No matter what business you’re in, showing up and showing out at tradeshows and events is key to establishing a positive first impression while on the show floor. Tradeshows can serve as the entry point for your business when it comes to contact with key buyers and prospective customers, and we know what it takes to succeed. If you are reading this, it’s likely that you have a large tradeshow coming up in the next few months that will be crucial. Here’s a rundown on a few things to expect and how we can help:
Tradeshow Preparation Timeline
Preparing for a tradeshow is no small task; there are numerous moving parts and you may easily find yourself overwhelmed remembering all of the necessary steps. While a tradeshow may feel like it’s lightyears away, it’ll sneak up on you quickly—especially if you don’t stay on top of those deadlines! We’ve created a simple timeline to help you keep major preparations leading up to the tradeshow on track and to remind you of the makings of a well-rounded tradeshow presence that need to be addressed. Use it as a reference for planning out dates for when to get the ball rolling on all the different tasks!
3 Ways We Can Help You with Tradeshow Prep
Creating a Visually Appealing Booth
We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, but at tradeshows, sometimes that’s exactly what happens. We’ve seen everything, from booths of the smaller size to ones that can look like a mini apartment right on the show floor. No matter the size, we are able to provide you with everything: from working to reserve the perfect space, perfecting the overall design, creating stand-out marketing materials, and much more.
Setting a Winning Sales Strategy
Filling your booth with your most extroverted, knowledgeable, and sales-forward colleagues is important. But what happens when a key industry publication comes by for an impromptu visit? That’s where we come in. We can support your team in media training, as well as presentation and ensuring the entire team is well-equipped with the right materials they need to SELL! Here are some areas to consider when discussing upcoming shows with your designated travel team, and where we can help!
- Prior to the show, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up-to-date – Whether you’re attending to network or are exhibiting at the show, you can bet that the contacts you make will look you up on LinkedIn prior to or following your discussions. Make sure you profile is polished and pristine for every contact who looks you up after the initial meeting and handshake. Encourage your sales team to sharpen their LinkedIn profiles as well and be ready for communications and requests for meetings to come through in the chat function of your profile.
- Create a show schedule for yourself and/or your team – Have you ever walked into a booth to speak with a salesperson only to find he or she had stepped away from the booth? Or perhaps you wanted to connect with a team member, but he or she isn’t answering their phone? Having a team schedule prepared, reviewed, and fully adopted by the team attending the tradeshow can make all of the difference in the outcome of your sales efforts during the event. Including important details like when and where customer meetings are taking place along with educational sessions that offer both learning and networking opportunities, keeps your sales team on the same page and in full communication on your plan of attack for the show.
- Establish a goal of how many on-site meetings your team should aim for with prospective vendors or business partners – Keep your team focused on the end game by establishing expectations that help everyone know their role while attending the show. While trade shows are great for networking, successful face-to-face meetings are perhaps the most fruitful opportunities to generate interest and close deals during tradeshows! Schedule meetings with your targets ahead of time and discuss your meeting plan with your team before you leave. 4 weeks out from the event, identify your current new business targets on the tradeshow attendee list and reach out to book a meeting with them. Remember that everyone attending the show is busy so be careful to try to make the most out of your time with your customers when you have their attention.
- Prepare something to give to your customers – Whether you’re hosting a planned or impromptu meeting, prepare something of value to leave behind with your customers. For example, if you’re giving a pitch to your customer for the first time during a tradeshow, consider preparing printed data or compelling facts about the product or service you’re offering for them to take home and review on the airplane. Printed materials are easy to produce fairly close to the day of the show and are easy to have shipped direct to your hotel. Be sure to listen to your customers for cues on your presentation performance and the value of the materials you’ve provided to determine if you may have a viable lead and mainstay marketing strategy to employ during future events and shows.
Keeping Up Momentum With Post-Show Coverage
With so many leads and things to remember after the show dust settles, a public relations nudge is a passive way to help elevate your brand long after the show is over. In fact, we know from experience that a post-show follow-up can be the difference between you landing a spot in a trade media show recap or other editorial options!
After the show, consider following up with members of the media that visited (or didn’t) your booth! Be sure to include any media materials, such as product press releases, sales sheets, and the like to give editors all the information they need to include you in a story.
Have a Plan for Follow-up
Post-show follow-up is critical for defining tradeshow success and those efforts start with a strategy for collecting booth visitor information throughout the show and having a plan for effectively following up after the show. And that is, again, a group effort. Make sure your team is informed of your information collection system whether electronic or manual and plan to have a team meeting when you get home to discuss follow-up opportunities and who will do what.
We could write for days about the endless to-do’s marketers must tackle around tradeshows – so don’t do it all alone. If you need help with your tradeshow marketing approach, feel free to connect with our team and we’d be glad to help you think through solutions absolutely free. Plus, this summer you can save BIG with the below tradeshow booth special! Reach out to our team for more information on these savings.
