Exhibitor toptips guide

EXHIBITOR TOP-TIPS GUIDE Getting more from your investment

Designed to help you get the most out of your investment with the SOLICITORS group.

We would also like to take this opportunity to say how delighted we are that you have chosen us as a platform to promote and sell your products and services.

We know from experience that those who get the most from our events are those who have a clear idea of what they want to achieve through their participation, and have planned accordingly. The following guide draws on this experience, and that of past exhibitors, to help you to plan for the perfect event; from determining your core objectives, executing your event plan on the day and post-event follow-up and analysis.

As well as a step-by-step guide taking your through the planning process, we also include a selection of top-tips and planning templates to help you on your way.

THE GUIDE IS SPLIT INTO THREE SECTIONS: 1. Pre-event planning and preparation 2. At the event 3. Post-event activity and analysis

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SOLICITORS group

PRE-EVENT PLANNING & PREPARATION

DETERMINE YOUR OBJECTIVES...

This one might seem like a no-brainer.

Surely it’s about selling, and generating more sales prospects! Well, yes…and no...

Brand awareness...

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Just being at an event can create brand awareness with your target customers. It builds recognition and acceptance that you are also a market player and a potential supplier.

Once you have identified your key objectives, you will have a much better opportunity to successfully meet them.

Plan your presence...

IN THIS SECTION...

It seems obvious, but planning your actual participation at the event is key. It is amazing how many exhibitors at trade shows around the world just role up with an ancient banner stand and a bundle of literature. The following check-list should help:

► Determine your objectives

► Do you have an existing stand or banners?

Do they convey the right message for this event?

► Plan your presence ► Select and brief your event team ► Pre-show marketing to your existing customers

► How are you going to use stand furniture? Do you need a table…it can create a barrier to would-be customers! ► What messages are you trying to convey? Are you selling yourself as a company? Your complete product range or a specific product or service?

► Pre-show marketing to target customers

► What promotional literature do you need? Is what you already have appropriate?

► Plan market research activity

► Do you have any promotional gifts? Are they appropriate?

► Research other event exhibitors

► How are you going to record interactions with delegates?

Engaging with existing customers...

This is an opportunity for you to encourage your existing customer to visit you at the event. Perhaps you could put on specific customer event during the show. It’s a great chance for you to bring your clients together to network with you and each other. If they come to you, think of the money you’ll save in not having to go to them!

Showcase specific new products and services...

Don’t necessarily try to get across your whole company ethos, brand values and complete product and service portfolio in one conversation. Why not focus on new or particularly relevant products and services.

Market research...

Don’t just use the event to tell your market what you are doing, use it to listen! It’s a great opportunity to find out what is going on in your target-market’s mind. Devise a short market survey that can become the conversation starter for your stand staff. Find out what people think about the future demand for your product, which way budgets are heading, what they think are the most pressing issues for them in their job and what drew them to the event. Such information can help you to evolve your own marketing message and even product development.

TOP-TIP...

Using social media to ramp up your event use some of these simple tips to get your show started.

1. Tweet before, during and after the show. You can use a free online tool such as hootsuite or tweetdeck to schedule a thread of tweets to run before, during, and after your trade show. Think of what specific message you would like to promote, and then schedule it around your event to maintain your presence even while you’re away.

2. Post your event photos! Photos are one of the most viral pieces of social media content, because they don’t take any time investment to share – as long as there is an easy way of sharing them, people will spread the word. Don’t just post them on flickr, but post them using services like twitpic, and definitely share them on google+, too!

Select and brief your event team...

For smaller or start-up companies, ‘selecting’ an exhibition stand team may be an unattainable luxury; it could be that the MD and the Marketing/Sales Director are the team. For those companies who do have the opportunity to pick the best people for the job, bare the following in mind: ► You are looking for gregarious, outgoing people who enjoy social interaction and aren’t fazed by the prospect of approaching complete strangers. ► They won’t necessarily be marketing or sales staff. Look further afield and consider everyone in your company from all departments. ► Who was the life and soul at your last company social event?

With a decent briefing, could they represent your business? ► Whoever you do choose to represent you at the event, it is critical that they are properly briefed on the following:1. What standards you expect of them (see the ‘At the Event’ section for more details on this) 2. An expectation of how many prospect interactions they are expected to attain per hour. Be realistic!

3. How you want prospect interactions to be recorded and how you plan for these to be followed up (so they understand why they are recording the information).

4. If you are conducting market research as part of the event, what this research is and how it is going to be used.

5. A clear understanding of what messages you want them to convey to the market e.g. company’s values, specific products or services.

6. Any information about existing customers who are expected to attend, and if they are being treated any differently to other attendees.

7. What they can and can’t say to competitors…don’t forget that they will be scouting for information too!

8. Let them know who is in charge on the day, and who to turn to for guidance.

Pre-show marketing to your existing customers...

The event is an excellent opportunity for you to see existing customers, thereby saving you the cost of visiting them individually!

