There are a lot of reasons to exhibit your business at tradeshows, but one of the biggest has to be to generate sales. Sure, you want to network, and it’s always good to walk away with new leads, but cold hard cash is what counts at the end of the day. Selling at tradeshows is not easy, however. Even experienced salespeople can become unstuck in a tradeshow environment.
Here are four tips that will help everyone from sales novices to old dogs turn the expense of exhibiting at tradeshows into an unparalleled profit.
1) Be inviting
Put yourself in consumers’ shoes. How would you feel if you walked past a stand and the salespeople were sitting down or leaning on tables, reading their own material or chatting idly to one another? Would you feel like your business was wanted, or would you feel like an unwelcome intruder?
It’s difficult, especially during a slump or at the end of the day, but your booth staff should always look energised and should constantly be looking for a way under prospects’ defenses. That doesn’t mean they should be pushy and practically kidnap people from the aisles. A friendly smile, some unintimidating eye contact and an easy-going manner can be all the invitation that some people need to approach the booth.
On-the-ball salespeople will be able to pick up on passing interest and capitalise on it by making the first move. All it takes is a question and some light small talk and before people know it, they’ve been steered into the heart of the stand and are engrossed in a demonstration.
2) Listen, don’t talk
Salespeople love to talk. In fact, a lot of salespeople think that talking equals selling. Perhaps it’s a strategy that works well in the field, but tradeshows require a different approach. Yes, people want to know about your product or service, so you will have to explain it to them. But salespeople need to know what caused their interest so that they can tailor the usual spiel to reflect their unique circumstances. And that requires asking open-ended questions and actively listening to the answers.
Successful tradeshow salespeople are able to take a genuine (if fleeting) interest in their prospects. They can elicit important information in a way that would make a skilled CIA interrogator green with envy – and without the wet cloth. They can then use this information to add to their commission.
3) Separate the wheat from the chaff
Not all prospects show promise. Some people go to tradeshows out of idle curiosity. They just want to see what’s what and don’t have any real intention of buying anything. They will take your business cards, your brochures, and your free samples (of course). They will watch your demonstrations and listen with great interest to everything you have to say, and then they will walk straight to the next exhibition stand and do it all again.
They’re a waste of time, but you can’t treat them like that. Make someone on the team the designated sweeper. If it looks like someone has a time waster on their hands, they can palm them off onto the sweeper, who will play nice and get the wasters out of the booth as quickly and gently as possible. If the sweeper spots and waster, he can move in and ‘poach’ them from the cornered salesperson.
By that same token, you should have designated closers, the people who excel at closing sales. Prospects that show exceptional promise or who are perhaps on the fence and need a little more gentle persuasion can be handed over to the big guns. Just make sure that the commission is split properly between everyone because everyone plays a part.
4) Remember the admin
Paperwork doesn’t go out of the window just because all of the action is out of the office. Transactions still need to be recorded properly, and prospects’ details need to be captured. This includes those who closed deals, those who came close to closing deals, and even some of the more promising time wasters. This gives you the chance to follow up and put some remarketing principles into practice.
Remarketing after tradeshows makes good business sense. Consider stats from the Centre for Exhibit Industry Research, which show that 90% of tradeshow attendees plan on making a purchase within a year, 30% already have definite interest in your product/service, and over 75% are looking for new suppliers. You can’t afford to miss out on remarketing opportunities like that, so if you have to get all Type-A about admin, do it.
Many businesses complain about the expense of exhibiting at tradeshows. They lament the poor ROI and find all sorts of other excuses for not attending these important events. The truth is that tradeshows can still be greatest thing for your business since touchscreen POS systems. But, like all things in life, what you put in is what you get out.
Featured images:
License: Royalty Free or iStock
source: http://www.sxc.hu/photo/484010
Jemima Winslow loves tradeshows. Unfortunately, she’s a self-confessed time-waster, so keep your eye out for her and her kind, and have your sweepers close at hand.