Client: CIT      

Exhibit Size: 20X30

The Booth Details:

This was a rental design for CIT, truly maximizes its trade show booth space.  It utilizes the company’s corporate colors for branding at the trade show.  This exhibit has two work stations at both corners of the booth, as well as the a sitting area.  The large circular CIT sign is attached to the tower as are the two blue half circles.

The Strategy:

This exhibit lead retrieval systems are located at both work stations.  Each system printed out the qualified leads information for CIT sales representatives to take detailed notes to help with the trade show follow-up process.  The exhibit design focused on being open and inviting, while standing out from other exhibits at the trade show.  The sitting area is for sales representatives to sit down with existing and potential customers at the show.  This allowed for relationships to be created and strengthened while showing these leads any of the new products CIT offers.

No gimmicks are to be used in the exhibit, instead the focus was using a pre-show marketing/sales strategy to increase exhibit booth traffic.  Also, after the show an effective follow-up strategy will maximize their results by increasing conversions of the shows leads to sales.

People Placement Strategy:

Additional sales reps are located on the corners that had the most show traffic flow.  This will all depend on where the entrance of the show floor is, and where the presentation halls are, amongst other things.

Exhibit Marketing/Sales Strategy Consulting:

Marketing Strategy:

The creation of an effective pre–show through post-show marketing strategy makes the difference between maximizing the trade show ROI and having an exhibit be a giant waste of marketing dollars.

Exhibit Staff Training & Strategy:

Working a trade show exhibit is different than normal sales procedures.  In order to maximize a trade show’s potential, it is essential to have a well trained staff.  TMG Exhibits trained exhibit booth staff on:

• The best techniques to stop traffic.
• Staff members are then provided with objectives and assigned roles.
• Secrets of how to interacting with qualified leads at a trade show in a way that provides the sales representatives with their full attention while having a sense of comfort.
• Creating an effective follow-up process that the sales representatives approve of and feel will get the best results.
• Providing results that can be tracked and quantified to show the real trade show ROI.

(image is not same as mentioned in blog)

The other week I was at a trade show with one of our client who was exhibiting. As I walked around this show looking at different exhibitor strategies I had an experience that I think every trade show exhibitor should hear and think about.
I stopped at one exhibit booth that had a trade show model to see the company’s strategy on using the booth model. We had some brief small talk and we took a picture using a “beach back drop.”  All the while I was waiting for her to ask me, “What do you do?” or “Do you use these services?” or “let me introduce you to one of our sales reps.” IT NEVER HAPPENED! I wasn’t even approached by one of the sales reps in their exhibit booth.

Eventually, I asked the model what the company did, and she had no idea! She just laughed and said, “I don’t know what they do, but those are the sales guys over there (she pointed to the huddled sales reps on the other side of the booth)! “They could tell you what we do,” she said. There was a pause and I simply walked away. What a waste of marketing dollars!

Is having a trade show exhibit booth model or “booth babe” as some call it an effective approach to trade show lead generation? YES! You can get a very good return on certain “lead generators”
whether it be, models or other types of talent. However, when a lead generator, such as the booth model in this case, doesn’t have a purpose or a system in place, it is just a giant waste of money.

Five tips to ensure a Trade Show Booth Lead Generator (exhibit model or other talent) is part of an effective lead generation strategy.

1.  The lead generator should know what the company does. They don’t need to have detailed specifics, but they need to have a general understanding.
2.  They need to know the elevator pitch.
3.  Have them ask the attendee what they are do and if they use what the company offers.
4.  The sales reps should be on alert and watching the lead generator when they are interacting with a potential lead, slowly move over and listen in for a jump-in point.
5.  If the sales reps are busy, the lead generator should walk the person into the booth to gain their contact info or hand them information on the company. During this time hopefully a sales rep will free up so they can come over and answer questions.

Client: FootJoy

Show: Golf Show

Exhibit Size: 80X80 Double Deck

The Booth Details:

We used the Tan as it went with their golf color theme.  On the sides it had 12 work stations with a second floor meeting room for scheduled meetings with existing/potential clients.

The Strategy:

Typically you don’t want to have any walls on your booth as walls are barriers keeping people from entering you booth.  You want it to be warm and inviting.  At the same time you want to create a warm and intimate experience for your client.  With this 80X80 booth we were able to accomplish both of these tasks.