Think about what they might get out of attending the event (aside from the chance to meet you!) and promote these benefits to them.

Whether you invite your customers via direct mail, electronically or with a well-placed call, make sure you plan your campaign strategically and that you give yourself at least 6 weeks lead time.

Contacting them a week before the event probably won’t be that successful!

Pre-show marketing to target customers...

Why not let your existing and potential customers know that you are attending the event and invite them to visit you at the exhibition.

Lead your marketing with news about any new products or services you have on offer and invite them to visit you to find out more.

You can them go on to talk about the other benefits of attending the event so that they are able to kill more than one bird with one stone.

If you wish to expand beyond your own database, you can talk to the SOLICITORS group about pre-event mailings to their database that can be segmented and drilled to meet your specific needs.

Call 01332 227682 for further details.

TOP-TIP...

Use these five tactics for getting the biggest bang out of your small stand.

1. Use lighting. According to industry research, lighting can increase awareness of your exhibit by 30 to 50%. Renting a portable lighting system or using product spotlights will give your small exhibit the extra exposure it needs.

2. Keep it simple. Feature only one or two products. Any more than that and you’ll just add clutter - and keep your prospects away.

3. Employ bold colours. Find high-impact hues that will stand out from a distance, and avoid neutral colours that will just blend into the background.

4. Invest in graphics. Using fewer and larger graphics is the first step. Then, make sure all graphics start no lower than 36 inches on the back-wall. Otherwise, they won’t be seen when people or products are standing in front of them. And remember that dense or too-small copy will not be read.

5. Be proportionate. Large reception counters or product kiosks will crowd your space and make it look even smaller than it is. Leave enough room in your exhibit so staffers can talk comfortably with attendees.

Plan market research activity...

If you use an external agency, even the most basic market research can be extremely costly. You can save on this cost by conducting invaluable market research at the event. It also has the added benefit of giving your stand staff a non-aggressive, engaging opener.

Here are some top-tips for planning and executing your market research: ► Keep your survey short. ► Offer a combination of multiple choice and open questions. ► Combine broad business or strategic questions (e.g. Does your firm see Co-Op Legal as a threat to business?) with questions specific to your product or service range (e.g. is your budget for X widgets likely to go up, stay the same or go down in the next year?) ► Make it easy for your stand staff to record responses. Provide pre-printed survey sheets. ► Offer a gift or promotion to people for taking part. ► Liaise with your marketing and sales department to ensure that the survey aligns with any objectives they may have.

AT THE EVENT

Attracting people to your stand...

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IN THIS SECTION... ► Attracting people to your stand ► Converting conversations into prospects ► Recording & grading interactions ► Treat your existing customers differently ► Use the space ► The daily debrief

TOP-TIP...

Seven Common Exhibit Staffing Mistakes 1. Weak opening lines. The best “hooks” are open ended questions that keep the conversation going. Avoid yesand-no openers such as “May I help you?” What’s next if the answer is “no”?

2. Turning on the “pitch” too soon. There’s nothing prospects hate more than pushy stand staffers. Give them a minute to warm up to you before you start sizing them up for a sale.

3. Pitching instead of qualifying. Don’t launch into a sales pitch before you assess a prospect’s situation -- product interests, buying time line, familiarity with your companies products. Tailor your presentation to the prospect’s needs.

4. Rushing too fast into the demonstration. Qualifying prospects for the demonstration. You’re not there to just show off your product. Strive to connect with people and help them solve their needs.

5. Poor body language. Stand up straight toward the edge of the stand with your hands at your side. Look alert and ready to serve.

6. Long-winded product presentations. Attendee’s can’t afford to be tied to your stand for 20 minutes.

Remember, they have a lot of ground to cover at a show. So keep it to 10 minutes maximum.

7. Writing off prospects too soon. Don’t just read badges; talk to stand visitors to find out what they want. Badges don’t always tell the whole story. Also, don’t dismiss prospects just because the buying conditions aren’t right. Their situation could change and you want them to think of your company first when this happens.

Your stand should be engaging and welcoming, with clear messaging and no physical obstacles (like tables and plinths) stopping people from approaching you, and you from approaching them.

Converting conversations into prospects...

Your stand staff will be more effective once they’ve conquered the basics. Here are some helpful reminders to share with your staff before the show.

Ask open-ended questions. Closed questions (those that can be answered with a “yes” or “no”) stall a conversation rather than advancing it. So always start a conversation with an open-ended question. A few good examples include: “What brought you to the show?” “I see you’re with the XYZ Co. What does your company do?” and “What did you think about ... (the keynote speaker, the new 510 widget, the opening reception, etc.)?” This is also an opportunity to conduct the pre-planned marketing research!

Don’t be afraid to disengage. It’s easy to get derailed by unqualified prospects - or even current customers with the gift of gab. Once you’ve met attendees’ needs and established a post-show follow-up plan, tell people that you’ll catch up with them later, or plan to meet them outside of exhibition hours.

