EXHIBITOR TRENDS

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EXHIBITOR TRENDS LEAD MANAGEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
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Objectives

• Trends Themes
• Attendees
• Exhibitors
• Lead Management
• QA

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TRENDS THEMES
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Attendee Changes Higher Stakes
Attendee trends
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Attendee Facts

• 76 of attendees arrive at the show with an
  agenda.
• Attendees spend quality time with 26 exhibitors
  at a show.
• Half of these 26 exhibitors scheduled these
  appointments in advance.
• One to two months before each show, your company
  has to get on your clients' and prospects
  agendas.
• Of total leads, 15 will close within three
  months, 26 within six months, and 45 within
  twelve months for you and your competitor.

Source Tradeshow Week
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Most Tradeshow Leads are Never Followed-Up!
Do exhibitors follow-up on leads?
Source CEIR
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80 of exhibitors say
The job is getting more complex.
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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What is Driving Exhibitor Complexity?

• Budgets more with less
• Shorter product life-cycles strategy changes
• Internet
• More events

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Exhibitors Say

• The show itself is becoming more complex."
• Were doing more with less in a year we are
  transitioning to a new name and look."
• "Increased work loads due to annual
  re-organizations."
• "Going from one brand to seven."

Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Exhibitors Say

• There are more products and more private events
  than ever."
• "Longer schedules... more places to be during
  shows."
• "I'm so busy I don't have any time to be
  proactive and innovative.
• "We are no longer Exhibit Managers we are also
  Meeting and Event Planners."

Source Tradeshow Week Research
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ATTENDEES
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Attendees Why They Attend Shows?

• Source new products, review exhibits, learn
  industry trends
• Networking
• Get educated, attend sessions, attain continuing
  educational credits
• Stay current with technology, trends and
  contacts
• Attend other meetings around the show
• Compare vendors, products and vendor staff
  efficiently
• Research
• Employment opportunities

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Attendees Pet-Peeves About Exhibitors

• Too many lower-level staffers, not enough
  executives or engineers, etc.
• Rude behavior, abruptly dropping one attendee to
  speak to another, etc.
• Overly aggressive booth staff
• Exhibitors that sell during educational
  conference sessions
• Poorly conducted in-booth presentations

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Attendees Pet-Peeves About Exhibitors, continued

• Overly detailed in-booth questionnaires and
  lead forms
• Lead retrieval machines and systems that dont
  work properly
• Over-hyped give-aways that are junk or not as
  promised
• Exhibitors that run out of giveaways, brochures
  and/or other materials
• No post-show follow-up
• Un-informed booth staff!

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EXHIBITORS
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Is There More Pressure to Demonstrate ROI from
Corporate?
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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How Many Exhibitors Track ROI?
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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How Do Exhibitors Drive Attendance to Their
Booths
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Who are Exhibitors Trying to Reach?
Exhibitors Primary Goals
1. (tie) Gathering Leads 1. (tie) Brand and
Awareness 2. PR and Media Impact 3. Providing
Audience Education and Interaction
1. (tie) Prospects already aware of company 1.
(tie) Unknown potential prospects 2. Current
clients
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Three Types of Attendees

• The education seeker/browser/looker wants
  information
• Can occupy a large portion of the booth staffs
  time best served with presentations and
  information cards.
• The reinforcement visitor
• Already doing business with you but wants
  reassurance they made the right decision.
• The solution seeker
• Visitor has a specific problem and wants to know
  if you can solve it. This person is the
  strongest prospect and can be turned into a
  qualified lead through productive interaction
  with staff.

