Trade Show University for Virtual & Live Events
273 episodes — Page 6 of 6
Ep 22Ep. 022 - Coronavirus COVID-19 and Trade Shows and You
Episode 022 - Coronavirus (COVID-19) and Trade Shows and YouWith the Trade Show Industry being ravaged by Coronavirus, I discuss how this impacts businesses and options for youMentioned in this episode:Subscribe to the new Trade Show University YouTube channel!Check out the new Trade Show University YouTube channel where we feature a growing number of training videos to help businesses get More Leads, More Sales and More Profits through the power of Trade Shows! Many videos are exclusive to YouTube and not found on the podcast. Visit, Subscribe and Binge! https://www.youtube.com/@tradeshowuniversity
Ep 21Ep. 21 - 11 Giveaway Tips to Save Money & Get Results
Episode 21 - 11 More Giveaway Tips & Tricks to save money and get customers!We just recently had an interview with Promo Guy Anthony Gaudio – episode 18. Tons of value and expertise in that episode! I’ve had some listener questions about some things we didn’t cover in that interview, plus wanted to give some of my experience and go even deeper on using giveaways at trade shows. So that’s why we have kind of a Part 2 to the giveaway and promo items topic! Filling in a lot of the gaps and answering more questions from our interview.Not going to tell you specifically what to give away. What I am going to do is help you avoid some common mistakes so you have a successful show and that your giveaway meets the purpose you are buying it for in the first place! And not just become something that gets tossed or given to the kids of the attendees.First before you decide on the items, have a brainstorming session – maybe by yourself or with your team – and decide - What is the purpose of your giveaway? Don’t just have something to have something. That’s like throwing money out the window. It can be high ticket or low ticket. Doesn’t matter – but what does matter is that each item should have a purpose.Next - Brainstorm by yourself or with your team. What items represent your brand? Your promotion? Your booth theme? Once you have that framework down, you can effectively select the absolute right items for your upcoming events. Here’s 11 tips which will help you have the best stuff for your goals and your brand.Tip #1 – Make your giveaway fit your business or your brand. Think of it as a different kind of business card. If you have a car dealership or car repair business or anything have to do with cars – what will be more effective after the show? A squeeze ball with your logo, or a car-shaped squeezy thing with your logo on it?Tip #2 – Try a giveaway that is different or memorable. Think of your current giveaways or ones you have used in the past. Are they different? Are they memorable? Not that you can’t use pens or a more common item, but try taking a shot on something a little more unique. Tip #3 - Get samples of everything! Unless you are right up against a deadline and can’t get a sample in enough time to get an order placed, then do yourself a favor and get a sample! Even if something looks amazing in a catalog or website, don’t take the chance it looks, feels or performs cheap in person.Some pens look expensive and high quality in pictures and feel so cheap. Same goes for tote bags, duffel bags, t-shirts and so many more items. Your name and logo are going on the item – make sure your decision to save a couple of bucks doesn’t reflect poorly on your brand.Tip #4 – Be super selective when choosing a tech item as a giveaway. Tech is cool because it has a high perceived value. Things that look expensive in pictures can have a cheap feel and break. So any time you are considering tech gadgets, please be sure to get samples and test them. Remember – the reason you are having these items is that they reflect your brand in some way. Don’t have people thinking low quality while they’re staring at your logo on the item that won’t work!Also - Be sure to check the specs for your tech items. True example - As an attendee I got a power brick and I thought this was amazing! Then I got back and tested it out and it only added about 10% battery life to my phone before the power brick needs a recharge. That thing will go straight in the trash.Tip #5 - Make sure imprint size is significant enough to
Ep 20Ep. 020 - Marketing Automation for non-techies - Breaking it Down
Episode 020 – Marketing Automation bonus – breaking it downIn our last episode, Ryan Mansfield from Revolt Automation brought a ton of value about Marketing Automation and gave you some amazing tools to utilize – and 3 out of the 4 of them were free! And he talked about how these tools can help you be more efficient and effective when sending follow up emails. For those who aren't so tech-savvy, I wanted to give my thoughts and help break this down even further. Wanted to give you some additional ideas on how you can make marketing automation work for you.First – you’re going to need an email service which can handle batching your outbound email. What I’m talking about is having the capability to send emails to a group all at once, and not one at a time.Now I know that many of the listeners are small businesses who are trying to cut corners and save money everywhere they can. I totally get it! So if right now you’re doing everything from your gmail or yahoo email account, it’s time to look at an email service. If budget is super tight, try MailChimp as they have a free starter email service that is still surprisingly robust. If you’re ready to invest in something a little better, there are lots of options like ConvertKit, AWeber, InfusionSoft, and so many others. Just do your research to see what fits your budget and what program will fit your needs best. What these services will allow you to do is more effectively target the messaging in your follow ups after a show or event.For example – to make it simple, let’s just say you have broken your leads into 3 separate categories. One set of contacts simply dropped their business card in your box to enter a drawing. Another set you had a conversation with and you got them qualified, but they either had low interest or they weren’t in the market to buy. The third set of leads you had great indepth conversations with, they had strong interest and maybe even were ready to buy now.The question is – would you send all three groups the same follow up email? I hope you said NO! But how many businesses do this today? I get follow up emails all the time after a show that are super generic even though I may have had a great conversation and even scheduled a follow up! This is confusing.Certain email programs will also allow you to run drip campaigns. Drip campaigns allow your email recipients to receive customized email campaigns based on what they do (or don’t do).Have Questions or Need Help? Contact Ryan Mansfield!Email: [email protected]: http://revoltautomation.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mansfield-03483ab6/Mentioned in this episode:Subscribe to the new Trade Show University YouTube channel!Check out the new Trade Show University YouTube channel where we feature a growing number of training videos to help businesses get More Leads, More Sales and More Profits through the power of Trade Shows! Many videos are exclusive to YouTube and not found on the podcast. Visit, Subscribe and Binge! https://www.youtube.com/@tradeshowuniversity
Ep 19Ep. 019 - How to use Marketing Automation for Maximum ROI! With Ryan Mansfield
