Trade Show Advice

Last week we had a booth at Exhibitor 2010 which is a trade show about the conference, events and trade show industry.  We were focused our new exhibitor internet access service, EventConnect.    

There are many reasons to exhibit at a trade show, but our trade show strategy was fairly simple: generate new business via new contacts.  Due to the current economic contitions, we were a bit skeptical going into the show. 

So far, it looks like the show was successful.  Our new product was well received and we made some contacts that have already converted into trade show sales.  I spoke to a few colleagues who exhibited, and they were also pleasently surprised with the show and are expecting a decent trade show ROI.

So I am wondering...has our industry turned the corner?
 

“So how many leads did we get?” This is normally the first question everyone asks when gauging the success of a trade show. Unfortunately, if you are looking to increase trade show sales this is the wrong question. The question should be, “how many good leads did we get?”  

If you are giving away a trip to Hawaii, you will collect a ton of trade show leads. But how many of your 1,000 leads are interested in your company vs. interested in going to Hawaii? Unless you have a good trade show lead qualification process, you may never know.  

Regardless of your promotion (or lack thereof), it is imperative to qualify the leads onsite. There are a few different ways to accomplish this. One way is using the show provided exhibitor lead retrieval system. Most of the systems out there offer 20 custom qualifiers. For some companies, this is more than enough to determine which leads are good and which are looking for a freebie. If your needs are more robust, you can use third party trade show lead retrieval software. There are a few third party companies out there.  Most of them are very reliable and offer just about everything you could want to qualify leads. 

Once you qualify the leads you can implement a lead scoring system for lead rating and implement a good trade show lead management program. Then you can answer the more important question of how many good leads you collected at the show.  For more advice on how to better manage trade show leads, take a look at this article HERE.

1. Focus your Resources - Instead of doing the same amount of shows halfhearted, cut or downsize shows that don't produce the best results.  If you had a 20 x 20 booth at a show last year that produced minimal trade show sales, you should think about getting a smaller booth or dropping the show from your schedule.  

2. Renegotiate contracts - You are working with your current vendors for a reason.  You don't want to start cutting ties with your vendors when they perform a key service for you (if you use lead retrieval software, for example).  Instead, see if you can get better pricing.  Times are tough for everyone, and if your vendor really values your business they will do whatever they can within reason to keep you around.

3. Do your Homework - If your vendors will not or can not budge, shop around.  Their competitors may have changed policies or come out with new products since you last evaluated them.  You may find a better, more cost effective option.  If not, you at least have some leverage when negotiating with your existing vendors.

When talking about trade show lead capture, exhibitors have two viable options: the trade show scanner offered by the show or third party trade show software. Let’s explore the argument against using the show provided system. 

While the trade show lead retrieval system provided at the show is the most commonly used trade show lead capture device, it has some drawbacks. The main drawbacks are customizability, scalability, and appearance. 

Customizability - The main argument against the trade show scanner is the limited custom features. Most offer 20 qualifiers, which is good, but what if you need more than that? Some of my clients have 20 products they want to record. That leaves no room for the real important qualifying info (budget, authority, need and time frame) for your trade show leads. Plus, sometimes you run into a system where they offer no qualifiers.  Trade show lead qualification is very important, and these systems can’t adequately meet many exhibitors’ needs. 

Scalability - If you exhibit at 15 shows per year, you could see 15 different lead retrieval systems with different qualification capabilities. Another issue is with each system you will receive your leads in a different file format.  This makes it very difficult to implement a solid and consistent lead management program. 

Appearance - When you have put a ton of work and resources into making your booth look perfect, the last thing you want to do is put a big ugly gray box on top of your counter. While some of the systems are small, you are ultimately at the mercy of the trade show scanner supplier. 

When you combine the limited custom features, scalability, and appearance of the show provided systems, you may want to look elsewhere for your trade show lead generation needs.  There are many different third party lead retrieval systems that have unlimited customizability and provide you a clean looking, consistent way to collect trade show leads. 

If you would like a free consultation to help you determine the best system for you, please click HERE.

When talking about trade show lead capture, exhibitors have two viable options: the trade show scanner offered by the show or third party trade show software. Let’s explore the argument for using the show provided system. 

The trade show lead retrieval system provided at the show is the most commonly used trade show lead capture device. 3 reasons they are so popular are: convenience, reliability, and cost. 
 

Convenience - When you use the show provided lead retrieval system, all you have to do is go to their desk and pick it up. You don’t have to set anything up; you plug it in and it works. Another convenience is the minimal booth training. These boxes are very simple to use. 

Reliability – These systems are normally built well and rarely break on you. If they do break during the show, you can take it back to the desk and get a new one. On the other hand, if you own a 3^rd party lead retrieval software system to collect trade show leads and a reader breaks, there normally is no on site support unless you contracted it before the show.   