Be aware of industry news. In addition to understanding the ins and outs of the stand and all of its activities, you need to keep up with industry trends, company announcements, product releases, and so on. Attendees perceive staffers as product and industry experts, which means staff must be able to hold a knowledgeable conversation on pertinent industry topics.

Smile and stand up straight. Your mother was right - your exterior appearance says a lot about you, and in this case, your company.

While a smile is a welcome invitation to open a conversation, standing up straight communicates that you and your company are confident, knowledgeable, and trustworthy.

Recording & grading interactions...

Quantity of leads is important, but so is quality. In order for you to be able to effectively follow up leads post event, it is important to have some way of recording how strong a prospect the person is (in terms of their interest levels and buying power) and any significant details from the conversation that could assist in follow-up.

The template overleaf could be useful.

Use the space...

Obviously, you have invested your money in a static stand. Whilst it has to be manned, don’t forget that people are milling around all over the venue. Send your staff on little reconnaissance trips to other areas of the exhibition venue, to refreshment areas to try to meet and engage with new people.

If you have arranged to meet existing customers, or if a new contact is going extremely well, don’t feel that you have to stay within the confines of your stand area. Find a spot in the refreshments area, lobby or bar to carry on those conversations!

The daily debrief...

It’s good to strike while the iron’s hot. Although a thorough debrief with your company’s event participants post event is invaluable, it is worth having a quick debrief at the end of each day.

CONTACT RECORD SHEET...

EVENT NAME

EVENT DATE

VENUE

STAND STAFF NAME

ATTENDEE NAME

COMPANY

POSITION/JOB TITLE

IS THE PERSON A DECISION MAKER?

NEW OR EXISTING CUSTOMER?

HOT, WARM OR TEPID PROSPECT?

Questions asked or detail of conversation relevant to follow-up...

POST-EVENT ACTIVITY & ANALYSIS

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Post-event debrief...

The post-event debrief is probably one of the most important activities associated with your participation as an exhibitor or sponsor. It is amazing how many companies don’t do one!

The debrief has a number of functions: 1. To get an initial idea as to how pre-event objectives have been met.

2. To learn from things that went well and that went not so well, and to transfer this to future practice.

3. To provide the information for subsequent management reports.

It is important to include as many people who were involved with the event as possible, including those who were involved with planning your participation (marketing, sales, logistics).

Use any daily evaluation sheets completed by stand staff as a way of initially identifying any positive or negative aspects of the event.

These can be expanded upon during the debrief.

IN THIS SECTION... ► Post-event debrief ► New prospect follow-up ► Existing customer follow-up ► Other post-event activity ► Analyse ROI ► Reporting to management

New prospect follow-up...

You might have 10s if not 100s of really good leads, but these count for nothing unless you can follow them up effectively.

The first key point is to strike whilst the iron is hot. Try to get your response/follow-up out within a week of the event. Anything later than this and you may lose any of the association or goodwill that was built up by your team at the event.

Hopefully, you will have a full record of completed contact sheets (see previous page) so you should be able to quickly identify the hot, warm and tepid prospects. Look to treat these in different ways, with the most resource (sales team time, more expensive DM etc..) being allocated to the hot and warm prospects. But don’t ignore the tepid ones. Some contact and follow-up is better than no follow-up.

Existing customer follow-up...

TOP-TIP...

Like your follow-up with new customer prospects, much of the good work done at the event can be undone without well thought-out follow-up activity with existing customers.

Writing response letters or emails

Send a letter or an email thanking them for visiting you at the stand, or for responding to your pre-event invitation if you sent one. This will help consolidate the impression that they are a values customer.

They will be impressed that you really noticed that they were there!

Writing a lead response letter is usually a much less painful process than writing letters for direct response mailings or other media. In the case of response letters, you know the people have shown interest in your product or service, and now you just have to make sure you answer all of their questions and give them the desire to act on your offer.

A few quick tips include: 1. Keep the letter short and sweet

This is also an opportunity for you to: ► Let them know of anything that you learnt at the event that might be relevant to their business. ► Answer any questions or queries they had on the day in more detail. ► Arrange a follow-up meeting.

2. Personalise the package / presentation

► Give them more information about specific products or services and initiate an up-sell.

3. Consider the tone of voice to ensure culture fit

► Share any market research data that might be relevant to them.

4. Speak specifically about the success of the show 5. Make sure you include an offer in the letter to encourage the reader to act 6. Specifically address any requests made at the exhibition

Other post-event activity...

1. Collect and analyse market research data. This data can then be distributed and used by the marketing, sales and management team.

2. Follow up any possible collaboration or partnership opportunities with other suppliers.

3. Create your own event guide that can be used by stand staff in subsequent years at either the same or other events. This will draw upon information from your debrief. It will ensure that you have a historical record of how the event worked, what activity has taken place and with what success. This means that even if staff leave the company, you still have the information to pass on to new people in the future.