Ep. 019: How to use Marketing Automation for max ROI! With Ryan MansfieldCheck this out!!! Exclusive for Trade Show University listeners!!!** Get a FREE Audiobook ($20++ value) and FREE 30 day Trial of Audible!** Visit www.audibletrial.com/tradeshowu **Sending emails to follow up with contacts you made at the last trade show can be a good method, but you don’t want to send the same email to every person. And you don’t want to have to manually send out personalized emails to potentially hundreds of people.Marketing Automation can be the solution you need to meet all your needs, while making you more effective and efficient.Today’s guest, Ryan Mansfield of Revolt Automation, walks us through powerful tips and tricks on how to improve your Return On Investment (ROI) at your next show, while saving you a ton of time! Best of all – you’ll get even better results.Ryan also introduced us to several affordable or even Free technology tools to help you!Here is the list of tools mentioned in the episode: --- Hubspot (starting at Free!) - https://www.hubspot.com/ Hubspot is an effective CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool for handling all of your customer and prospect information. And much more. --- Woodpecker (starting at $40/mo) - https://woodpecker.co/Woodpecker is an email tool that allows you to send text-only emails for follow-ups. They can be scheduled and sent when you want. Can also create multiple emails and send different follow ups to those emails based on how the person responds to your emails. Plus it gets sent right from your email account so it looks like you did it. --- Zapier (Starting at Free!) - https://zapier.com/homeZapier is an automation platform that allows your apps to talk to each other and work together. Powerful tool! --- Survey Monkey (starting at Free!) – https://www.surveymonkey.com/Robust survey creator that you can use on your website, in social media or in emails. Great tool to help you do research you need with customers and prospects.How to contact Ryan Mansfield:Email: [email protected]: http://revoltautomation.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-mansfield-03483ab6/Mentioned in this episode:Subscribe to the new Trade Show University YouTube channel!Check out the new Trade Show University YouTube channel where we feature a growing number of training videos to help businesses get More Leads, More Sales and More Profits through the power of Trade Shows! Many videos are exclusive to YouTube and not found on the podcast. Visit, Subscribe and Binge! https://www.youtube.com/@tradeshowuniversity
Ep 18Ep 018 - Using Giveaways & Promo Items for Powerful Results! With Promo Guy Anthony Gaudio
Ep. 018: Using Giveaways & Promo Items for Powerful Results! With Anthony GaudioWe see promo items in every booth throughout every trade show! But what works and what’s a waste of money? Promo Industry Pro Anthony Gaudio of Quality Logo Products is with me today to discuss everything you wanted to know about Giveaways!Q1 - What is your experience relating to trade shows? I’m more of the behind the scenes guy when it comes to trade shows. Most of my experiences come from that of my clients. Connecting with my clients both before and after their show helps me gain insight as to what products worked for them and what items were not so hot. I use this info to help other similar business/individuals target products to service their individual markets. I don’t just work with one auto body shop, I work with 30 of them. If 24 of the 30 had great luck with XYZ pen then that’s the pen I’m going to recommend to the next auto body shop looking for pens as the proof is in the pudding. Q2 – What do businesses really need to understand about giveaways? Understanding the need for giveaways and how they can enhance your pitch and entice attendees to visit your booth. Having a good base of promotional products, and layering promotional items to further exposure Need for Giveaways - People like free stuff! In exchange for a bit someone's time giving them something in return to say thank you is in my book necessary. It builds a connection with the individual(s) and offers an opportunity to look back and remember the conversation after the fact. #1 rule of marketing… the puffy envelope gets opened first. If you get a stack of business cards and one widget with contact info printed.. What are you going to look at first? Having a Good Product Base and Layering Items – 1. Solid Product Base: Having a good product base is also super important. Every company should have a few base items they give away regularly. They don't need to be super expensive, just something consistent that over time builds up in their marketplace. Branded pens or mints at the front when you walk in, keychains, can holders, etc.. When people see it, they know where it came from and it’s consistent with your business's reputation and overall branding vision. Think of these as fancy business cards. 2. Promo Wear- Branding your employees with shirts, hats, jackets, socks, etc… further layers this notion of consistency and quality. It also provides a means to both build comradery between employees as well as identify who works there, LOL!!! 3. Something Extra - To further layer promotional items, having a little something extra to give away from time to time is also a way to build rapport with clients and single out individuals that have continued to support your business. These can be nicer products, stainless steel tumblers, backpacks, USB drives, even apparel works well. Just something extra to give to those that consistently give back to you. Q3 - What was your most memorable trade show moment? The first positive moment I can remember would be that of my first industry tradeshow. Meeting vendors I had worked with over the past couple of years was great. Being able to shake hands with these people and take some new products away to share with my team was awesome. Q4 – What are Your top tips for our listeners? 1) Work with someone who knows what they are doing (I.E. me, LOL!!!) and that has your/your business’s best interest at heart. Ask for the top salesperson in the company. They’re the top salesperson because they aren't really selling anything, they’re providing positive solutions to their clients. 2) Plan ahead. If you have a show coming up and you know you need goodies to give away… call us a few weeks in advance. The more time we have to work with the more...
Ep 17Ep. 017 - 9 Top Tips for Working Shows by Yourself for SOLO SUCCESS
Ep. 017: Top 9 Tips for Working Shows by Yourself – SOLO SUCCESS!Whether you’re working an upcoming show by yourself, or you have worked several shows by yourself in the past, it can be frustrating. Being by yourself does not allow you to be efficient, maximize your ROI, or put you in the position to get the best results possible.The biggest issue is that you can only have indepth discussions with one person at a time.Let me give you one big piece of advice - Don’t work by yourself! If at all possible, convince a co-worker, trusted colleague, family member or friend help you out for a few hours or few days. It will definitely be worth it!So I have compiled 9 tips that will help you improve your results, and also give you the confidence you need.( 1 ) Use other methods to help capture information and make you more efficient. Do what you can to have multiple people stay at your booth even if you are only personally talking with one. So while you’re talking with one person, you can have another person filling out their contact information or maybe even asking some key questions.You can use an iPad or laptop, or can go old school and have a paper form for them to fill out.The key is to be able to have multiple people engaged in your booth at one time.( 2 ) Try group presenting. I’m not talking about having chairs set up and doing a powerpoint. There’s a time when that could work well, but not when you’re by yourself!What I’m talking about is If you’re at a busy show, and you have a couple of people at your booth, why not have them stand together and give your presentation at one time? And if there’s a lot of people walking by, get the attention of a few more people and have them join in. You can ask them a quick qualifying question before you start to make sure you’re talking to the right people.But let me ask you – would you rather talk to one person at a time or multiple people at a time? Especially if it doesn’t take you any longer!(3) Simplify and Minimize – when you’re by yourself, simpler is better. It will keep you from running around so much trying to find the right things. Plus its less for you to set up and put away. Simpler is better.(4) Practice! You need to be quick and efficient with your time because its all on you! So practice your engagement and qualifying questionsPractice your presentation or demoPractice your answers to popular questionsPractice where you’re going to stand and how you will have things set upPractice practice practice so when you get there and the show is going on you are one efficient machine and your results will be so much better!( 5 ) Get out front of your table/booth – this goes for everyone at every show, but especially important if you’re working by yourself. Be out front and ready to engage with people. Never want to have a barrier in your way.( 6 ) Set up your booth as early as possible to allow for the unknown. When you are with a team of people and you forget something like a computer cord, or the box of literature, or whatever, you can have someone go and get what you need while you keep setting up. But when you’re by yourself, only you can get your problem fixed. Which means you have to set up AND get what you need. ( 7 ) Get to shows early to walk the show floor and meet people. Walking shows is so important for many reasons. Check out competition, see if there are any vendors or customers also exhibiting, and see any companies you may want to introduce...