Cost - The show provided system is the cheapest lead retrieval system for most exhibitors. While some exhibitors can justify the cost of ownership for third party trade show software, most companies just don’t exhibit enough to make the numbers work. 
 

When you combine the convenience, reliability and cost of the show provided scanners, it is a pretty good deal as long as you use the custom qualifiers. You can get into trouble, however, if you only walk away from the show with a list of names and no trade show lead qualification information.

If you would like a free consultation to help you determine the best system for you, please click HERE.
 

When talking about trade show lead capture, exhibitors have two viable options: the trade show scanner offered by the show or third party trade show software. Let’s explore the argument against using a third party exhibitor lead retrieval system. 

There are 4 main arguments against third party lead retrieval systems: compatibility, resources, expense, and improving technology.
 

Compatibility - Third party lead retrieval systems can read most of the badges out there. Most isn’t all. Some companies encrypt their badge so these systems can’t read them. Some have proprietary badges that enable the exhibitor to use their own software as long as they rent the show box. While these shows are not common, they do exist.

Resources - While most of the third party systems are not horribly difficult to setup once you’ve been trained, there still is a setup process. You need to figure out who is providing the trade show scanner at the show (to make sure there are no compatibility issues), obtain a sample badge for setup, import your company logos, and type in your survey questions. While it doesn’t take too long to get the lead retrieval system setup, if you have 40 shows per year finding any free time can be difficult. 

Expense - Trade show software is more expensive than the systems provided onsite. If you exhibit at enough shows it makes sense on the surface, but when you put other costs into the equation you really have to use the system at a lot of shows to make it the same price as the show system. The sample badge I mentioned above normally doesn’t come free; companies normally charge $100-500 for it. The setup time isn’t a cost out of your budget, but your time comes at a price. Another cost is shipping the unit from show to show. When everything is factored in it is difficult to do enough shows to make the cost of these systems comparable to the cost of the trade show scanner offered by show management. 

Technology - The scanners offered by the shows have improved over the years. Using the show system to collect trade show leads is a very good option in some cases. Some companies even offer a lead retrieval software system that has many of the same custom features as the third party systems. Depending on your trade show lead qualification needs, some of the more basic systems can often get the job done as well. 

If you would like a free consultation to help you determine the best system for you, please click HERE.

When talking about trade show lead capture, exhibitors have two viable options: the trade show scanner offered by the show or third party trade show software. Let’s explore the argument for using a third party exhibitor lead retrieval system. 

Third party trade show lead retrieval solutions are software based and normally run on a laptop or a handheld device (they can also run on tablets, kiosks and other PC based computers). They vary in capabilities, but for the most part they enable you to customize a survey with as many questions as you need, put your company or product logos on every screen and customize an export file format. They also can read just about any trade show badge out there. Some systems are available for purchase and some work on yearly license agreements. 

This all adds up to a system that you can use at just about every show, customize for perfect trade show lead qualification and create an export file that will be the same at every show. Having this data opens up a world of opportunities for trade show follow up. You can electronically fulfill information requests immediately, easily upload leads into your CRM with custom tabs for your qualification data and provide reports to management letting them know how the trade show leads were. Because this is a consistent process at every show, implementing a lead management system becomes much easier. No more typing in leads from paper or dealing with different formats from the different boxes you use at every show. 

While the sticker shock for these systems throws off a lot of exhibitors, if you sit down and crunch the numbers it can actually save you money. If you purchase a system it will eventually pay for itself (it’s just a matter of how many shows you do). For the systems you lease on yearly agreements, as long as you exhibit at enough shows it will either be the same price as the trade show lead retrieval system or cheaper. 

Even if you don’t exhibit at enough shows for the cost to be the same as the show system, these lead retrieval systems are also available for rent. While the rental price is normally more expensive than the show system, their capabilities are so far superior it’s worth it. In fact, because they are so different, it really doesn’t make sense to compare the cost of these systems vs. the cost of the show system. The question is: what is it worth to your organization to collect highly qualified trade show leads (vs. just the contact info you get from the show system). Ultimately, if you exhibit to collect trade show leads, you should be willing to pay a premium for your lead retrieval system.

If you would like a free consultation to help you determine the best system for you, please click HERE.

Post Show

After the show there are a number of different trade show lead management responsibilities. Here are some facets of a good lead management program and who takes care of each task.
 

Lead Cleanup – Depending on the trade show lead retrieval system used, there may be duplicates, bad swipes and just bad information in your lead file. Traditionally, the marketing department takes care of cleaning up the lead file before sending it off to sales

Lead Rating - Some companies implement a lead scoring system for proper lead rating. In this scenario, the sales department has to acutely define the different levels of rating and make sure they are in line with what is collected onsite. This technical process is usually outsourced to lead management solution experts, but can be taken care of internally by either the sales or marketing department. 

