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Media Coverage
Trained Staff Pivotal to Success of Exhibit (August 1998)
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Having a presence at a
consumer or trade show can be an extremely cost-efficient way to
generate leads or sales - provided you use the right personnel in
your booth.
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Having been involved in more
than 800 trade and consumer shows on behalf of various clients over
the past 11 years, I have learned that nothing beats the impact of
face-to-face exchanges. Having real people there to answer questions
lends legitimacy to the product or service being promoted. And this
one-on-one interaction facilitates immediate sales results.
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If it's sales or leads you're
after, the staff must have the direct sales skills and experience
necessary to close a sale on the spot.
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At a consumer show … the
product presentation must be short, exciting and to the point.
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If it takes longer than five
minutes to explain your product or service, the consumer will lose
interest, and your company will lose a sale.
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Consider this example: Company
A had a large booth, fancy graphics and knowledgeable customer
service representatives. They handed out lots of brochures and
chatted with lots of people, but generated virtually no leads.
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Their competitor, Company B,
operated on a smaller budget. While their booth was professional
looking, it was much smaller in size. Instead, they chose to put
their money into hiring experienced trade show sales representatives
to attract people to the booth and to pitch the product. They also
offered a good incentive to encourage customers to sign up. And they
had some of their senior marketing people in the booth to help
answer complicated financial or special services questions. In the
end, the sales results for Company B, exceeded all expectations.
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Another strategy … is to have
a number of small, manned locations dispersed throughout the show.
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