Ep 16Ep. 016 - Unleash the Power of HAPPINESS - with Christina Unrein, Happiness Coach
Episode 016 – Unleashing the Power of Happiness – Interview with Christina Unrein, Professional Happiness CoachChristina’s goal is to have people find their own happiness, and get to it a little bit faster on their own!Q – Who is your ideal client?A – People who are a little weird, with quirks, people who want to be themselves, and also the workaholics and people pleasers. Also I like working with people who want to be courageous and like to be with themselves – no matter what that looks like.Happiness is a Continuous Choice. We have to stick with it!Q – What experiences have you had at Trade Shows?A – I’ve experienced just about every situation there is at shows. Being an exhibitor behind the booth, in front of the booth, walking around shows, and more.Q – Do you see Happiness missing at Trade Shows?A – I believe it has to be intentional for it to show up. It can’t be forced. You shouldn’t say, “We’ll just play music or have an ice cream social.” It has to be intentional for the attendees.Should create a more personal environment rather than a “salesy” environment.But its rare, especially in business because people are so focused on the results – getting badges scanned or business cards. Rarely do people create an environment to just have conversations – but in reality that is where happiness naturally comes out.Q – How do you create the right environment for happiness? Especially in industries that are more “serious” like medical, legal, insurance, etc.?A – Think about your audience and how overwhelmed they are. What are they experiencing at the show – long days, bad food choices, etc. Now think about what would give them energy and what would make them curious.Then let them care about what they care about. Let them tell you by asking them questions. Get curious about them!Ask them how best you can support them, because the answer might not be you! It might be you connecting them with someone else at the show. Be a Servant! Find out how you can help them, and they will remember it and may even refer others to you because you made them happier in some way.Q – How do you get past the “I’m here to work, I’m here for my company, and I’m here to get results” mindset?A – Start thinking I’m here to have fun, to meet people and add quality and energy to their lives. I’m here to learn and to grow. There’s all sorts of ways to change your mindset and to be intentional. One thing is to be Authentic so people get a good idea of who you really are.Also – be curious!And if the show is slow, meet the people in the other booths and find out how you can add value to them.You already know what you know. Give yourself a chance to learn from others by being curious, asking questions, and then being silent to hear what they have to say.Q – Tell us about your book!A – The book is titled – The Happiness Workbook: Rise Up Happiness Soldiers! LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Workbook-Rise-Up-Soldiers-ebook/dp/B074CPNQGLNOTE: You can get the Kindle version for FREE!!One thing to know – I don’t like writing! So instead of copy heavy, it has a lot of exercises.I took the concept in each short chapter and tried to apply it in the 5 ways most people learn: (1) By doodling, drawing or creating. (2) By movement. (3) By visualizing. (4) By speaking aloud. (5) By tearing the concept apart and...
Ep 15Ep. 015 - 7 Traps to Avoid which can Ruin Your ROI
Episode 015 – Top 7 Traps to Avoid that can Ruin Your Results & ROI*********Proud to introduce our new Sponsor - Audible! This Episode is brought to you by Audible! Audible is offering Trade Show U listeners a Free Audiobook with a 30-day Trial Membership!Just go to audibletrial.com/TradeShowU*********Here are the top 7 traps to avoid when working trade shows. These are not mistakes – traps are things and situations you can get stuck in if you’re not careful. Things that in the moment might not even seem like it’s anything wrong. TRAPS TO AVOID AT THE SHOW:Trap #1 - Don’t compare your booth to others. -- It’s easy to look at other booths and think they are doing everything better than you are. This could put you in the wrong mood from the start and hurt your chances for success.-- But at that point, there is nothing you can do about the display, the lights, the literature, the giveaways -- nothing. -- But there’s everything you can do about your attitude, engaging attendees in positive and meaningful conversations, and reaching your goals.-- Now if you get some ideas from other booths that you’d like to upgrade or try for future shows, then go take pictures. Grab some of that nicer literature. Even talk to the people at that booth and ask them who built their display or where they got their backdrop. -- Turn it into a positive experience for you! Just don’t let it drag you down!So trap #1 – don’t compare. That only leads to a negative attitude which will definitely affect your performance! Trap #2 - Not resetting your booth each day-- Before the show starts on day one, you and your team make sure everything is perfect. The display looks great, the literature is filled in the rack, you have your giveaway items in a perfect pyramid – you booth looks like it came out of a magazine! -- But when you get to day two or three, the booth just isn’t as perfect. Odds are the majority of people walking by are brand new and didn’t see you on day 1 or at very least didn’t stop by. Don’t you want everyone to have the best impression of your booth and your company?-- So get to the show a few minutes early at the beginning of each day, and have your booth looking like it did on day 1! Suggest assigning one person to check how your booth looks once or twice during the day each day. They can be in charge of refilling the literature, the giveaways, picking some paper scraps off the carpet, and making the booth look like new again! That’s Trap #2 – Not resetting your booth. Take a few minutes and make your booth look great again! Trap #3 – Thinking that scanning badges or gathering business cards is enough. -- Success is not just having a bowl is full or a ton of badges scanned. -- Think about how much time and effort is going to be spent following up. So many emails and phone calls will be made to people who will never buy from you.-- You need to be sure these people are qualified! Ask them the right questions to make sure they are qualified before getting their card. Or if you have a great conversation at your booth and get their business card or scan their badge, then make notes to refer to before following up to increase your odds of success.That’s Trap #3 – Just getting business cards or scanning badges without qualifying Trap #4 – Assuming your booth staff knows how to work a show. -- Just because your staff knows how to...
Ep 14Ep. 014 - Are You Preparing for the Super Bowl or a Pick-up Game?
