Medical Trade Shows – Ten Costly Exhibit Mistakes and How to Fix Them
In the world of exhibiting and trade shows, three common opinions of this branch of the sales and marketing tree is:
- all we get is lousy leads,
- we don’t know if we made sales
- trade shows are a waste of time and money
Why this response? Because it’s tough to stand-out among the crowd, especially in the fast-moving, hyper-media environment of medical trade show and exhibit marketing. It seems worse when you don’t have a booth that looks like a small city on the show floor.
Let’s face it, not everyone has a 1,000 sq.ft. or larger sized booth like some you see at RSNA, Health Care Exhibitors Association, HCEA, or one of the largest annual shows.
But the secret to sales, regardless of your size or budget comes from how well you strategize, prepare, and work the three main parts of the event. These are:
Part One: strategies, preparation, and marketing before the event
Part Two: activities to qualify and sell during the show
Part Three: leads-to-sales development programs after the event
All three parts are crucial to getting good leads and making more sales. Here’s why.
Most trade show marketing focuses exclusively on the activities of the trade show floor; I.e. the booth makeup, layout, and the activities inside. But profitable trade show marketing is like a three-legged stool, with the “before event”, “during the show”, and “after the event” parts as legs that support the overall show program.
The most costly mistake to sales is that the “during the show” leg is usually much larger than the others, with the “before the event” and “after the event” legs usually small and Often missing. When this happens, the show program gets unbalanced and your sales will suffer.
Knowing this, I recommend you shift your attention and resources to ALL THREE PARTS of the show program, not just what happens on the show floor. This will create an incredible advantage over your competitors who focus only on the booth.
Therefore, the next ten points show you the most costly medical trade show mistakes, and how you can capture better leads and more sales by avoiding them.
Before the Event
1. Mistake: No goals, outcomes, or expected results for the sho
Solution: Meet with your trade show team 3- 6 months before the show and set your expected results and outcomes; then build your overall program around them.
2. Mistake: Not training your booth workers
Solution: Train your booth workers before the show in the skill of asking questions, listening, and documenting the specific needs of each prospect they meet, then role-play. Remember, gathering critical information about the customer needs will supercharge your post-show lead follow-ups.
3. Mistake: No pre-show marketing.
Solution: Just buying the pre-show registration list and mailing a postcard or letter is not enough. Use a multi-touch, multi-media campaign to target and attract the high-value prospects and customers you want to meet.
At The Show
4. Mistake: Focusing on lead counts, not lead quality
Solution: Only qualified show leads will launch your post-show sales process. Have a system in place to pre-qualify each lead at the show booth and increase it’s value to your salespeople; and get rid of the business card “fishbowls”.
5. Mistake: Trying to make a lasting “brand impression” at the show
Solution: Show attendees see too much to expect them to remember your big, flashy booth and read your glossy brochures. Instead, use the post-show lead development process to repeatedly “brand” your value in their minds.
6. Mistake: Spending the entire show budget on the booth
Solution: Pump-up your show returns by allocating money from the booth budget and investing it into pre-show marketing and post-show lead follow-up. Remember: Better Leads = More Sales!
After The Event
7. Mistake: Giving all your show leads to the salespeople
Solution: This is by far the NUMBER ONE mistake medical trade show exhibitors make. Exhibit industry studies show that only 10%-12% of show leads are true sales leads; the rest are marketing leads. Learn how to qualify better, and only give your salespeople want they truly want; red-hot prospects!
8. Mistake: Not using a lead follow-up system
Solution: Lead development is your key to post-show sales and profits. Purchase or develop a multi-touch lead development system before the show, and use it to move your leads to a true sales opportunity.
9. Mistake: Treating all leads the same
Solution: Exhibit industry studies show leads have different time-frames to purchase. Therefore, use a lead development system that separates and develops the leads considering short, medium, and long-term buying cycles.
10. Mistake: Not budgeting money for long-term lead follow-up
Solution: Allocate anywhere from 15%-25% of your total show budget for long-term lead follow-up. Profits are not made until a sale is closed and paid so use a long-term lead development system. You spent big money to exhibit, so make the most of your investment by funding the follow-up.
Take one or two points from each section, and start today using them to prepare for your next show. Then, your exhibit program will generate better leads, and turn them into qualified sales opportunities that makes you money.
Steve Underation specializes in helping trade show exhibitors build “trade show profit systems for dramatic increases in sales and profits from their exhibit investments. Steve is a Certified Trade Show Marketer (CTSM), the co-author of the best-selling book “The Platinum Rule for Trade Show Mastery”, and author of “How to Love The Recession” using trade shows and events.
Steve spent over twenty years working as an exhibitor, straight-commission Sales Rep., and attendee at trade shows through Europe and North America. He knows how to make money with exhibiting and solves the reasons why exhibitors lose money. He is a speaker and trade show coach to businesses of all sizes; wanting to find more customers in new places with little or no competition. To inquire about your own trade show profit review, contact:
http://www.TradeShowProfitSystems.com
HelpATTradeShowProfitSystems.com
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