What challenges will you face at a trade show?

Trade shows are either a glam show for big vendors or the greatest sales week of your life. You need to treat them like trip to see clients. Look at the show, list the targets, go find them in their booths and drive them to yours. Then make sure you capture every intro, badge, and new customers that you can in a week.

Tradeshows are one o the best ways to connect with your ICP who are showing intent to engage. It is a lot of commitment for prospects to set aside time and spend 2-3 days at a Trade show. Understanding the event and your own ICP - thin slicing all the ICP's that are likely to attend - for instance if you are in ed tech - you may have the Government policy makers, school administration, teachers and facilitators - all attending but with definite outcomes in mind. Preparing in advance for each specifically is key.

Pre-show planning goes a long way, ignore it at your own peril. An intentional social media campaign can lead to increased meetings, networking opportunities, and all-around exposure at your show. Consider a light rehearsal for your booth staff. Treat them like actors who have to play a part. A staffer that avoids eye contact, doesn't engage, and loiters by the nearest couch in your booth is wasted effort on your part. If you and sales can't 100% agree on the (shared) goal for the show before you get there, it's time to go back to the drawing board.

In my experience, having a competitor next to, or near your booth, should not be considered a negative thing. If you are confident about your ability to deliver your product and services extremely well, and even perhaps, be better-priced… then having your competitors’ audience next to your booth will be an advantage! You get to showcase your strengths to their customers! ??????

Be aware of the reality - your best customer is your competitors best prospect. If you lose the battle for attention, you open the door to a good salesperson starting a conversation and playing “let’s you and him fight” until your competitor gets an appointment with your customer. Obviously, the door swings both ways. But if you ignore that reality, you’re exposing yourself to a bad outcome.

The key is to a) Have a very clear understanding of your target prospects in their various avatars b) Ability to make in-depth notes on each interaction of value c) starting follow up engagement quickly - perhaps even before they have walked out of the exhibition floor for the day.

Competitors nearby can actually be a great opportunity to showcase what sets you apart. It's all about confidence in your product and service excellence. Embracing the chance to impress a new audience and win them over with your strengths!

You have to have a plan for hot leads - immediate sales follow up, and lukewarm leads - the slow lane buyers who stopped by your booth out of curiosity. A pre-built email campaign that you can plug those leads into that answers all of their awareness stage questions is best. A big mistake that marketers make is avoiding badge scanners due to cost. People don't carry around business cards like they used to anymore, so trying to find contact info from all of those lukewarm leads can be very time-consuming and expensive. Pay for the badge scanner.

Generating quality leads and following up effectively with those leads are two of the biggest factors impacting your trade show ROI. Here are 3 must-do's to make the most of your investment: 1. Have on-brand, high-engagement lead magnets in your booth that will not only collect prospect data, but segment prospects into buyer-readiness categories. 2. Get creative with your lead capture. This is an opportunity to make a great first impression with the prospect and cement your brand in their mind. 3. Have your follow-up system in place BEFORE the trade show, and schedule follow-up on team calendars for the first business day after the trade show ends. Too many leads don't get followed up with soon enough...or at all.

Add more criteria to your lead retrieval so your sales team can properly segment the leads that come in. Scanning every badge with zero critical thinking is a thing of the past. Work closely with the sales team on what their follow up campaign looks like. If it is lazy and generic, you have wasted that attendee's experience as a prime touchpoint. Encourage them to mention specific things your team discussed with the attendee at the actual show. Set yourself apart from the swarm of emails they are going to get from other booths they visited.

Here again the key is to understand where in the buying journey the prospect who just spent time with you is and to be able to answer the relevant questions linked to the stage they are in. Some one who is beginning to explore or research is not to be bombarded with the objective of closing a sale - rather take the opportunity to embed your company and/or product into her/her journey. The key here is to be able to share a lot of educational material - not only about your product or service but about the entire landscape the prospect is exploring. Being transparent, aligned with the prospects interest and sharing information that includes your competitors strength - all lead to establishing a trust worthy relationship.

While setting up KPI's and a mechanism to assess progress this is not an exact science. A lot of actions we measure are vanity matrices- how much of a document a prospect read, or how much of the demo video did she watch etc. mean very little. Also keep in mind a lot of times if you are asking pointed questions which lead to defining a time line for decision - they will likely attract wrong submissions. What we are trying to evaluate are a) Do we really have a solution to the problem the prospect is trying to solve b) What do we need to do to understand their desirable outcome and c) do we see willingness in part of the visitor to share specific details about their situation leading to this exploration (for solution).

Companies attend tradeshows for several reasons. One of the most prevalent is to come back with leads. Duh...right? Is a scan of someone's badge who passing buy a good lead...probably not. We need to make meaningful connections, Networking as it were, be it in the booth, at a party, eating lunch, or at a company event. Most people you meet will not have a need for your product or service right away, so play the long game...build rapport, which leads to a a deeper conversation...and that can lead to a relationship that can last indefinitely should you try.. One tip on staying organized is to use the QR code on your LinkedIn profile to be able to connect on the platform...its a great way to also nurture the relationship thru social media.

From a sponsoring company perspective, it's important to not only establish relationships as a company representative, but also as an individual. Many times you can bond with a prospect over hobbies, where you're from, etc. In order to get in front of people that you may not have set meetings with on the show floor, or at a session, I recommend hosting a smaller more intimate event with just your company's prospects and merchants. This way, you aren't competing with as many other competing priorities on the agenda.

In your plan, mark few contacts into different categories, make sure at least 20% of them you keep in touch with them in 30 days, 15% of them in 60 days, 10% of them in 90 days. This way the stranger becomes a close connection.

My trade show tip: Start by choosing a reliable transportation company that understands trade show logistics. Ensure your Bill of Lading (BOL) clearly lists your booth number and essential details so the decorators know exactly where to place your setup. Proper labeling is a must to avoid any mix-ups. If you're transporting machinery, opt for a full truckload (TL) rather than less-than-truckload (LTL) to minimize handling and reduce the risk of damage. Adding insurance can safeguard against unforeseen losses. Also, factor in an extra day or two in your shipping schedule to accommodate any potential delays. This approach guarantees a smoother, stress-free experience, allowing you to focus on making the most of your trade show participation.