Episode 14 – Are preparing for the Super Bowl or a Pick-up Game?The Super Bowl is this Sunday and it got me thinking about trade shows. Shocker, right? I have a question for you – are you preparing for your next show like it’s the Super Bowl or like it’s a neighborhood pick-up game? There’s a difference! There’s a reason it’s called The Big Game. It is the BIGGEST game of the year! Win or go home. Do or die. Here’s some things I thought of that compare your next show to the Big Game: --- How are you preparing? Do you have the training regimen like a world class athlete putting in the reps, being at the gym or practice field for hours a day? Or the preparation of a championship coach? Pouring through hours and hours of game film, reading over scouting reports, and late night meetings with the coaching staff. Or are you treating your next game like a neighborhood pick up game – maybe tossing a football around in the back yard with a buddy?--- Do you have a well thought out game plan or just going to wing it? --- Is your team prepared? Are you training them well? Are you spending the time and making sure they are well versed on the booth, your business, your goals, and how they are going to be engaging and qualifying attendees? Or are you just going to let them show up? Be sure to check out Episode #3 on Training Here: https://tradeshowu.biz/episodes/episode-003-training-your-booth-staff-for-success/ --- How much do you know about the other team? About all the other exhibitors? About your competition? Listen to Episode 11 about what and how you should research for the show! https://tradeshowu.biz/episodes/episode-011-the-4-key-things-you-need-to-research-before-your-next-show/ --- We have come to Halftime in this short episode! Just like the Super Bowl has it’s amazing commercials – Trade Show University officially has its first sponsor!This Episode is brought to you by Audible! Get a Free Audiobook and a Free 30-day Trial by visiting www.audibletrial.com/tradeshowu We are back for the second half! Let’s go right to the next thing teams do to prepare for the Big Game. --- Do you have the right players on the field? Whether its for the full game or just one specific play, coaches strategize about who needs to be on the field. You need to do the same thing for your next show! Depending on your goals, you want to make sure you have your top performers there. Need to engage people? Have your sales or marketing people – or your people people out in front! Need to do demos? Have your product people, your engineers, developers or designers there. Whatever your goals, staff up accordingly! For help, check out Episode 2 on Staffing your Booth for success: https://tradeshowu.biz/episodes/episode-002-staffing-your-booth-for-success/ --- Just like each player has a role on the team, so should your booth staff. Make sure you have a specific role or roles for each person in your booth. We talk about this more in Episode 3: <a href="https://tradeshowu.biz/episodes/episode-003-training-your-booth-staff-for-success/"...
Ep 13Episode 013 - Bringing the Experience of YOU at Trade Shows - interview with Robin Sacks & Angie Pohlman
Episode 013 – Bringing the Experience of YOU at Trade Shows!Special Interview with Robin Sacks and Angie Pohlman of GroundedInClarity.comIt’s more than just experiencing your company – the key is the experience of you.· Are you more than just the brochures and stuff in your booth?· People buy from people – and they need to experience who you are.Robin’s favorite quote from Maya Angelou – “People will forget what you said. People will forget what you did. But people will never forget how you made them feel.”Exercise – You and your team show up, but none of your stuff arrived. The only thing in your booth space is YOU. What do you do?If the boxes with your stuff didn’t show up, could you do what you needed to do?It’s about having the confidence to say to yourself, “I know my stuff. I know what I need to know about my company. I am going to embrace this situation, have fun, meet some people, and make them feel good that they actually stopped by this empty booth!”It’s easy for us to lean on our “stuff” as a crutch and fall back on old habits of just shoving a business card and literature into someone’s hands instead of starting a meaningful conversation.Move beyond transactional goals (# of leads, # of badges scanned, etc.) and toward meaningful conversations.When you do this, a magical thing happens. You don’t have to go looking for people as much – they will start looking for you!Whether your stuff shows up or not, your approach should be the same. Start with the thought of engaging with people and getting to conversations and relationship building.When figuring out what you and your staff should say, think about it from the viewpoint of the attendees. When you are an attendee, what draws you in? What makes you want to visit a booth and really dig into their offerings?· What makes you smile? What makes you feel good? And what makes you want to turn and run?· Don’t push your stuff on them. You want them wanting to take your brochures and business card because they enjoyed their experience with you.· This starts to talk about your Personal BrandExercise – Three Little Words· First – describe yourself using only three words.· Next - Ask people who know you – If you had to describe me in only three words, what would those words be?· Many times something amazing happens because often people will use words that we would never use to describe ourselves.· There are one or two qualities we have which others see and value, but we don’t value them in ourselves. Often times we will even hide these qualities.· These words and qualities are your Super Powers!o If you are not bringing those Super Powers out all the time, you are probably missing out on opportunities on being authentically youTETRIS Game example:· The goal of TETRIS is to fit different shaped blocks to create complete rows. Once you complete a row, it disappears.· TETRIS taught me everything I need to know about life…o When you fit in, you disappear!· Your goal at Trade Shows is to NOT look like everyone else and fit in.· One great way of standing apart is to give people an experience, and that...
Ep 12Episode 012 - Answering YOUR Burning Questions! Listener Q&A #1
Episode 012 – Answering YOUR Burning Questions – Qualified Leads, Getting the Most of Your Staff, & Follow-UpsI have been getting so many fantastic questions from Trade Show U listeners. So I picked three of the most popular burning questions and answer those in this episode. I’ll be featuring more listener questions in future episodes! Don’t worry – when you send me a question, I’ll answer it right then and there. You won’t have to be waiting for the next Q&A episode!Question #1 – How can I determine Qualified leads vs. tire kickers?· This is the million dollar question! I only wish more companies asked it!· Determining qualified leads vs tire kickers, it’s all on you. Unfortunately it doesn’t say “Qualified Lead” on the name badges, and doesn’t tell you on a business card or when you scan a badge. · And because qualified is different for each company, that means you have to ask questions!o Qualifying the attendees is necessary. § The first step is to determine what a qualified lead looks like. Start by looking at your current clients or customers. What industry are they in? What size company? What title is the decision maker? Whatever the criteria are for your business.§ Determine the one or two most important criteria. Then craft questions to determine if the show attendees you will be talking to meet your criteria.Question #2 – How do I get the most out of each person working our booth?· This is a struggle for most companies. Just like each company has it’s A players, B players, and people all the way down the alphabet, you will have a variety of skill sets and motivation in your booth.· Training is great first step, because if they are unaware of what they need to know or supposed to do, they’re even more likely to check out. But the real keys are Goal Setting and Accountability for each person.o With goal setting, of course each person should know the overall goals, but performance is more likely to happen when they have an individual goal and they know how they personally will help reach your overall goals.o Then it’s backing it up with accountability. · I suggest going back to Episode 002 – Training your booth staff for Success for a deeper dive into this topicQuestion #3 – I am frustrated by Lack of client's interest when following up after the show. What would you recommend?· This is a great question, and I’m sure most if not all of us have experienced this.· After the show you’re excited to follow up with the people you met at the show and you get “Not interested” or “Who are you?” or no response at all.· You will never be able to avoid this 100% of the time because sometime people just stopped by to get in your drawing or grab your giveaway. · Here’s a couple of things you can do to maximize the effectiveness of your follow up and the majority of it is determined by you in your booth:o Make sure you are following up with a qualified lead. Talked about this earlier in the episode.o Make sure they are the decision maker or part of the decision making processo Let them know while they’re still at...