As you can see we do have walls on this booth, however the booth is circular.  What this did was create spots for our sales reps to stand (each one of the four corners), which is a prime spot as the isle corners are where you can get the most traffic.  Also, the booth has more opening on the right and left side of this picture.  The reason for this is that traffic was coming from that direction so we wanted to have more of an opening for them to feel welcome to come in.  On the side they were coming from we had a could additional sale reps.

People Placement Strategy:

We had additional sales reps on the corners that had the most flow of traffic.  This will all depend on where the entrance of the show floor is, and where the presentation halls are, amongst other things.  (If you need further explanation on that give me a call.)

Exhibit Marketing/Sales Strategy Consulting:

Marketing Strategy:

Provided our client with an effective pre–show through post-show marketing strategy.

Exhibit Staff Training & Strategy:

Working a trade show exhibit is different than normal sales procedures.  In order to maximize a trade show’s potential, it is essential to have a well trained staff.  TMG Exhibits trained exhibit booth staff on:

• The best techniques to stop traffic.
• Staff members are then provided with objectives and assigned roles.
• Secrets of how to interacting with qualified leads at a trade show in a way that provides the sales representatives with their full attention while having a sense of comfort.
• Creating an effective follow-up process that the sales representatives approve of and feel will get the best results.

What is Drayage? The cost to have your exhibit materials moved from the loading dock to your booth and then back again after the show.

How is Drayage calculated? Drayage is charged by the hundredweight. Check your show manual for drayage cost (cwt), divide the weight of your freight by 100 pounds, and then multiply by the (cwt). Example: 2,000 lbs – 100 lbs x $50 (cwt) = $1,000.

Tips to reduce the drayage and shipping costs:

- Consider buying or renting a new exhibit.

Today’s custom and modular exhibits are lighter than in the past.  Your designers help you choose an exhibit specifically designed to meet your trade show goals.

-  Understand your Exhibitor Service Manual.

Your Account Managers should help you to understand your show service manual, complete forms, and identify cost saving measures.

-  Consolidate your shipments.

Drayage is based on 100 lbs with minimums, send all your freight as one shipment. Small boxes and uncrated items should be sent on shrink-wrapped pallets.

You can utilize carriers that specialize in trade show freight which provide personalized service and special handling for delicate equipment.

-  Store your booth closer to the show sites.

Find an exhibit house that has multiple storage facilities across the country that will maintain your freight and ship it to each of your shows.

-  Review your freight bill.

Keeping accurate records of certified pieces and weights, tracking numbers, and carrier names will help you to determine that you have been charged correctly.

If you have any other questions feel free to ask us as TMG Exhibits.

As most exhibitors know, there are several types of electronic lead retrieval systems available to them at different shows.  The question now arises, which one should you use in your trade show exhibit?  Well, it depends on your objectives and exhibit follow-up strategy.

Lets look at three basic electronic lead retrieval systems.

1st A very popular system is a hand held scanner that simply scans the attendees badge.  The information associated with that attendee’s barcode is then captured.
No other information can be recorded.

2nd  There is another version of the hand held scanner that allows the exhibitor to program in qualifying questions, which will help rate the lead.  The leads are then separated by this rating system, which allows the exhibitors marketing and sales team to have a more effective follow-up.  They are able to contact the “hot” leads first and provide them with the information they were interested in.  This will hopefully help the conversions from leads to sales.

3rd  There is a scan and print system.  With this system, your sales reps have to take the leads badge out of their holder.  They have to then walk over to lead retrieval machine and put the badge into the machine.
The system then captures the information electronically, but also prints out a piece of paper with the leads information on it.  This system also allows the exhibitor to program qualifying questions to help rate the leads for follow-up.

Each one of these scanners has its pros and cons.  As mentioned above, your decision on which scanner to use should be based on your objectives and follow-up strategy.  The handheld scanners were created for speed and convenience, but limits the information gathered for effective follow-up.

Use the 1st scanner mentioned if your objective is to simply build a data base and scan as many badges as possible.  With this objective you do not need to ask any qualifying questions or want to separate the leads for more strategic follow-up.

Use the 2nd scanner mentioned if your objective is to capture leads quickly and qualify the lead with just a few basic questions.  There are two scenarios where this type of scanner would most likely be used.  The first is that the exhibitor has more than one product and by asking qualifying questions they are able to send the appropriate information to them.  The second is that the leads would be given to sales reps not present at the show.  This occurs when leads are divided up and given out to the regions sales reps.
By qualifying the lead, it gives the sale reps a little background of how hot the lead is and what they are interested in.  However, the danger on this is that because the sales reps did not speak to these individuals and have no relationship, they feel as though it is a cold lead and do not follow-up with them.