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What Leading Exhibitors are Doing New

• More targeted show selection
• Adding more educational elements
• Developing more interactive exhibits

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What Leading Exhibitors are Doing New, continued

• Setting more on-site goals for booth, sales
  staff
• More pre-show marketing, post-show follow-up
• Integrating event themes with other marketing

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Exhibitors Integrating Events with Other
Marketing
Source Tradeshow Week
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What Leading Exhibitors are Doing New, continued

• Focus on higher-level executives bringing
  higher-level employees
• Setting more meetings and appointments in
  advance

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Challenges Facing Corporate Exhibitors
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Before the Show Determine Realistic Goals

• Obtain immediate orders
• Introduce new products
• Identify new prospects, especially decision
  makers
• Meet difficult-to-reach prospects
• Improve or change your firms image
• Find new suppliers
• Form a partnership for marketing your products
  or services
• Find out what the competition is doing and
  offering
• Identify emerging industry trends, and what they
  will mean to your industry, company and customers.

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Measurable Tradeshow Objectives

• Number of visitors to your booth
• Booth visitors by target audience (by accounts,
  by industry, by title, etc.)
• One-on-one meetings with key accounts
• Number of qualified leads
• Lead quality mix (percent of A, B, C leads, etc.)
• Lead mix by geography or product interest
• Lead mix by the day and by the hour of the show

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Measurable Tradeshow Objectives, continued

• Number and amount of sales confirmed
• Number of international distribution deals
  completed
• Number of requests for proposals received
• Amount of media coverage received
• Percentage increase in your company and/or
  product awareness among attendees after the show
• Numbers of attendees exposed to your demo or live
  presentation
• Number of questionnaires completed by target
  audience
• Number and quality of strategic alliances
  confirmed with other exhibiting companies.

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LEAD MANAGEMENT
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What is a Lead

• A lead is not a piece of paper or electronic
  record.

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A lead is a customer with needs and questions
seeking a solution.
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Ten Opening Lines

• Are you enjoying the show?
• Weve found a way to solve the X problem. Is
  this something you need to do?
• Our new X can cut production time by as much as
  30. Are you involved in buying X?
• Do you use X?
• What kind of X do you currently use?

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Ten Opening Lines, continued

• Are you familiar with the savings/improvements
  you can make by using X?
• Do the Xs you are currently stocking give you a
  50 margin?
• What return are you enjoying from your current
  X?
• If I could demonstrate how to X, would you be
  interested?
• Which method of solving the X problem do you
  currently use?

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How to Position Staff and Greet Customers in the
Booth

• Avoid staff clustering.
• Remind booth staff to smile which not only will
  draw more attendees but will also increase
  energy.
• Stand to the side of any counter structure but
  avoid standing behind a counter or in the center
  of the exhibit.
• Have staff hold a small sheet, not a full sheet,
  of white paper in their hands. It neutralizes the
  situation making attendees more comfortable.
• Make eye contact for the first three seconds when
  meeting someone instead of looking at his or her
  badge.
• Shake hands during introductions to build trust.
• Use opening lines such as Thanks for visiting.
  What prompted your interest in our exhibit? or
  Thanks for coming in. How are you familiar
  with?

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Do Exhibitors Follow Up on Leads?
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Importance of Lead Follow Up

• 78 of first-time show attendees and 85 or
  veterans have buying authority
• 61 of attendees plan to buy something exhibited
  at a show
• 83 of attendees visiting an exhibit have not
  seen a salesperson from that company in the
  previous 12 months

Source Tradeshow Week
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Importance of Lead Follow Up, continued

• 54 of inquiries do not require a follow-up call
  or close
• 35 of attendees are top and middle managers
• It costs 70 less to close a tradeshow lead than
  a field sales call, and 0.7 calls to close a
  sale. This compares to national average of 3.5
  to 6.7 calls to close a sale.

Source Tradeshow Week
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Importance of Lead Follow Up, continued

• It costs 185 per-visitor-reached at a tradeshow
  versus 292 average cost for a sales call.
• The difference is even greater when it comes to
  closing a sale. At tradeshows, it takes an
  average of 0.8 encounters to close a sale versus
  3.7 for a field sales call.
• Thus, the cost to close a sale is 419 for a
  tradeshow compared with 1,080 for a sales call.