Ep 11Episode 011 - The 4 Key Things You Need to Research before Your Next Show
Episode 011 – The 4 Key Things You Need to Research before Your Next ShowFor many people listening to this right now, you are headed right into a busy trade show season, or maybe right in the middle of one. The best part about this is no matter when your next show is, you can utilize research as your secret weapon to give yourself an edge at the show and beyond. Obviously if your next show is still a ways away, that gives you more time to research, but even if it’s just a week away, you can still conduct research to give your company an edge!If you are heading into a brand new show you have never been to before, then research is so critically important. But research is also for shows you have done before, maybe even multiple times before. Here are the 4 Key Things you need to Research before Your Next Show: · First – What industry does that show serve. To best prepare your booth, what info you will be bringing, what your focus and your message will be, you need to understand all about the industry – even if you’ve been in that industry for years! Here’s what you need to research:o Industry trends, o Who are the industry Leaders – what do they focus on? What is their messaging and branding? Learn from how they do what they do o Buying habits – important to know their buying habits, and how things may have changed. Do they buy direct or go through buying groups or dealers? o Have government regulations affected the industry? · Second – All of the Show info – how old is the show, number of attendees, number of exhibitors, speaking opportunities, networking opportunity.o Doesn’t matter if you have done this show many times in the past, dig through the show website to find out what’s new. Shows are constantly trying to reinvent themselves to keep things fresh and attendees coming. They may open up new segments to draw in whole new markets.o You don’t want to be caught off guard and miss out on new opportunities! Find out what the show is doing new. This should be on the show website, and if you can’t figure it out, call your show contact and ask!· Third – Your Competition – who is your competition in this space? You may know who the current competitors are, but what do you know about them? Do they have new products? How are they changing? What are their strengths and weaknesses? And who are the new competitors? Pay attention to any new names coming into the market! They may be bringing all new products, services and ideas that can sway customers in their direction. o Stay aware of companies that are not direct competitors, but sell a similar or complementary product or service. Especially if they sell to the same customer base you are selling to. o Another example would be a complementary business which
Ep 10Episode 010 - Using the Power of Improv at Trade Shows PART 2 - with Roger Miller of Tues@7
Episode 010 – Using the Power of Improv at your Trade Shows (Part 2) – Interview with Roger Miller of Tues@7Show Notes from Interview with Roger Miller – Part 2Introducing Roger Miller – a right-brained person in a left-brained world. Roger has the unique background combination of being in the not-very exciting medical Insurance industry, and also a special effects makeup artist! Roger has been involved in many shows in both of his worlds – insurance and special effects makeup. He draws on inspiration from both to give great tips and value for you and how to do things differently in your booth for greater customer engagement and results. Improv Tips:· Train your team on the top 20 questions they may hear at the trade show bootho Get your team together to brainstorm and come up with the top 20 questions and things attendees may asko Then come up with efficient responses for each question and give them to your team (aka your cast)o Practice these 20 responses for a couple of weeks leading up to the trade show. The more you practice your responses, the more your team will be prepared to not only answer these popular questions, but also the unexpected questions that may arise as well.o This is truly at the heart of improvisation!· Remember – during the GO phase, you want to Look and Listen, and that will tee up your next response.· Listening is so important! Listening leads to proper responses which will engage the attendee into a deeper conversation.o By not listening, you can be wasting your time and the attendees’ time.o Not taking time to listen will cause you to just give the points you want to give and may totally miss the mark with the attendees. You literally can turn off a potential customer.· Engage ALL the senses. How can you use…o Sight – using holograms, virtual reality headsets, creative lightingo Sounds – music, spinning carnival wheels, industrial sounds, moreo Smells – foods (like coffee, popcorn, fresh baked cookies), flowers, dirt, otherso After using something to engage the senses, one exercise would be to simply ask attendees, “What do you think?”· By taking some of these more creative aspects and introducing them into more traditional business shows, you WILL stand out and draw in more attendees· Add in the training done on the Top 20 Questions and you will add to how memorable your booth is in these ways:o Being unique – uniqueness is always more memorable. Just be sure it is tied to your brand or your products.o Giving efficient and direct answers to questions from your trained staff.o You have broken the “fourth wall” and gone out to engage with attendees.TIPS for those who don’t consider themselves Creative or Outgoing, or who are uncomfortable going out to engage attendees:· Remember business as theater, and your cast can be characters· Roger shared a story about when his wife was in high school used to be a server at Pizza Hut. Occasionally the manager would let them wear alternate nametags – and she went from Beth to Sassy.o This new name not only set a new level of expectations...
Ep 9Episode 009 - Using the Power of Improv and Creativity - with Roger Miller of Tues@7 - Part 1
Episode 009 – Using the Power of Improv at your Trade Shows (Part 1) – Interview with Roger Miller of Tues@7Show Notes from Interview with Roger Miller – Part 1Introducing Roger Miller – a right-brained person in a left-brained world. Roger has the unique background combination of being in the not-very exciting medical Insurance industry, and also a special effects makeup artist! Roger has been involved in many shows in both of his worlds – insurance and special effects makeup. He draws on inspiration from both to give great tips and value for you and how to do things differently in your booth for greater customer engagement and results. Tips for doing things differently at the trade show booth:· Learn from Experiential shows that are extremely creative. The energy, creativity, engagement, live streaming, multi-media and more are used in more of the arts, theater and creative industry shows.· Iconic characters are one way companies can brand themselves and build on themes· In the insurance industry, think of Progressive’s “Flo” and Allstate’s “Mayhem”· Memorable and effective for very different reasons· Flo is good but Mayhem is great because his character immediately ties to the benefits of having insurance.· But think about characters like that and what make them memorable. Then think of those aspects and how you can create a character or a brand image using those characteristics.· Try to bring the same kind of creativity to the show floor and use it in a way that stops attendees in their tracks and allow you to engage in new and exciting ways.· Obviously this takes planning with your team prior to the show to give you enough time to execute your plan.· Figure out what emotion you need to get from your audience. Is it fear, like in the insurance industry? Is it desire? Or something else?· Then its about taking it to the next level – taking your attendees to a place they haven’t gone or typically don’t go at a trade show.o For example – at an auto show go beyond just letting people sit in one of your cars and give them an immersive test drive experience.· Step 1 is Drawing Attention – how do we actually get people to stop.· Step 2 is Engaging the attendees· If you are in a more traditional business industry like insurance, being creative will really help you stand out at your next show. However, if you are in a creative field like art, music or theater, then you really have to ramp up your game because everyone there will be employing creativity.· Don’t call your booth...
