Has your business ever taken part in a trade show that produced zero sales? Do you think attending one is a waste of time and money?

Ever Wonder How You Can Maximize Your Trade Show ROI?

Last week, Econsultancy.com posted a useful article on “10 Tips For Selecting the Right Industry Trade Show“—excellent tips if you’re attending as a consumer.

But if you’re attending a trade show to promote your product or service and get new business, trade shows can be excellent places to take orders from existing customers, build new relationships with prospects, educate prospects on the company, conduct market research, test new products or services and identify potential partners who might enhance the company’s ability to grow market share.

But with all of these incentives to take part in a trade show, many businesses leave them with little success. One marketing executive said to me once:

“Craig, our sales force either attended or exhibited at 11 trade shows last year. Out of all of them, all we got were 979 random business cards. Out of the 979 cards, we didn’t  sell anything! The money to go to those shows came out of my marketing budget and we have no return on investment. The CFO is asking me, Why?”

If this is the case, then why bother attending a show in the first place, right? Wrong. Exhibitors frequently sabotage themselves by failing to prepare a show project plan. Exhibitors need a line of staff assigned to responsibilities to cover specific elements of a show and a plan.

There are three essential phases in ensuring your trade show experience is profitable. Here’s what you need to know.

1. Conduct pre-show planning

Before you attend the show, you need to generate a complete schedule with action items and a tracking monitoring process to make sure the plan is followed. This entails enlisting a Trade Show Coordinator.

Six weeks before the show, create a strategy that details what your business’s goals are. Denote the steps needed to accomplish the goal and who is responsible for the steps necessary to complete the function.

These could include:

• Identifying who from the company will be attending/exhibiting and assign booth coverage responsibilities according to the show plan.
• Coordinating travel arrangements.
• Requesting appointments with targeted attendees and exhibitor executives.
• Mapping out and establishing goals for each function attended.
• Determining what collaterals and specialty items are to be brought to the event.
• Creating a process to follow up with potential new clients.

2. Devise a plan for during the show.

This should include the functions, seminars, social and networking events and the appointments you worked hard to get. During the show, the show coordinator should track and monitor each member of the trade show team to make sure that the effort is gaining traction and getting results.

3. Create steps for following up.

Schedule a debriefing once everyone returns to the office to recap how effectively the trade show met or exceeded the intended goals. A follow-up plan should include use of Salesforce Automation Software (sales campaigns) to reconnect with the targeted accounts to ensure that opportunities are converted into dollars. That is, after, what it’s all about.

Sometimes people need help from companies like SPIA, Inc. Check out our website to see what we can do for you, reach us at info@spiainc.com or by calling (978) 640-0803.

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