February 2012 Archives

There are two basic Trade Show strategies: gather or filter.

If your primary objective is increasing brand recognition, getting the word out about a new product, or attracting the majority of the show's attendees, you probably want to gather.

If your objective is to attract top prospects, increase face time with highly qualified buyers, or search for those hard-to-find A-level leads, you probably want to filter (a technique that places quantity on the back burner, opting instead for fewer, but more qualified, leads).

The following tactics will help you implement the approach you choose, and ultimately land you the quantity and quality of leads you're looking for.

Option 1: Gather

If you're looking to create a rush to your booth, you'll want to let everyone know what you've got planned. Pre-show e-mail campaigns are designed to do just that: reach as many people as possible for as little as possible. Send e-mails introducing your company and letting attendees know where your booth is located and why they should add it to their must-see lists.

To gather attendees at your booth, you need to create a reason for them to come. Build traffic by distributing promotional items, hosting an in-booth contest, activity, or presentation -- anything that will pique attendees' curiosity and get them into your exhibit.

The layout of your booth should be open and inviting: no walls that block attendees, no imposing barriers such as counters or tables. Signage should be bold and eye catching. If there's not a line or crowd in your booth at all times, you're doing something wrong.

Your booth staff should be trained to collect leads efficiently. Now is not the time for long sales pitches; you're focusing on the sound-bite speech. And, with so many attendees expected to pass through your exhibit, a quick, reliable lead-capture system is vital.

Option 2: Filter

The first step when filtering attendees is to determine whether there are enough valuable leads attending the show to make it worth your while to exhibit. If there are, then you'll need to find out who those leads are, design a marketing strategy to reach those individuals, and get enough of them to visit your booth -- and ultimately purchase your product or service -- to pay for your presence at the trade show.

At the least, you must identify and contact the attendees you'd like to see and let them know you'll be at the show. At best, you can set up appointments ahead of time with key prospects and VIP clients.

If you're not sure who your top prospects are, devise a plan to cull those few qualified attendees from the herd. E-mail all attendees a link to a Web site where you pre-qualify leads via an online survey. Then target the most promising respondents.

While no one wants to be seen as unfriendly on the trade show floor, your booth should not go out of its way to attract everyone. Here, barriers to entry are not only acceptable, they might even be preferable. Meeting rooms are probably necessary. Signage should allow attendees to self qualify rather than attracting every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

Consider a high-priced or high-quality promotional giveaway, something of greater value than the branded pens or T-shirts you might use if you were gathering. Remember, since you're exclusively focusing on a handful of attendees, you can afford to spend more per attendee than if you were targeting the show's entire pre-registration list.

This has been a guest post by Bob Milam. Bob has just unveiled a brand new service for 2011. It's specifically designed for exhibit and trade show managers and it's called "Ask Trade Show Bob."

(You'll get 30 minutes of on-the-fly strategic and/or tactical trade show advice for just $69.00 per 30-minute session. Bob is available any time, day or night, before, during or after your show. )

What's on your iPod? What's in your Netflix cue? What shows do you Tivo?

In this age of social networking, we like to turn to others to help guide our choices. Simple technologies allow us to more easily find, connect with, and tap into the brain trust of a much larger group of individuals than before.

Except at most meetings. Yes, we are getting better at more strategically incorporating shared interest groups and other communities of like-minded individuals into conference schedules. But when we talk about tapping into the interests of the community, we have a lot of unfulfilled opportunities.

While I'm a heavy user of sophisticated electronic community-building software whenever it is part of a conference, here are a few easier-to-implement tactics:

1. In meeting registration materials spotlight a half-dozen or so actual attendees and the mix of activities they plan on attending during your conference ala "What's on your meeting schedule?"

2. In addition to the traditional speaker bio have each presenter share one book and one blog related to their presentation that they consider "must read" and one relevant resources to follow on Twitter, Pinterest, or another similar site.

3. Add a field to your registration database asking participants to identify a question or topic they would most like to engage with others around during your meeting. Print it on nametags and in your participant directory.

4. In a general session, create some optional "reserved" seating areas for people with common job functions. Then allow time at the close of the session for people to share with each other how they plan on applying the speaker's ideas.