Source CEIR
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Two Biggest Barriers to Lead Follow UP

• You didn't talk with the person or people who
  have to follow up on the leads after the show to
  find out what they want and what format they want
  the lead information to be in to be most
  effective. 
• 2) You didn't have the resources available after
  the show to follow up sort the leads, scrub the
  database, sort them by some criteria, have
  collateral ready for fast response, etc.

Source Trade Show Consulting
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Average Exhibition Lead Follow Up Time
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Timeframe to Receive Bulk of Show-Related Sales
Source Tradeshow Week Research
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Common Elements of a Qualified Lead

• Accurate contact information correct title,
  phone number and EMAIL
• A decision-making role in influencing,
  recommending or purchasing
• Products and/or service interest who are they
  using now?
• Expressed need for your solution to solve
  specific problem
• Timeframe when the prospect needs the solution
• Budget
• Desire for specific post-show follow-up with
  timeframe

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Lead Grading System

• A lead large dollar volume, short time-frame
• B lead small dollar volume, short time frame
  or large dollar volume, long time frame
• C lead small dollar volume, long time frame
• D lead send literature and/or add name to
  mailing list

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Lead Forms

• Reorienting your sales staff starts well before
  the show.
• Dont impose a lead form or system without at
  least involving the sales manager.
• Ask what minimum information they want on lead
  forms. Show them what you need to know.
• By involving them in the issues of lead
  management, you educate them to the broader
  marketing task of turning inquiries to sales.
• If you dont give them the chance to discover
  those issues, they are likely to ignore your lead
  form.

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Lead Measurement Formulas Cost Per Lead
Measure Cost per lead Formula Total cost to
participate divided by total number of qualified
leads. Example If costs for one show are
18,000 and you collected 459 business cards,
your cost per lead is 39.22. However, if only
126 of those cards represent qualified leads,
your cost per lead is 142.85 (18,000 ? 126
142.85).
Source Tradeshow Week
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Measurement Formulas Revenue Per Lead
Measure Revenue per lead Formula Revenue
generated from tradeshow leads divided by total
number of qualified leads. Example If follow-up
on 126 qualified leads generated 637,000 in
revenue, revenue per lead is 5,055.56. (637,000
? 126 5,055.56).
Source Tradeshow Week
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Measurement Formulas Profit Per Lead
Measure Profit per lead Formula Revenue
generated from tradeshow leads minus cost of
goods sold to these new customers divided by
total number of qualified leads. Example If
follow-up on 126 qualified leads generated
637,000 in revenue with a total cost of goods at
339,500, profit per lead is 2,361.11. (637,000
- 339,500 ? 126 2,361.11).
Source Tradeshow Week
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Measurement Formulas Weighted Ave. Sales Cycle
Measure Weighted average sales cycle
time. Formula This formula measures the average
time in the sales cycle, using a weighted
average. Example If a total of 126 leads
generate 54 sales over a period of six months
(predetermined tradeshow sales allocation period)
with the following distribution sales closed x
month 1 5 sales closed x month 2 20 15 sales
closed x month 3 45 12 sales closed x month 4
48 8 sales closed x month 5 40 4 sales closed x
month 6 24 182 The weighted average sales
cycle time is 182 ? 54 3.3 months.
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Public Relations After the Show

• Send the media post-show press releases reporting
  trends, statistics or information on significant
  newsworthy information/orders that resulted from
  the show.
• Collate all publicized articles and media
  coverage before, during, and after the show, and
  send them to top management and your sales force.
  Include the best articles in mailings to
  customers and prospects.
• Create a state-of-the-industry report based on
  your observations at the show and send it out or
  offer it free to prospects/customers responding
  to a post-show mailing.
• Send your customers and key prospects an audio or
  video recording of your presentation or
  interesting interviews that took place during the
  show.

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Conclusion

• Higher stakes
• Power shifting to attendees
• More of everything
• Most leads are not followed-up
• Better pre-show planning and communications
• Lead follow-up not how to do it, but whos to
  do it

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A lead is a customer with needs and questions
seeking a solution.