Sales Lead Distribution – Delivering the leads to the appropriate sales rep in a timely manner is vital to any lead management system. The sales lead distribution process really depends on internal systems in place and corporate structure. However, the sales lead distribution process is normally taken care of by either the sales or IT department.
 

All in all, the trade show lead generation and management process is not as simple as it seems. However, with thorough planning and preparation, you can implement a good lead management solution. If you don’t know quite where to start, we would be happy to give you a free consultation of your current process to give you some pointers.  For more information, please click HERE.

Onsite

Once onsite, it is up to the marketing department to train the booth staff on best trade show lead capture practices. The booth is traditionally staffed by sales representatives, so convincing them that proper trade show lead qualification will improve their trade show follow up process shouldn’t be too difficult. 

Next you need to make sure everyone in the booth knows how to use the lead retrieval system you have in your booth. If you hire outside staff to work in the booth, just instruct them on how to use the trade show scanner and stress the importance of recording as much information as possible (at the very least with the most promising leads). Another good onsite trade show strategy is giving a prize to the staff member that collects the most leads each day of the show. 

The last step is to take all of the leads and get them in the hands of your post show processing contacts. 

To go to step 4 (post show trade show leads responsibilities), please click HERE.

To return to step 2 (pre show trade show leads responsibilities please click HERE.

Pre Show

When thinking about collecting leads at a trade show, the main goal should be to collect as many qualified leads as possible. There is a lot of planning and training that goes into trade show lead qualification. 

The first task is figuring out what information you want to gather. It is imperative to involve both sales and marketing in this process. Once everyone agrees on what information to collect, it is up to marketing to figure out how to collect that information. 

Choosing the appropriate exhibitor lead retrieval system to use on site hinges on the amount of information you want to gather, and your budget constraints. If you only need to collect a little bit of information and you have severe budget constraints, you can use the show sponsored trade show scanner with custom qualifiers. If you need to collect a lot of very specific information, you will want to look into third party trade show software for lead collection. The third party trade show lead capture systems are more expensive, but provide very thorough and customizable qualification options. 

To go to part 3 (on site trade show leads responsibilities), please click HERE.

To go back to part 1 (introduction), please click HERE.

Every exhibitor has different goals for their trade show program. One common thread with almost every exhibitor is collecting qualified trade show leads.

I have a lot of managers as me where certain responsibilities should lie regarding trade show lead generation and management. When thinking about trade show leads, the responsibilities of marketing and sales seem fairly cut and dried. Marketing manages the show so they’re in charge of trade show lead capture and the sales department is in charge of the selling, so they take the leads after the show and handle trade show lead follow up. 

Unfortunately there are a number of details that fall somewhere in between departments that are imperative to a successful trade show strategy and increasing trade show ROI. This is the introduction to a series on the responsibilities of marketing and sales during pre-show planning, onsite execution and post trade show follow up in regards to trade show leads. 

To go to Part 2 (pre-show responsibilities), please click HERE.

Working in your company’s trade show booth can be a tedious experience. Sometimes you are on your feet for 8 hours at a time, there are lulls in booth traffic, and you have the same conversation over and over. This makes it very difficult to motivate the booth staff. Below are some tips on how to keep your staff motivated to collect trade show leads.
 

Training – It is important to relay your company’s trade show strategies to the booth staff. It will not only help you achieve your goals, but it will also make the reps feel like part of the team.  

Properly staff the booth – If you have too many reps in the booth, there simply aren’t enough attendees to keep them all busy. This not only makes the reps bored, but it is very intimidating to attendees. It is better to have too many reps than to be understaffed, but if the show isn’t busy and you have reps standing around it’s better to cut some of the staff loose. Also, it’s important to rotate people in and out so they don’t get burned out. 

Establish goals – Establishing lead count goals for each rep can keep them engaged and focused on trade show lead generation. 

Hold a contest – Having a prize for the rep that collects the most trade show leads can spark a competition between the staff. You don’t have to break the bank here; a Starbucks gift card will usually do the trick. If you can get the reps to buy into the contest you will keep that trade show scanner beeping. 

Recognition – If you see a rep doing a good job, pull them aside and praise them. They will really appreciate it and will continue to work hard at the show. 
 

You spend months developing your trade show strategy. Make sure your staff is properly trained and motivated to see it through.  For more trade show advice, please click HERE.

Every time I go to a trade show with a client I see exhibitors with really nice giveaways. They want to increase traffic to their booth, and it works. These booths are normally packed with people wanting to be scanned so they have a shot at winning. Having a giveaway or promotion isn’t a bad idea; everyone wants to draw traffic to their booth. But if you do this you have to remember your ultimate goal: trade show ROI. 