5. Organize your registration area not alphabetically, but by local affiliates, states, or some other demographic that makes standing in line a potential networking opportunity.

6. Do a "stand up or raise your hand if this statement describes you" exercise at the start of a session. Read a variety of demographic statements of characteristics and ask people to stand if the statement applies to them. It provides a quick visual of who's in the room and can facilitate some fast connections among kindred spirits.

Birds of a feather do indeed flock together, and the smart meeting planner helps facilitate those connections being made quickly and frequently throughout a conference.

How else have you seen a meeting or conference help people connect or spotlight individuals as curators for others?

This has been a guest post by Jeffrey Cufaude. Jeffrey Cufaude is an architect of ideas, working to build communities of ideas and idealists through his writing, facilitation, consulting, and speaking. Very active professionally, Cufaude has twice served on the Indiana Society of Association Executives Board of Directors (ISAE), and has been honored as the ISAE Meeting Planner of the Year. He also contributes in a variety of capacities to ASAE (American Society of Association Executives), currently serving as a member of its Innovation Task Force. He designed and facilitated ASAE's Future Leaders Conference, one of their flagship initiatives from 1998-2007.

When you go to your next trade convention show, you will want to network with as many people as you can - which means you have to leave many conversations. How do you do this gracefully?

Here is an example of an awkward exit, and some tips on how it could have been handled better. The other night at a networking event I ran into someone I had met at another event. We were chatting, but during a somewhat awkward pause he looked at his plate and said "these stuffed mushrooms are really good. I'm going to get some more." He simply walked away, went to the buffet and started filling up his plate. I stood there for a minute wondering if I should follow him, stay where I was and wait for him to return or find another person to talk to.

After standing there for a few more moments, feeling rather stupid, I realized he was not coming back. I wondered if I had said something wrong or maybe, horrors, I had halitosis. I felt foolish for standing there thinking he would return.

What went wrong here? As I reflected on this, I realized this man, I'll call him Chris, was finished talking to me but had no idea how to gracefully end the conversation. He attempted by giving a plausible excuse, but he did not make it clear the conversation was over.

The most important rule when ending a conversation with someone, whether at a networking event, party or out and about, is to be gracious and kind to your conversation partner. Even if the person was the biggest bore or had the worse halitosis it's important to not communicate displeasure with them. And, you must clearly end the conversation so you're partner isn't wondering if you're coming back.

What could Chris have done differently? At the very least he should have said to me, "wow, these stuffed mushrooms are really good. I'm going to get some more. It was great seeing you again. Enjoy the event."

Or "I'm going to freshen my drink. I enjoyed our conversation. May I have your business card? I'd love to stay in touch."

Or, "It's been really nice talking to you. I don't want to keep you from mingling with others. Enjoy the event."

Or, "Arden, have you met Mary? She is also into biking. I bet you two have a lot in common."Then make the introduction and exit the conversation.

All of these options are kind and clearly convey the conversation is finished. I would have known immediately Chris did not want me to follow him, nor wait for him to return after chowing down.

We really shouldn't expect to talk to someone for more than five minutes at a networking event. That's usually about how long we can sustain small talk with a stranger. So, expect to enter and exit several conversations at an event. Just be sure to exit conversations graciously, so that the person saves face and doesn't wonder if they said or did something wrong.

A few other tips. When you're talking to someone, give them your full attention and never scan the room looking for your next conversation partner. Even if the person you're talking to isn't a potential client or doesn't offer what you're looking for don't just give up on the conversation. You never know who they know or if there might be partnership opportunities in the future.

If you're walking into a networking event or party and you don't know anyone, look for groups of three or more, because they tend to be more casual groups open to newcomers. Or introduce yourself to someone standing alone. Most likely this person doesn't know anyone either and will be grateful you reached out.

Make networking about others not you. Be gracious and kind, and you will have much more success.

This has been a guest post by Arden Clise, President of Clise Etiquette. Ms. Clise is a business etiquette consultant, trainer and coach. She is also the Etiquette columnist for the Puget Sound Business Journal. Arden has a great newsletter on Business Etiquette tips, click here to sign up.