The 3rd scanner mentioned seems as though it is inconvenient, but it is often times the best option and most recommended.  This system requires the sales rep to take the leads badge out of their holder.
The benefit to this is that the lead can’t go anywhere without their badge.  Also, because it is inconvenient, if a lead allows you to scan their badge, this shows that they have some sort of interest in what you do (given they aren’t just trying to get a free ipod you are giving away).
This system also allows you to program in a few qualifying questions.  More importantly this system prints out a piece of paper that your reps can make specific notes on about the lead that can be used for follow-up.  This can help your sales reps feel as though it is a stronger lead and worth following up on.

Summary, if you are going for quantity over quality the handheld scanners are fine.  If you would like to record more person information to each of your trade show leads, which would result in better follow-up, then go with the printout lead retrieval system.  If you want both, quantity and quality, you can always have both types in your booth!  It all depends on your strategy.

As we finish the spring trade show season, take the to think about a few things before we enter the fall trade show season. Are you maximizing your trade show INVESTMENT? As you can see, the key word here is investment. All too often companies do not have a significant return on their trade show exhibit investment. Why? Because they neglect to create a proper trade show exhibit strategy, which results in their trade shows becoming just a huge expense rather than a giant profit center. Here are three tips to help you with your strategy and help maximize your trade show return on investment.

1. Set goals & expectations:
Over the years as a trade show consultant, I have found that many companies go into exhibiting at trade show blindly, with little to no goals or expectations. Exhibiting merely for market visibility and because other companies are exhibiting, are not acceptable answers. The most important goal or expectation you should set pertains to qualified leads at the show. What type of person do you want to meet at the show and how many you should be able to stop? To answer this, create a lead criteria, so that you and your staff members understand what constitutes a QUALIFIED lead. After this, find out from the show organizers, how many of these leads will be attending the show or have in the past.

This will give you two things:

1. It will provide you the information needed to justify whether or not you should exhibit at the show.

2. It will give you an idea of how many potential leads there are, which gives you something to measure your results up against.

Note: Although in this economy trade show attendance is down, the attendees that do go to the shows are more qualified. This is because they are doing something right by being able to attend, and are most likely looking for opportunities.

2. Booth Attraction:
Once you have chosen the right trade show to exhibit at and determined how many qualified leads you would like to generate at the show, a new question arises. How do we get them in the booth? There are lead generators who specialize in attracting people to a booth; most typical are the booth models. Another option that is often used is the raffle, “Drop your card in the fishbowl for your chance to win!” Both of these methods can be effective or they can be another way to WASTE money. The reason they can be a waste of money is because they may not be attracting the right people. You don’t want to waste your time following up on unqualified leads. Two ways to make sure they are effective for you: 1. If you choose to use a lead generator, make sure they are good and do more than just attract people. A good lead generator will become educated on your business and what determines a qualified lead for you. This will allow them to filter through only the qualified leads to you. 2. If you use a raffle, raffle off something that only your qualified leads would want. This could be a product or maybe a discount on a product or service you offer? This way you know that anyone who enters the raffle is interested in your product, thus a qualified lead.

3. Booth Layout:
Your booth layout can attract or repel people. Have your booth laid out in a way that is open and inviting. If you have a table, put it in the back or on the side of the booth, never in the front as it can act as a barrier. Make sure your messaging in your booth is extremely clear and quickly sums up what you do. The messaging should also appeal to those qualified leads walking the isle.  Avoid chairs in the booth because you don’t want your staff to use them.  I understand working the trade show floor and standing for an extended period of time, but if you staff sits down, attendees are less likely to approach them.

Tip: In order to help with the comfort of spending a day on your feet, double up your socks, use the shoe gels for padding, and take a couple advil before the show. I have found these help.

Recap:
Don’t settle for “it was a good show because it paid for itself!” Maximize your Investment.

How? Set Expectations & create strategy on how you are going to reach them.

Happy exhibiting.

CEIR has reported in the past that 79% of all trade show leads are never followed up.  That’s not missing pay dirt.  That’s throwing it away.  One measurement of trade show success is cost / lead.  Industry statistics say that number should be around $200.  What would you say to someone taking two crisp $100 bills and throwing them in the trash?  Oh yeah, and repeat that for every lead!  If your staff knew the value of a lead, do you think they would throw it away or treat it with kid gloves?