Simply scanning everyone that comes by the booth only gives you a huge list of names. Case in point, I (a vendor) end up being one of those names. After these shows I receive a wide range of trade show lead follow up: post show mailers, emails and calls from sales reps. It’s all a huge waste of time, effort and resources because I am simply not a lead for these companies. I even tell them that as they scan my badge, but because they just keep scanning the conversation is never recorded. 

So what’s an exhibitor to do? If you have a popular giveaway, you will probably see a lot of traffic which makes trade show lead qualification at the first point of contact difficult (usually the information counter). What you can do is have a few different trade show lead retrieval systems throughout the booth. At the main counter, you can just have the trade show scanner offered by the show. This system will be for people coming up inquiring how to enter the contest. If you get a real prospect asking questions about your company, you can hand them off to a sales rep who will walk them around the booth, identify their needs and eventually scan them at another exhibitor lead retrieval system. At these other stations you will want to utilize either custom qualifiers with the show provided system or third party lead retrieval software. At the end of the show you can combine all of the leads to do the drawing. Then after the show you can send out only the qualified leads to the reps so they don’t waste their time on someone like me. For more trade show tips, please click HERE.

“How do I get my sales people to follow up on the trade show leads?” When I was at Exhibitor 2009 last spring, I heard this question repeatedly. I spoke with frustrated managers who put their heart and soul into trade show lead generation only to have the reps never follow up on the trade show leads. I suggested sitting down with the sales manager and getting down to the root of the problem. 

Usually, the reps will say that the trade show leads are no good. For the most part they are right; industry studies show that only 10-20% of trade show leads are actually ready for a sales call. So if you send out a list of 1,000 names you scanned at the show to the sales force, they will probably make a few calls and write the leads off as garbage. 

To combat this, ask the sales manager exactly what the sales department wants. If they need qualification information, make them define it precisely. If they only want the “hot” leads, ask them to categorize what a hot lead is. You can implement a lead management system that will ensure proper trade show lead qualification, lead rating, and sales lead distribution so the reps only receive the hot leads. This will give the sales reps no excuse for inadequate trade show lead follow up. Additionally, it will ultimately increase your trade show sales as well as your trade show ROI. If you would like to read a more in depth article on how to generate sales ready leads at trade shows, click HERE.

Most trade show managers cringe when they think of their company’s lead management system. It just gets worse when they think about improving it. Unfortunately there is no one way to handle trade show leads. Every company has different products, sales cycles, number of sales reps, CRM system, IT staff, marketing resources...well you get the idea. When faced with improving trade show lead management, forget about how you currently handle the leads. Instead write down the ideal trade show lead management solution. Start by answering these questions:

What information do you need to collect onsite for adequate trade show lead qualification?

Do the reps need to receive every lead, or just the leads ready for a sales call?

How quickly do you need to get the leads to the reps? 

Once you get these questions answered, you can determine what type of trade show lead retrieval system to use onsite. The rest all depends on those variable factors I mentioned earlier (CRM system, number of reps, resources, etc.). However, if you know what you ultimately want to accomplish there are lead management solutions available that can help you figure out how to accomplish your trade show goals. There are many trade show strategies that can vastly improve your trade show sales. If you would like us to evaluate your current lead management process for free, please click HERE.

Another suggestion: It’s ok to improve your process one step at a time. “Fixing” your current system most likely won’t happen overnight, so tweaking your trade show strategy for little improvements is better than sitting back and cringing at the thought of your current system.

Trade show lead generation is the reason most exhibitors go to their shows. Many companies struggle with adequate trade show lead qualification. Some ask too many questions, some too few and some just ask the wrong questions altogether. Proper lead qualification is a very important step in any lead management system. 

Most exhibitor lead retrieval systems offer standard lead qualifiers. These vary from show to show and system to system. The good news is most trade show scanners also offer custom qualifiers. They will give you 10 to 20 customized responses for each lead you collect. It is imperative for marketing and sales to work together on determining the qualifiers. Remember, these are sales leads so obtaining marketing driven responses is not the best trade show strategy here. Unfortunately, the sales department doesn’t always know what they want.

Think of the 10 to 20 custom qualifiers as responses to questions like: What is your timeframe to purchase? How much budget do you have for this project? I recommend starting with a set of BANT “questions” – Budget, Authority, Need and Timeframe. This will give you a good place to begin the conversation and you can brainstorm with sales from there.  If you can implement a good trade show lead qualification process, you will be able to apply lead scoring, lead rating, improve sales lead distribution and ultimately increase trade show sales. For additional trade show advice, click HERE.