Your exhibition bottom line is the number of quality leads you obtained.
Over the years, The Center for Exhibition Research (CEIR)[1] has published some amazing research. Everyone involved in the exhibition industry aught to be a fan of this association.
Past CEIR publications have shown the value of face-to-face marketing as well as solid information that brings home some of the shortcomings of exhibitors.
One such recent research study was entitled “Exhibitor Sales Lead Capture and Follow-up Practice Trends.”[2]
The research was the result of interviews conducted in June 2012 with 198 exhibitors. The results highlight a problem that has plagued exhibitors for decades – how to get realizable and measurable results from the show investment.
The first part of the report deals with methods of capturing lead information. A large number of exhibiting companies record contact information and product details on a paper based lead form or on the back of a business card. Yet, less than thirty percent of the booth staff, asked for additional information such as demographics or other lead qualifying criteria.
The intention of gathering quality leads is to have them followed up by sales people through an e-mail offering, additional product description or a phone call.
Think about it. What is the real purpose of meeting your prospect face-to-face? The answer is two fold; first to uncover potential business opportunities and second to engage prospects in a conversation that makes them feel part of the solution. Both of these reasons are what motivated the visitor to stop by your booth in the first place yet, if the conversation is relegated to a few bits of product information, and basic demographics.
The solution is to find out more about the people you meet at an exhibition, record the information properly and use it as part of the post-show follow-up.
The logical beginning point is to develop your questions ahead of time, train your staff and/or prepare yourself on how to ask these questions and how best to record the answers.
For example, in my book, Powerful Exhibit Marketing, I taught exhibitors how to qualify by using an acronym called, “ACTION.” This represents six bits of information that go beyond the basics. Here is a brief explanation of the ACTION questions:
A = Authority
Does this visitor have buying authority or can they influence the buying decision?
C = Capability
How closely does this visitor fit into the profile of someone who will ultimately buy your product or service?
T = Time
Is there a close relationship between your selling cycle and this visitor’s buying cycle?
I = Identity
This will include such things as job title (in a B to B situation), address and other contact information.
O = Obstacles
Why could or would this visitor not want to do business with you?
N = Need
Does the visitor need this product or service?[3]
Acronyms are fine. They give you a structure to use so that your staff asks similar questions of each booth visitor.
The trick is to develop questions that will work for you. Ask yourself:
- What are the key criteria I need to know to understand this visitor’s perspective?
- How can I train my staff to ask the appropriate questions of each booth visitor?
- What do I need to develop to ensure that my staff record information that I can use for follow up?
If you can not work with the ACTION questions, then hone them to fit your unique situation.
Now when you are talking to visitors, you have questions to help properly focus the conversation.
During the conversation you should be recording the answers you get either on a paper-based lead sheet, electronic lead retrieval system or a combination of both. Then once these leads come back to the shop, you have solid information to continue the conversation post-show.
The last step is to put into place proper follow-up systems that track each lead. This step will answer your ultimate question – was my trade show investment profitable?
An important part of your show preparation is to ensure that you get real value. This is accomplished with systems that will help convert conversations into business.
I will deal with this aspect of your exhibit program in a future article.
Once you have developed and implemented a strategy for finding the right contacts you will be amazed at how your return on investment grows.
