A great deal of trade show performance is planned, it is not spontaneous and it does not come without a great deal of effort but the rewards are worth it. Trade shows generate billions of dollars in sales and it is this which makes sure that they remain a top marketing and sales tool within the various channels to market for so many businesses.

There are good shows and bad ones, but you have a great deal of the control over trade show success yourself and you can use this control to maximize the results for your business.

Manage Your People

Whether you have a dozen people or simply one attending, it is imperative that everyone knows and understands what their role is on the day. Share the goals of the show with your people and establish who owns what aspect of the overall plan for delivering a successful trade show. Allocating responsibility is only one step in gaining the individual commitment of the whole team – it is vital that each team member accepts responsibility and takes ownership for their role in the event.

Ensure each team member knows what is happening on the day – any special promotions or discounts which are being offered; what physical tasks they are required to do, e.g. setting up, preparing the coffee, bringing marketing collateral – the logistics of the day. Your representatives should also be tasked with specific responsibilities such as approaching other exhibitors who may be target prospects in their own right, or identifying and approaching target prospects before the show itself with the intention of meeting on the day.

Order and Contact Targets

Trade shows are not a primary forum for making sales on the day, typically orders and closing takes place within a short period of time after the event itself. The day is usually best spent making contacts and qualifying prospects with a view to following them up post-show.

If your targets do include making a minimum number of sales, then you should be establishing these targets before the event. You should establish overall goals in any event, so you can monitor performance and establish what a realistic ROI is from the individual event and the strategy as a whole.

Customer Information Management

If the primary goal of the trade show is to establish potential customer contacts, then it logically follows that they must be approached after the trade show to establish the relationship and move forward to do business.

The key phrase there is “follow up” and this is vital for your success. Ensure you have an effective system in place for capturing attendee information, especially contact information and that there is a centralized system for aggregating the data and allocating it back out to your sales staff for follow up after the show. Make sure this is monitored and managed because it is crucial to your success and customers will view you positively if you follow up promptly and as you have agreed with them on the arena floor.

Author Bio: Rena Patton is the president of ExhibitWholesale, a leading provider of trade show displays and accessories such as pop-up displays and banner stands. ExhibitWholesale can be found online at: ExhibitWholesale.com .

Category: Advice
Keywords: trade show displays, alumalite display, alumalite display technology, trade shows