Ep 8Episode 008 - New Years Resolutions for Trade Shows
Episode 008 – New Years Resolutions for Trade ShowsNew Years Resolutions for Trade Shows? Really? YES!! Resolve to make 2020 the best year ever for your shows! · 2019 is in the books, and I hope it was a good year for you personally and professionally. · Celebrate and remember the highs, take the lessons and memories from the lows and keep moving forward. · I want you to Make 2020 the year you commit to expect more and get more from each and every trade show. Raise the bar! · But focus is key. If you have too many things you are trying to accomplish, chances are you won’t do any of them as well as you could. · Here are just 4 Resolutions for your trade shows in 2020. o 1st Resolution - Take shows seriously. Act like it’s your own money being spent on the show. If you were footing the bill, would you take it more seriously? And if you’re a small business owner, it is your money! Don’t forget what your time’s worth. That should go in your calculation. § Also don’t procrastinate. Don’t put things off. Give yourself the time needed to set goals, strategize and plan for success.§ Don’t assume your staff is good enough and doesn’t need training. Assume they know nothing and train them so you can hit your goals.§ If you’re the leader and responsible for the show – act like it! Take charge. Make things happen. Take it seriously.o 2nd Resolution - Don’t get bogged down in the details. Make results your focus! Yes the details are important, but strategizing for results and ROI is MORE important. We can tend to spend so much time on all the little details for the show. Of course all of these are important, but they often overshadow goal setting and training your staff to maximize results!o 3rd Resolution - Improve at least one part of your booth, display or staff show efforts with each new show. Make a commitment to improve at least one thing for each show. Don’t just do the same things over and over every time. No matter how good your results, you can always improve! So keep focusing on improvement and trying new things – at least one new thing for each show.o 4th Resolution – Keep your staff accountable. Your people should never just be allowed to show up at a trade show, work and then go back to life. § Each person should be responsible for different things and have their own goals to hit – and this includes you! § There should be no confusion as to their responsibilities, and there should be clear follow up after the show – and possibly even during the show (depending on what’s being measured). Remember – what gets measured gets accomplished! § Keep your team accountable and they will deliver!· So there you go! Take those Resolutions and make them your own, and 2020 will absolutely rock for you! You will crush your show goals!· I want to hear from you! What are your resolutions going to be for this year? Head over to our Facebook or LinkedIn page and leave a post, or even message me, or shoot me an email to [email protected]<span...
Ep 7Episode 007 - What should your staff Wear in the Trade Show Booth?
Episode 007 – What to Wear at Your BoothIn this Episode, we’ll be discussing what you and your team should be wearing at your booth when working a trade show. Yes – what you wear DOES make a difference in your branding and results!· Yes, having a plan for what you wear at your trade show booth is Important, but doesn’t have to be complex· What you wear is the first impression you will make with attendees. They will make a lot of assumptions about you and your company based on what you are wearing and how you look.· Some apparel makes a statement, and others have practically little impact.· The principles are pretty much the same whether you have one person or a group of people working your booth· When someone looks at you, are you memorable or forgettable? You want to be memorable! Maybe not you specifically, but your company. · Of course, there are varying degrees of memorability. Wearing a shirt and tie may have a professional look, but also may be easily forgettable. Having everyone in the booth wearing the same tie notches the memorability up a notch. Having that tie with your logo goes up another notch. Having guys and girls all wearing that tie, one more notch.· My number one rule - Be sure you match in some way! · The benefits of matching far outweigh any negatives.· First – reinforces your brand. Your corporate colors and logo should be represented. Plus people should be able to look at you and get at least some understanding of how you are to work with as a company. · Second – attendees can identify you. By having on the same colors or outfit as the rest of the people from your company, attendees can make a better connection between you, your company, and your offering or promotion.· Third – when your booth is hopping with activity, attendees know who works there and who doesn’t. If everyone is dressed differently, can be very difficult to tell. So instead of getting a question answered which can lead to a meaningful conversation, the question may never get asked.· Don’t fall in the trap of letting everyone wearing whatever they want “as long as it’s professional.” When everyone is dressed differently – even if it’s professional – it looks messy because there’s no cohesion.· When it comes to apparel, you really only have two options. You can either go Corporate, or go with a Theme:· Corporate is having everyone wear something similar that reflects your organization, your culture, your industry, or your brand. · What you will see most often are polos and/or button down shirts. Polos and button downs might say we’re a little more casual and good to work with. · Companies wearing Shirt and tie or a suit definitely give a more formal vibe, and convey trust and expertise. Might find companies in a shirt and tie that are focused on regulations, compliance or contracts - like finance, banking, insurance or consulting.· On the other end of the spectrum, maybe t-shirt and jeans will work for you. That look will also work if you’re trying to market to millennials and a younger generation.· You can also dress for your industry. For example, if you’re a fitness...
Ep 6Episode 006 - What Lead Gathering Option should You choose?
Episode 006 – Lead Gathering OptionsIn this episode we will be discussing different options for gathering leads at your next show while going over the Pros, Cons and my Bottom Line comments. Plus We’ll also discuss the difference between leads and qualified leads, and which ones you really want. · The important thing to remember when gathering leads, is It’s not just about the number of leads you gather, it’s about getting QUALIFIED leads· Just collecting business cards or scanning the badges of everyone who enters your booth will cause way more follow up work than needed· Five main methods to capturing the info you need· #1 – Badge Scanners. Many shows have exclusive badge scanners for their shows. To determine if a badge scanner is a good choice for you, consider:· How busy will the show be? If you are having hundreds or even thousands of attendees, then a badge scanner can be a quick and effective method.· What other attendee information will the show provide with the scans? Aside from basic contact info, what else is the show collecting and will be providing to you? Find out everything, and if that info is important to you this may be a good option.· What’s your budget? If the budget is tight, skip this option.· PROS – Quickest way to get contact info. · Get a spreadsheet after the show of all your leads and info which can be very handy for follow ups. · You don’t have to invest in your own equipment or use your personal phone· CONS – Can be pricey. · Typically only get one unit and it can be tied up when someone else wants to use it. · If only use it to scan badges and get contact info, then its no better than getting a business card.· Bottom line – Suggest getting a badge scanner at a show ONLY IF you do more with it than simply scan a badge. Make it your info gathering tool to guide your staff through the initial conversation with attendees. Most scanners are customizable to add in questions.· #2- Business card scanning apps – Go to the Apple or Google app store and do some research. Most are free to try out – at least for a trial or limited use. But even if going to full purchase, will be far less expensive than renting a badge scanner.· PROS – Inexpensive option – possibly free, multiple highly-rated options available, can be customizable to capture the info you need, each person at your booth can potentially have one on their own phone and be able to scan attendees· CONS – Requires attendees to have business cards to work so if you’re marketing to consumers this is not your best choice, need to consolidate everyone’s scans after a show if multiple people are using, may not integrate with CRM· Bottom line: Using a business card scanner can serve you not only at trade shows, but any time you are doing business or networking. Plus you can immediately and at usually no cost evaluate multiple options to see what is best for you.· #3 - Kiosk or iPad to capture info· Setting up a kiosk or stations with iPads or laptops where attendees can enter in their own information can be a...
