Pack a Punch at Your Next Tradeshow

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Every year you have a list of tradeshows/conferences/events that you and your company attends and/or has a booth at. It’s a significant expense and there’s an expectation that leads should be generated out of each conference..

It’s not necessarily a bad thing.

All your ideal customers and partners are in-person, in one place, at one time.

Depending on the size of your organization, it might fall on marketing to set up the conferences, but the actual execution of building, following up, and closing on those leads, falls on….that’s right, the sales team.

How have past conference’s gone for you? Success? Not so much? Some better than others?

Most organizations at conferences don’t know that they have a problem (that you can help solve). So, plan ahead and show them that you’re the right person, you just need to make sure you position yourself properly.

Planning can be done very effectively so you can hit your target audience.

Here’s how.

Executives & Decision-Makers

An executive I used to work for said that he leveraged conferences to make the most of meeting with customers, catching up with old friends, partners, decision makers, and (I can’t stress this enough) learn about his competition. So he planned ahead, and his time filled up fast.

A lot was packed in to a few days. It was also a great way to be cost effective too.

When he was on the conference floor, either his mind was totally focused on the next meeting, or the one that just occurred, next steps that needed to happen, looking for a partner, or seeking out what the competition is up to, and who is hanging around the competition. So getting his attention was not exactly ideal, unless it was preplanned.

Why do I tell this story? Well if you know a big conference is coming up and you want to get on a decision maker’s calendar, plan ahead. As in:

• Schedule a specific time during the conference on when you can meet up with them

  • Whether that is at their booth, your booth, a coffee shop nearby, dinner reservations, an awesome speakeasy down the street, call it out

• Ask their Executive Assistant (if they have one) or them what their schedules are like and book it in their calendar with a calendar invite

• Lock it in and confirm.

• Send a follow up email the week prior to reminder that individual so they remember what the meeting is about and it’s still on

Executive’s schedules can get booked weeks in advance, I’d recommend scheduling as far as you can. Don’t wait until a week before and hope you can squeeze in a time, because if it works for them, might not work for you.

Be Visible

Have a multi-prong approach to letting people know you’re going to an upcoming conference. From Social Media (i.e., Twitter, LinkedIn), Newsletters, Personal engagement, etc. are all critical outreach. Some might be specifically related to opportunities, building partnerships, etc.

My two favorites are LinkedIn and Twitter. Don’t just re-share your Company post that you’re attending, actually share content and engage within these platforms.

Look for companies that are going to be attending, reach out on their Company LinkedIn pages and comment letting them know you are attending and will be sure to stop by. Become visible.

Leverage the comments to let them know if you want to signup for a meeting, or to find any additional information, it works in your advantage

At the Conference - Engage the Unaware

Be efficient with your time. If you’re at a large conference, you want to make yourself seem as big as possible. Make sure you have takeaways, not just your general brochures about you and your offerings, but takeaways that are tailored specifically to the audience that is attending that gives them a reason to follow up with you. This can be content that they are completely oblivious to, highlights in the industry, market trends, etc.

Don’t be generic, be tailored. If you know your audience, you know that they are hungry for information, and hungry to win. Feed that fire.

Let’s say we are at a large conference (10k+ in overall attendance). Here are a few examples:

• If you’re a Law Firm: Have an eBook or handout on something specific that would relate to all the attendees in the specific market that you’re in (i.e., Policy Changes, Privacy, Data Security, etc.) that attendees should know

• If you’re a Cyber Security Company: Have a handout/case study on how the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) needs to be a critical component moving forward for growth, and factors companies need to consider to win business.

• If you’re a Small Business: Depending on your offerings, identify that potential partners at the conference that you might want to talk with. Have a whitepaper/eBook/handout/case study on your expertise in your market.

Walk the Floor - Start Small…and Compound

Not every potential customer is going to come up to you and/or find you. Walk the floor, feel it out, see where people are hanging out. If you have a great handout (see section above), go introduce yourself to someone at a booth, ask them about about something small.

You want to compound the conversation:

1. Tie it to something that is relevant to them

2. Build it to another conversation at another time (i.e., (Have them swing by your booth for more of an in-depth conversation)

3. Have a leave behind

4. Tell them that you will follow up with them on a specific day

Ask for an Introduction

Want to go further, ask for an introduction from friends, colleagues, people you know through professional associations, etc. who can make cold introductions → warm introductions. The connections will feel much more authentic, relaxed, and can be incredibly helpful for grow a potential relationship along much faster.

Sometimes all you need to do, is just ask. This is where LinkedIn 2nd Connections is so great. If you know someone is going to be at a conference and has the relationship, ask for the introduction! More times than not, they will make the intro, whether before the conference and/or during. But you need to do the work.

We are in the relationship business. Build those relationships, and leverage them. Relationships are a two way street, remember to thank and appreciate those who open the door for you, and when someone asks you, you do it for them.

Post Conference - Showcase Your True Skill

Follow up, follow up, follow up. Some leads will be hotter than others. Some will just be interested in the free content you gave away.

Connect with Leads - LinkedIn, Phone, and Email. You will probably have a higher hit rate connecting on LinkedIn than on Email. If you have 2nd degree LinkedIn connections, your connection hit rate will be much higher.

Have an interesting article that is relevant to a potential lead from the conference? Share it. It will build additional trust with them.

Once they are aware of the problem or gap, you want to start to go deeper into the issue. Discuss the pain, the cost, the issues of not doing anything. You can then start to bolster your credibility, your unique selling proposition, and how you can help people like this.

Physical vs Digital Handouts

What is actually going to resonate the most with your leads? Ask them. Sometimes sending items via email is going to be the easier then a physical handout. The last thing you want is to be lost in the pile of other handouts your potential customer has. Ask them what they prefer so you’re making life easier for them.

Remember, there is a huge pool of customers out there that don’t know they need you yet, conferences are a great place to maximize on that. Build on customer engagement, getting your name out and meeting new faces.

All gas, no brakes this week. I hope you found this content of value so you can make the most of your next conference.

Have a great week and I’ll see you next week.

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