On May 23rd we welcomed clients and partners to a workshop on key strategies to drive more revenue at a trade show. Our presenter, Russ Salzer of 3YG Sales Training and Technology explored a range of strategies to help attendees analyze and improve their overall sales process and in turn increase their sales opportunities and revenue at their next trade show. We were happy to have the chance to network and exchange ideas and best practices with representatives from companies like Rexnord, Sanborn Tube, Dynatect, Christopher Kidd, Hastings, HED, Midwest Composite Technologies, Spooner Industries, Sentry Equipment, QWERTY, Nabtesco Proteor, Forsite, ESI Group, Pilot Freight, and Nomadic Displays. Below is a brief recap of some of the key takeaways we learned from this event.
TRADE SHOW CHALLENGES & BENEFITS
The workshop kicked off with a discussion on the challenges and benefits of trade shows. Russ shared some eye-popping statistics, such as:
CHALLENGES
- 80% of Trade Show Leads do not get followed up on.
- 80% of Sales Reps make little or no year-over-year contribution to revenue growth.
- Most sales people do NOT understand, acknowledge or use their sales ratios.
- Marketing and Sales Disconnect – Who designs the booth and who staffs it?
- 38- 41% of B2B marketing budgets; largest of any channel. They’re expensive!
- Sales representatives often struggle with establishing daily priorities for follow-up; leads to give-up.
BENEFITS
- 80% of Trade Show Attendees are in Buying Positions.
- Extremely High Concentration of Prospects.
- Most Attendees spend 9+ hours visiting booths.
- Attendees Travel 400 miles to Attend.
- 80% of Attendees are looking for something “New”.
- If You Engage; You WILL Stand Out.
ANALYZING THE SALES PROCESS
After we explored the ways trade shows can challenge and benefit businesses, we took a deep dive look at the sales process and how the trade show floor can be thought of as a microcosm of your current sales practices. Russ detailed 5 phases of the sales process and the time needed to execute each phase.
Identifying Sales Target >> First Point of Contact >> Information Gathering >> Proposal >> Sale Won/Lost
A key takeaway from this analysis was how participation in a trade show can drastically reduce the time needed (upwards of 6 months!) for the first two phases of the sales process.
4 CRITICAL ELEMENTS OF A TRADE SHOW
So, what is necessary to make sure that your presence at a trade show delivers the revenue you want? Workshop participants learned about the four critical elements necessary to deliver on your sales targets through a trade show. These include:
- Develop a clear, precise, measurable objectives for what you want to accomplish.
- Personnel selection – what characteristics are important when working a booth?
- Show process – what kind of booth will maximize your strengths & showcase your brand/product? Blending personal interaction with technology to identify and nurture leads on the spot.
- Pre & Post Show Connections: qualifying your audience (who are you targeting? What problem are you solving for them?); leverage communication channels before and after the show to propel the sales process forward and maintain sales cadence.
MANAGING THE SALES PIPELINE
To wrap up the workshop, participants delved into how they manage their sales pipeline and how well that matches up with sales behaviors. A lively discussion of some of the following points enhanced the learning opportunities for everyone at the workshop:
- Is your current sales pipeline methodology driving sales behaviors?
- Are you getting a clear picture of Activity and Effectiveness
- Do you have a platform around which you can diagnosis problems and successfully coach?
- Do you have a picture of the future that predicts revenue generation?
As you can tell, a lot of ground was covered in exploring strategies for increasing ROI at your next trade show. To access the slides from the presentation, please click here.
The feedback from this workshop was very positive and we look forward to offering more learning opportunities at our facility in the future. If you would like to make sure you hear about these events, please connect with us on Facebook or LinkedIn or subscribe to our e-Newsletter.