Ep 5Episode 005 – How to Maintain Your Energy at Trade Shows – with Brittany Cermak RDN
Episode 005 – How to Maintain Your Energy at Trade Shows – with Brittany Cermak, RDNA very special episode today with our guest (and in full disclosure – my daughter) Registered Dietitian Brittany Cermak! Brittany is going to discuss what we need to be doing to maintain our energy throughout these long shows. With many hours on our feet and having to perform at a high level, we can get tired and drained. This is important information for anyone who works trade shows!Brittany is a Registered Dietitian & Nutritionist in Cleveland, Ohio who works full time for a non-profit health clinic group, is a professor at Case Western Reserve University, and also has her own private practice called Your Life Nutrition. What is your experience relating to trade shows?I have attended many trade shows for Food and Nutrition from local to national and engaged in company booths.I have also held a booth for Your Life Nutrition at different health fairs trying to engage attendees for nutrition education and to promote my services My goal was to leave attendees with something to remember that was positive about me and my business. Energy and passion is critical. What was your most memorable trade show moment? At a large, national nutrition show, I got to see Lisa Lillian from “Hungry Girl” at the Flatout wrap booth. Even though I didn’t get to meet her, I waved at her and she waved back. I was a little star struck!Lesson – how can you create “star-struck” moments for attendees at your next show? Maybe it is bringing in a celebrity or someone well known in your industry to your booth. How else can you have people feel special at your booth and leave with a unique positive experience? Your top tips for our listeners (trade show planners and workers)Eating properly is critical for maintaining your energy.So important to eat breakfast! Stay away from high carb, high sugar items like donuts, pastries, waffles/pancakes, etc., because they will have you crashing down in energy after a couple of hours.Higher protein items like eggs, meats, veggie omelet, etc. will help you feel full longer.Coffee is fine especially if you are used to drinking coffee regularly. Skipping can lead to headaches.For longer shows spanning multiple days:Plan & PackStick portable healthy options in your show bag to have on handHave your snacks in single serving bags so you can easily grab one when you need. Also smaller portions will help you avoid eating too much at once and running out of your food before the show ends.Don’t rely on what food offerings vendors at the show venue haveAlways pack more than you thinkItems that can be taken through the airport High protein options to help with feeling satisfiedEat a snack every 3-4 hours to keep you energized and prevent feeling hangry and ravenous Put in single serving bags so they are easy to pull out and eat your portion without eating all of your packed snacks at once.If you don't want to pack these, hit up your local supermarket when you arriveDried nutsProtein barsJerkyCommit to eating fruits/veggies with every meal to help provide natural energy and keeping it light <li...
Ep 4Episode 004 - Creating your Booth Flow
Episode 004 – Creating Your Booth Flow If you’re not familiar with the term Booth Flow, it’s just what it sounds like – how to get show attendees to flow through your booth. And it's possibly the number one thing you can plan and orchestrate which will make the greatest difference in your results!· The reason Booth Flow is effective is because it incorporates the most critical parts that will make or break your success at a show. · How to engage attendees· What info to capture· How to capture it· What you want people to leave your booth with· The Booth Flow is your game plan!! It includes just three key components:· First – Get attendees into your booth· Second – Capture Your Key information – What do you want to capture, and how will you capture it?· Is everything you need on a business card? Probably not. Then you need to identify all the info you need and want.· How are you going to Capture that info? Figure out a system.· Third – What do you want them to leave with? · Literature/Marketing materials· Giveaways· What do you want them remembering?· What do you want them to experience?· How do you want them feeling? · Orchestrate how your attendees will enter, experience and exit your booth – and that is the secret ingredient to maximizing your results.· Your Booth flow, just like everything else, starts with your Goals. Your goals will help determine your flow. · It all starts with making that first contact with an attendee. Don’t rely on attendees walking up to you. You need to have a strategy for engaging attendees.· There are three ways to get people to stop at your booth:· #1 – Pre-show marketing. Advertising, social media, direct mail, etc. · #2 – Games, giveaways, attractions, or promotions. Nothing attracts like a spinning prize wheel, a magician, or something that delights the senses.· #3 – Actually engaging people and inviting them into your booth. This can make the biggest difference in the results you get from your show. · Now you can do all 3 options together to increase your odds of getting more people into your booth, but #3 is by far the most important. · Never assume that attendees who walk past your booth got enough information to tell they don’t need to stop. · You may have the best products, innovation, display and employees. But it doesn’t matter if people don’t stop!· Top 6 things to NOT do in your booth:· Give a simple greeting like Hello, how’s it going or how you doing.· Asking any sort of yes/no question that has nothing to do with your company OR doesn’t make the attendee think. · Say nothing! Just stare at the attendee, have a big smile, and say...
Ep 3Episode 003 - Training Your Booth Staff for Success
Episode 003 - Training Your Booth Staff Training your booth staff starts with giving them the basics, and then shows them how to use those basics to help reach your goals and maximize your ROI. · When training is done right, it can make the difference between having an okay show and an amazing show! · The Basics are so important and we’re going to cover 12 of them in this class · To start – really there are just two questions. · First question is do you train your booth staff? If YES, then what do you train them on? You need to train them on how to really WORK a show.· If you don’t train, you need to start. Do not assume your staff knows how to work a show to meet your goals. We will be discussing exactly what to train on.· The first thing you need to do is create a strategy and timeline.· For a successful show, all of this doesn’t just happen right before the show – it takes planning. · Assumption – You already have all of the display pieces, banners, and other items you need. If not, figure in time needed for design, printing and manufacture of those items.· Timeline:· About 6-8 weeks out OR more – you need to prepare a complete strategy for the show. Work with company leadership to make sure you are focused on the right goals. · You will need more time than this if you are preparing a large, complex booth or designing a new booth display.· In your strategy, set goals, the focus at the booth, who will be working the show, pre-show marketing, and more. Go through every detail to be covered to plan the show and run the show AND hit your goals. Also assign responsibility for each aspect. · About 2 weeks out – Hold a training session or conference call with everyone working at the show. · Get feedback from your team to get buy-in. · Once details have been finalized - follow up with a one-page summary they can print out, or have on their phone or ipad.· The Basics – These apply to all types of businesses1. Goals – Make sure everyone knows what you are trying to accomplish at the show, and their role in achieving those goals. 2. How to capture the info you need. Whatever your metric – make sure you have a system to achieve these. Train your team on how to use that system. 3. All about the show – Cover every detail that will be important to your staff. Include industry, number of attendees, job levels, show history, etc. · Also share the show floor layout with booth location, customer and competitor booth locations. 4. Your key Product or business info · What products or services are you promoting or highlighting at this show? What information or new promotions do attendees need to know? Main branding message you want your attendees leaving with. Every attendee should leave your booth not only with what they came looking for, but with what you want them to have.5. All about Your...
