The Secret to Turbo Charging your Exhibit Success

by | May 21, 2016 | ROI, Staff + Stand Management

We are all so time poor these days we like to believe there’s a single solution to all of our woes. We want the magic pill, the quick fix. When it comes to exhibitions, there are so many different avenues that contribute to your success. Please don’t huff, this just means more opportunities to make a difference!

My number one tip is one I live and breathe daily, and tell anyone who’ll listen, is to get your staff on board with exhibitions. Just to clarify, I’m not talking about a five minute yarn at the water cooler where you plan your post event drinks.

I had a client recently who attended a dental show and they really took this to heart, getting everyone on board from the start. While the team were involved with the initial design process, the majority of their involvement pre-show was with strategies and tactics. (After all, this is the area where they themselves can make the biggest difference). It was the first show they had commenced with clear KPI’s and it showed. They arrived on day 1 of the show, excited to see their stand in the flesh and eager to make the most of the exhibition. As post-exhibition reward, they planned to send the lead sales person to a luxurious lunch, but as they superseded their expectations so greatly they sent the whole team!

There is a lot of power in inducting your staff so they fully understand your exhibit mission. Once they understand the true benefits and their role in the symphony they will feel they are contributing to the bigger picture. I promise you, your results will reflect this too!

WHY EXHIBIT?

 

  • Lead Generation – In our recent survey, we discovered that 54% of you say your #1 exhibit mission is to get leads.
  • Brand Exposure
  • Launch a new product (great for immediate feedback) Interestingly, only 10% of you use this as the main reason to attend a trade show.
  • Relationship building (new or existing)
  • Travel avoidance (handy if you need to meed clients in other states at the same time)
  • Demo products

BENEFITS FOR EXHIBITING:

 

  • Brand awareness
  • Meet new prospects
  • Move people along the sales cycle
  • Get data on how you can better improve
  • Community and member engagement
  • Enter or explore a new market

DID YOU KNOW?

 

“It costs 38% less to close a sale through a tradeshow than in the field”
(Ref: Exhibit Surveys)

Getting staff on board with exhibitions will will be one of the best things you’ve done for your program.

Empower your team. They are the lifeblood of your brand and the ones building trust in your market. As soon as you stop focusing on the logistics and start letting objectives drive your strategies and tactics you will feel like you are seeing the Matrix and you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it earlier.