Follow up immediately with important contacts. Even a brief note will remind them of you and your company. Handwritten notes are so unusual that the recipient will be impressed. If someone requests information, get right on it.
If you are an exhibitor
Be proactive. If you’re working the show, don’t stay behind the table. Ask visitors about their businesses so you can show them appropriate products or information. This means you must listen attentively. Don’t sell your product or service; sell what the product will do for your visitors.
Sponsor an award or contest. This could be a draw or an award for guessing the number of brochures you brought to the trade show. Or sponsor a contest for the most creative way your services can be used. How about sponsoring an award for industry person or emerging leader of the year? Doing so will give you national recognition.
Be ready with “case histories” of your successes. Help visitors by painting a picture of how they could use your products: “Just imagine …”
Talk to as many people as possible so that you can qualify them. The trade show isn’t the time for small talk. If they meet your initial criteria, take the conversation to the next step and probe further to determine if your ideal prospect profile is achieved.
Leave literature in a public place. Nearly all shows have literature tables out front. At the top shows, these are strictly reserved for paid exhibitors and regularly policed to remove non-exhibitor materials. At most local shows, however, the rules are looser or are not enforced. At these, consider leaving a few copies of your brochure on the table, and return a few times a day to make sure your pile is neat and visible.
Invite clients that have had success with your product or service to be part of your exhibit. There is nothing so powerful as a personal endorsement. Offer them something tangible in return.
Keep your booth neat and clean at all times to make it as inviting as possible.
Avoid having too many salespeople on duty at the same time for fear of intimidating buyers. Leave open spaces for people to wander in and get comfortable in your space.
Project a relaxed atmosphere to encourage people to visit and open themselves up to your conversation.
Be aware of different greeting practices of other cultures, particularly if the show you’re exhibiting at attracts an international audience.
If you are a speaker, or on a panel
Get to know the other panelists before your presentation. This will make for a better presentation, and you’ll be networking and building relationships with other movers and shakers. Keep in touch afterward.
During the formal presentation, take good notes on areas that apply to your selling. Before and after the presentation, talk to as many of the people around you as you can, and collect business cards.
Trade Shows: When the Show Is Over
Let deeds follow words now.
LECH WALESA, POLISH LABOR ACTIVIST, POLITICIAN
Trade shows work, but only if you follow up. Your goal at any trade show is to get sales, not visitors. Trade shows aren’t the end of the sales process, they’re just a key part. To get sales, you need a follow-up system designed to build relationships and nurture them through the buying cycle.
After the show, follow up with each of the people you met at these sessions. Depending on the number, use a letter or phone call to make contact. Use the content of the presentation or something you spoke about with them as the focus of your conversation, finishing up with some question you would like to explore further the next time you talk. That conversation is, of course, your first appointment.
If some of your prospects were show exhibitors, remember that they will be very busy right after the show sending out literature and following up on their own hot leads. Consider waiting a week to 10 days before contacting them.
Build an integrated response management program. Start with your “A” list first and decide, based on your knowledge of each person, how best to approach them. Never leave multiple messages. The more messages you leave, the more desperate you may appear to be. If phone calls are your chosen method of communication, call till they pick up the phone. If you are getting frustrated, consider
having an assistant track them down for you
sending them a card asking for a time to call
using e-mail
calling at an unusual hour
If you do make contact on the phone, identify yourself and the name of your company and your past history with the individual.
Go slowly with your introduction, breaking it into separate sentences. Remember, the prospect is still concentrating on something else. Give her a chance to hear you and understand what you are saying.
Tell the prospect why you are calling — to follow up on the mailing you sent.
Inject pauses. Give the prospect an opportunity to speak if he wants to.
Don’t ask the prospect whether she has read the information or has any questions about it.
Refresh the prospect’s memory by presenting a brief overview of your company. Personalize this as much as possible by mentioning information you have about his company.
As soon as the prospect expresses interest by starting to ask detailed questions, begin to sell the appointment. In order to answer the prospect’s questions, you need to know more about her business.
Ask for an appointment by giving the prospect a choice between two days. The prospect will likely pick one or come up with a date and time of his own. Do not ask, “When is a good time for you?” Most business owners are too busy to have a “good” time.
Throughout the conversation, always listen to the prospect without interruption. The more she says to you, the more she becomes involved in considering the purchase.
Samples
The proof of the pudding is in the eating.
By a small sample we may judge of the whole piece.
MIGUEL DE CERVANTES (1547–1616), SPANISH NOVELIST, DRAMATIST, AND POET
Giving potential clients a sample will enable them to try your product/service at no risk to themselves. Moreover, it will demonstrate your confidence in your offering. Finally, it will make them obligated to at least give you feedback, or at most to give you an order.
Samples are used extensively in the food and pharmaceutical industries. They might also come in these forms:
free attendance at a workshop for one person in a large company
a free meal in anticipation of booking a banquet
a vehicle test drive
tasting of products in supermarkets
a free sample of a household product, including food, personal toiletries, or household cleaning products
Key principles in providing samples are these:
Give only enough to enable a potential client to evaluate the product/service.
Provide the samples to the most likely buyers.
People may be tempted to buy your product but their interest will decline the longer you wait to contact them. So make contact early and ask them
to provide feedback
to buy, using an open-ended question, such as
“What else do I need to do to get the green light?”
“What other information do you need before we proceed?”
If your feedback was enthusiastic, consider an even more assertive and direct approach. For example:
“When could we start?”
“Which is the best delivery time for you?”
Chapter 2: The Selling Process
A Step-by-Step Approach
There is no sudden leap into the stratosphere. There is only advancing step by step … up the pyramid toward your goals.
BEN STEIN, AMERICAN ACTOR
Selling is an art. But it is also a science in that success is much higher if a systematic, step-by-step process is followed. These are the steps:
Step 1: Opening
Step 2: Exploring and confirming the customer’s needs
Step 3: Presenting your solutions
Step 4: Dealing with objections
Step 5: Closing
We will describe each step before going into more detail in subsequent chapters.
Step 1: Opening
The opening takes place on the phone or in person. Either way, your task is to make a great impression by presenting yourself in a relaxed, friendly manner.
Your non-verbal communications should reinforce the verbal messages. The potential buyer will be judging the way you walk, your dress, posture, and facial expressions.
In your first few moments, you should do the following:
Greet the customer, telling her who you are and who you work for.
Explain the purpose of your visit. Give a precise picture of your goal for the meeting, in 15 words or less.
Inform the customer of the benefits to be gained from the meeting.
Confirm that the customer is willing to collaborate with you (or deal with their reluctance if not).
Step 2: Exploring and confirming the customer’s needs
With an agreement to pursue your discussion, you now need to
develop trust
establish your competence
establish the needs of the customer
Find out what needs the customer may have by probing for information. Open-ended questions will demonstrate your interest, particularly if you make notes, confirm your understanding, and summarize from time to time.