Ep 2Episode 002 – Staffing Your Booth for Success
Episode 002 – Staffing Your Booth for SuccessOne of the most important things you’re going to be thinking about is who should work the booth. If you’re a small business, you don’t have many choices – you go with who you got – and that might be just you!· You need the RIGHT people who will give you the best chance for hitting your goals. Here are the 4 STEPS that will help you staff for success!· Step 1 – figure how many people you need to effectively work your booth. Start with how big the booth is. If you have a small 10’ x 10’ booth, you don’t want too many people – maybe 2-3. Any more than that and you’ll be bumping into each other. If you have a larger booth, make sure you have enough people or else it can look empty. · Next, find out how many people will be attending the show. Be sure you are staffed so you can take advantage of the crowds.· Step 2 – figure out who all you have available. Make a list of each person who you would consider working in your booth or have worked shows before. · Write down some of the pros and cons of each of these people. Include how are they when working in a booth.· One key thing to identify about each person – are they an introvert or an extrovert? · Extroverts are those who love engaging people and get their energy through people. Introverts on the other hand, like their alone time and can be intimidated by approaching others. Being an introvert is not a negative, just need to understand their strengths and how they can add value to your booth.· Options for when you need more people to work your booth than you have available:· Think outside the box – or at least outside your business. Are there any colleagues, family or friends who you trust to be a strong ambassador of your brand and who can be effective at the show? · Reach out to a staffing agency that specializes in placing product specialists and other outgoing extroverts at trade shows.· Step 3 – Make a list of the tasks you have at a show. · Possible tasks for inside the booth:· Get people into your booth or to your table· Qualify the attendees· Gather contact information or scan badges· Give demos or schedule demos· Answer questions· Give out information and literature· Write orders· Give out promo item, sign people up for your drawing, or help them play a game· INSIDE THE BOOTH: Group all these things down to two categories – #1) engaging people and #2) giving out info.· Think about your booth like it was a restaurant. Restaurants have a front of house and back of house, and your booth has a front of booth and back of booth. · The front of the house at a restaurant is where customer interaction happens. A host greets the guest, and servers take their order and make sure they’re happy. The back of the house prepares the food and puts it on the plate in a way that will be appetizing to the...
Ep 1Episode 001 - Goal Setting for Trade Shows
Episode 001 – Goal Setting for Trade ShowsIf you don’t have goals, you will never know if a show is a success or not. · Everything you do to prepare and plan for a show – and that includes designing your booth, ordering giveaways, figuring out staffing, and everything else – is all to help you reach your goals. · Think about a Fitbit when setting goals for your next show.· The main reason most people wear a Fitbit is to track number of steps they take. How important is knowing how many steps you take? Not very. It all comes in context. You have to have a baseline.· Here are key benefits a Fitbit provides – to set a baseline to beat, for awareness, and for accountability. · People want to get better themselves, keep improving. And thanks to Fitbit step challenges, they want to beat others. · Approach your next show like you have a Fitbit challenge. · First you need a trade show baseline· What did you do at the show last year? Or the last show you were at? How many leads, sales, new customers, etc. did you get? Whatever your key metric or measurement is, that needs to become your baseline.· If you don’t have the baseline, you will never know if your show was a success! You may get 20 leads thinking the show was a huge success. However if you had 30 last year then you really had a 33% decline.· You’ll never be able to set good goals until you have a baseline! I recommend using the SMART Goals technique SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based · SPECIFIC: The who, what, when, where and why. To determine what goals you should set, you need to figure out what success looks like. What exactly should you measure? It’s going to be different for different types of businesses. · If you’re writing orders at the show, your goal might be number of orders or sales dollars.· If you’re a contractor or a consultant, it could be number of appointments booked.· If you have a software or a service business, it might be number of demos scheduled.· If you have a high-ticket item or something that involves a lengthy sales cycle, you may be looking to capture qualified leads.· Really think about your business. What should you be measuring? What metric can lead to success?· Key is to be SPECIFIC· MEASURABLE: You have to be able to actually measure your goal so when you get back you know if you achieved success. Solid and measurable – for example…· Number of new qualified leads· Number or Dollar amount of orders· Scheduling or giving a number of demos· If they aren’t something that can be definitively measured or maybe have a number next to it, change your goal!· If you’ve never done a show before or if you never tracked your results before, then you’re going to have to make some good, educated guesses.· At the end of the day its all about ROI. You need to figure out what you need to do to at least break even for your show. Know every dollar you are investing and make sure your goals will meet or exceed that number.· Look – goal setting is not easy! But understand it is totally worth...
Ep 000 – All about Trade Show University - THE podcast for Virtual & Live Events
trailerEpisode 000 – All About Trade Show UniversityTrade Show U is THE podcast for getting better results from your Virtual and Live Events, Conferences, Expos, Webinars, and yes – Trade Shows! About your host Jim Cermak:· I’m a marketing, training and business guy with over 30 years in the industry, and I love trade shows and events because of the amazing potential! · Throughout my career have planned, exhibited, worked and attended hundreds of trade shows. Everything from huge multi-national shows to local business expos. Worked with billion-dollar companies to solo entrepreneurs. · Going to give you my experience and the experience of experts on what works· These are not boring episodes! I get a little overly excited to dive in and help you have confidence and success in your Virtual & Live Events!!! About Trade Show University and what to expect· I’m going to share 30 years of knowledge and experience in events, marketing and training to help you approach your next Live show or Virtual Event with more confidence and make better decisions faster. · You’re going to tips, tricks and expert advice to run your events better, more efficiently, and getting better results so you can hit and exceed your goals. Who should be listening and attending Trade Show U? · This podcast is for Live and Virtual Show and event producers and organizers, exhibitors, planners and marketers. There are already a big catalog of episodes on a ton of different topics like how to set the right goals, how to get sponsors, how to keep your virtual attendees engaged, and so much more! Plus I have on some of the top people in the industry sharing their wisdom - so go binge and take notes. · Episodes drop every Monday, and I sprinkle some bonus episodes in for you from time to timeMy guarantees to you:· You will get value from every episode. · You won’t be bored!Here’s what you need to do…Head to www.TradeShowU.biz and sign up for our email newsletter for the info on latest episodes, and I’ll even send you a free gift for doing so! And then get over to your favorite podcast platform:Apple podcastsGoogle podcastsSpotify Amazon and othersSUBSCRIBE to Trade Show University so you don’t miss an episode!So thanks for listening! And keep coming back to campus here at Trade Show University – THE podcast for virtual and live events!Mentioned in this episode:Subscribe to the new Trade Show University YouTube channel!Check out the new Trade Show University YouTube channel where we feature a growing number of training videos to help businesses get More Leads, More Sales and More Profits through the power of Trade Shows! Many videos are exclusive to YouTube and not found on the podcast. Visit, Subscribe and Binge! https://www.youtube.com/@tradeshowuniversity