Strike When The Iron is Hot

This entry is from Part #6 of the 7 Deadly Mistakes Exhibitors Make When Purchasing Promotional Products For Trade Shows – “No Follow Up”

Put Yourself In Their Shoes

Have you ever attended a show as a buyer? The amount of information you will receive and the number people you will meet is overwhelming. Putting the company names, faces, and promotional products together is a major challenge.

As an exhibitor, you actually do remember specific prospects. The lengthy conversations you had, or how exited they were. And you actually mentally counted the money they are about to spend. But here’s the real kicker…

You call them up a week later, and can’t distinguish you from the next exhibitor. Maybe they think you are someone else, from a different company, with a different product. So it takes 5 minutes just to re-introduce yourself and start from scratch!  Has this happened to you?

Hey, it’s not their fault; trade shows are overwhelming and follow up is an essential to acquiring customers.

It’s Me, The Guy Down Here On Your Paper Cube

Consider these two facts:

1. 71.6% of trade show attendees could recall the name of the company they received the promotional items from after the show.

2. 76.3% of attendees had a favorable attitude toward the company that gave them the promotional item.

Sure, they may forget you, your company, and what you sell. But you know what they’ll remember? The trade show giveaways you gave them.

I use to mail out information after the show, but I also used to make a phone call to all my leads. And that call would always include the line “I’m the guy with the putting green who gave you the Promotional T-shirt.” Once I mentioned the gift I gave them, they immediately knew who I was. From there, the selling process picked up where it left off at the show.

Strike While The Iron Is Hot

Think about it… Whether you are going to call, postcard, mail a catalog, or set up an appointment, it is important to keep the leads warm. And there is no denying that the continuous exposure of promotional giveaways will help.

So instead of hoping they remember you, remind your prospects of you previous meetings. Take control to ensure that your contact will in fact be a follow up call – and not a cold call.

The Show is Over… Or IS IT?

This entry is from Part #6 of the 7 Deadly Mistakes Exhibitors Make When Purchasing Promotional Products For Trade Shows – “No Follow Up”

The Show is Over… Or IS IT?

Hall of Famer Yogi Berra was talking about baseball when made the famous statement, “It ain’t over till it’s over,” but he could have easily been talking about trade show promotions.

You know feeling at the final hour, right?   Phewfff… it’s over.  If you are like most exhibitors, you pack up your booth and your leftover trade show giveaways and wait until the next show to market again. But here’s the truth – companies that get the BEST results will market continuously to the contacts they met at the show until the start of the next show the following year.

I’ll rephrase Yogi for trade show purposes. “It ain’t over till… next year’s show starts!”

Don’t Drop The Ball

If you think it’s nothing, think again.  The most successful exhibitors continue to build on their original presentation with consistent follow up.  And they do it along many different channels.

Picture it like this.  Have you ever spun a basketball on your index finger? Well, when you leave the show the ball is spinning and the momentum from that first contact will keep the ball on your finger for a short time.

But remember – in order to keep that momentum, you must tap the ball or it will fall off your finger.   Just little taps every so often will help the ball spin forever.  The same goes for your prospects.

Don’t forget – once you lose momentum and the ball falls off – you’re back to starting from scratch.

Post show follow up is essential to maximizing results.  It makes all the difference between a successful show and a mediocre show.   Thinking last year’s show was a bust?  Asking yourself if you should even bother doing it again this year?  Well before you answer, take a hard look at how your follow up was.  If you didn’t get the results you were looking for, there’s a good chance the ball was dropped in your post show follow up.