Before you can follow up, maybe you need to increase qualified leads at your custom trade show exhibit booths.  Are you looking for cost conscious trade show training?  Joyce McKee of Let’s Talk Trade Shows offers a Member’s Site.  She is on a mission to know, “Are leads from 2009 trade shows being followed up?”

“Is the trend for no follow-up after a trade show being REVERSED due to our current economic conditions?”

Share with us that you have a lead follow up strategy or not?  Are you implementing that strategy?  If you need help with your process, we know how to cut your trade show budget and sacrifice nothing.  Joyce is going to compile and share the results with us all.

How can I save my trade show budget?  As budgets are parsed, there has been a lot of talk about how drayage costs kill trade show budgets.  Maxine Golding sited a specific example in Exhibiting Transparency where 1/3 of a $4 million trade show budget was spent on drayage and installation & dismantle (I&D).  That is over $1.3 million spent on something that does not generate income for your company.  Beg the question.

Are your custom exhibits designed with weight in mind?  Drayage is calculated by hundred weight (CWT).  As part of your trade show strategy, don’t ship smaller boxes because two at 50 lbs will cost double of one at 100 lbs.  Put your trade show exhibit booth on a diet, and you’ll save money on your budget immediately.  That’s pay dirt.

Did you know that you don’t have to use the show management’s I&D service?  (It’s in your show manual.  I know it’s thick, so we will even fill it out for you.)  The Moran Group has a seasoned lead man that manages the I&D of your exhibition displays.  As part of the process, this lead man reports any design improvements that could improve I&D efficiency.  That’s pay dirt.

Here are 10 Tips for Freight & Drayage at Trade Shows.

Share with us the ways you have cut drayage and I&D costs.

Are your exhibit booths aesthetically pleasing?  Are your exhibit designs providing measurable revenues?  The business model at The Moran Group is to provide aesthetically pleasing and functional designs that go hand-in-hand with your overall marketing, sales and trade show strategies.

Seth Godin, author of Purple Cow, posted Return on Design.  In this post he talks about how design can have a negative impact:

If the design actively gets in the way of the story you tell or the utility you deliver, you lose money and share.

Godin also talks about designs that have no impact.  You may have aesthetically pleasing custom exhibits, but they have no effect on sales.

So what is your story?  What is your core message? This is where brand consultants maximize your trade show exhibit booths ROI.  In Stop qualifying leads and start qualifying you, messaging expert, Rita Coco states that we need to

…capture the value from your prospect’s point of view.

…done right, they will have already chosen you… this significantly reduces the time and effort required to close sales.

Godin ends his blog with this, and so will we:

Knowing where you stand and where you’re headed is critical.

…skimping on design is plain foolish.

Are you thinking about pulling out of a trade show or drastically cutting your trade show budget?  Do you feel like there are no other options?  Mark Wilson, VP-Corporate Marketing at Sybase had this to say:

One of the many casualties of this market has been the conference and trade show industry. …this industry had better get creative quickly.

…Despite the tightening of overall budgets and cutbacks in travel, ensuring customers and industry players are current on your offerings and well-trained on your products is of paramount importance regardless of an up or down economy.

As a trade show exhibit booth designer, here are some of the creative ways we help to keep you in front of your customers:

- Outsourced construction reduces bloated overhead costs.  It also allows us to use our expertise in choosing the right manufacturer for your custom exhibits or portable trade show displays.
- Outsourced storage reduces bloated overhead costs.  We now focus on what is best for your trade show strategy.
- Reducing your trade show budget by 15% – 20% by nearly eliminating overhead cost.
- Trade show display designs don’t just look good.  They are customized for your specific trade show strategy needs.
- A booth rental eliminates exhibit storage and maintenance costs.
- Satellite support staff available globally and virtually.
- Strategic partners that design and implement adjustments to your trade show strategy with a proven 50% – 600% increase in your qualified leads.
- Creative imaginations that make your exhibit displays stand out while protecting your buget.

What would it mean to your trade show marketing program if you could cut your budget by 15% – 20% today, and increase your qualified leads by 50% – 600%?  Would that keep you from pulling out of a show, and in front of your customers and prospects?

Don’t be a trade show casualty. Rationalizing poor trade show results MUST STOP!  Share with us the creative things that you are doing to avoid being a trade show casualty.