appropriate message and services for the "market" at the show. I had a client that was selling a specialized computer system, but insisted on a generic image that depicted convergence. The market was focused on the specialized computer system, the image did nothing to map to market needs and wasn't compelling. Audiences are getting more target specific, so it is important to create interchangeable panels that can convey the right message. And, people assess within 30 seconds. Test your image with the internal team to see what impression they are left with.

4. Follow Up Post Show. Divvy up all the cards and paper collected and create a process for follow up. Make sure you have the right people following up also. I had a situation with a client, where the salesguy made calls and got NOTHING. I got the SAME list and called and ended up generating leads. A tradeshow list needs to be called within a week or two and CONTINUALLY followed up on, until the people are connected with. They were looking for a reason folks, find out why.

5. Decision-makers will rarely be at the show. Very rarely will decision-makers, unless it is a small company, be at the show. Be mindful that most people will be influencers or will gather information for the decison-maker. Messaging and collateral should be targeted accordingly.

Those are just some high level observations regarding tradeshows. Eating, drinking, talking amongst the team, no focus on the customer - hustling, and using distractions like magicians are other annoyances and detractors from success....if you can't get people interested on your own merit - then you might rethink your strategy overall.