Over 88 Tips & Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales [Paperback]

Steve Miller (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0965541207 | ISBN-13: 978-0965541206 | Publication Date: January 1997

This book shows the reader how to maximize their efforts at trade shows and exhibit sales.What are the reasons why exhibit staffers fail at trade shows? First, they're often imitating the wrong behavior!The odds are you have worked trade shows before. Do you remember the very first show you ever worked? Think back to that time and ask yourself a simple question: who taught you how to work that first show? The answer is, most likely no one. No one taught you how to prepare for that totally foreign environment. Nobody explained to you the major differences between working out in the field and working an exposition.Let's think about some of those differences now: You have only a short amount of time to interact with attendees. An average quality encounter at a trade show lasts only 13 minutes, barely long enough to introduce yourself out in the field.You have hundreds, even thousands of strangers walking by your exhibit, with the competition right down the aisle. Hardly conducive to an ideal private meeting with an important, new prospect or long-time customer.The buyers come to you, which can be good news or bad news. The good news is that large numbers of legitimate buyers can be walking the aisles of the show, more than you could possibly ever see in a few days out in the field. The bad news is that those buyers may be hidden by an equally large, or larger, number of non-qualified buyers. You've got to go through the process of culling them out.There are many more differences between working a trade shows versus selling the field, and these are important to consider. But if no one taught you these differences and no one taught you how to work the show, then how did you learn? Odds are you learned by watching others.Other exhibitors and other fellow staffers.Here's the big question, though. Who taught them? Kind of makes you think, doesn't it? This book will teach you how, why and when to maximize your efforts for successful trade shows and exhibit based meetings.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steve Miller is a strategic marketing consultant specializing in the trade show industry. He helps corporations more profitably exhibit at trade shows, and works with show management to enhance their trade shows. Author of the book, How to Get the Most Out of Trade Shows, he's been published in over 150 publications, including Fortune, Sales & Marketing Management, Success magazine, the Washington Post, and Washington CEO. Steve's corporate clients have documented millions of dollars in revenues through the unique methods he's developed. Charmel Bowden is known by her clients as the one who creates the track to do the big things her clients have to do. She has worked as a consultant with hundreds of clients nation-wide to help them through the difficult task of doing business in this alarmingly dynamic environment.

The majority of her clients, ranging from K2 Inc., the American Egg Board, Edmark Corporation, and IBM have all significant investments in their trade show efforts as a part of their marketing efforts. Charmel has designed and built exhibits, staffed booths, created advertising and promotions, in addition to her staff and exhibitor training seminars.

She is a published writer and seasoned speaker who enjoys challenging conventional methods and demanding people set measurable objectives for everything they set out to do.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

WHY IS THIS BOOK IMPORTANT? Have you ever been asked to work a trade show and you're instantly filled with dread? Or feel that knot in your stomach, knowing you're going to miss something really great in the office while you're gone? Or worse yet, you can visualize the stack of mail and the to do's on your desk that will be there when you finally get home?

You're not alone. After years of working with exhibit staffers, the complaints about having to work at a trade show all sound a lot alike.

But that was yesterday. By the time you finish reading this quick tip book, if you really have the desire to change your results, you should have a big bag of tools to propel you to success.

In fact, by the time you finish your next show, you will be so jazzed about the results you will want to do another one ASAP.

If you're still questioning whether to read further, consider this. What other single opportunity gives you the chance to talk to more qualified buyers in such a short amount of time?

If you're willing to keep an open mind, you can learn how to work sales in the trade show environment and have the ability to crack open the golden egg.

Take this information as seriously as it's intended and you will help your company soar. You're the single most important element of your company's trade show effort. You can single handedly make things happen!

It takes a change in these four areas:
Perception
Attitude
Expectations
Actions

Change your perception. Trade shows are not a waste of time. They are the single biggest sales opportunity you can have in a year.

Change your attitude. Decide you want to make a change. Help build a team that can go to the show and surprise everyone.

Change your expectations. Know why you're going and get up every morning taking the steps to make it happen.

Do the actions. Nothing happens without work. People can even over-plan and use that as an excuse to avoid getting things done. Follow all the good advice you've ever heard, and even if you only get10% of it done, you'll still be ahead of 90% of the rest of the sales people out there.

It takes a certain character to accomplish big goals. You need to challenge yourself to do it. it doesn't come easily, but with practice and little successes along the way, it will happen!

Take a good look at the next following list of the ten best reasons for working your trade shows, and then ask yourself again if you're ready to give it a try.

"You can have tomorrow what you want because you're willing to do today what other people won't."

TEN REASONS WHY A TRADE SHOW IS THE BEST TOOL YOU'VE GOT

You can:
1.Get 50-100 qualified leads per salesperson.
And, we really mean, qualified leads. Not names...but people who you have determined have the need for your product or service.
2.Set appointments.
Be super-efficient with your time. Call your customers and prospects. Make a connection, make an impression, and the appointment is much more attainable.
3.Build trust with your qualified leads.
Keep your promises. Send them the information they requested, call them when you say you will, get their questions answered in a timely way.
4.Demonstrate your product live.
This is a great chance if your company sells big things that you can't carry around in your car or on the plane. The real thing speaks much more loudly for itself.
5.Strengthen your relationships.
Let your current customers and prospects know you will be there. This could be your first chance to actually meet someone you've been talking to for a long time.
6.Launch a new product.
Use the 'bigness' of the trade show environment to build on the excitement that an unveiling can generate. Get immediate feedback.
7.Be right there with the competition.
The presence of competitors stimulates the buying process. Not to mention you can check out the competition first hand, with a minimal amount of work. See what they're doing so you know what not to do.
8.Test market.
Get your customers' reactions firsthand. How do people really like what you're selling? is the price too high, to low? What would they like to see? How do customers like to be serviced? 9.Get noticed.
If you combine fabulous boothmanship with pre-show marketing and post-show follow-up, you will be in a league of your own.
10.Do in three days what might otherwise take three months...or more!

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Hikelly Productions (January 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965541207
• ISBN-13: 978-0965541206
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,174,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhibiting Short-Course, October 27, 2000

By 

Dan Poynter "Author-Publisher-Speaker" (Santa Barbara, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Over 88 Tips & Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales (Paperback)

The purpose of a trade or consumer show is to bring people together to do business. Yet may companies pay a large amount of money to display and wind up making few sales. If you ever work a show, or are in charge of staffers who do, then you need this book.

The 88 tips and ideas are concise and easy to understand. They are categorized into nine chapters. The authors do not waste your time with fluff. For a detailed description of the book's coverage, click on Table of Contents in the left-hand column of this page.

Steve Miller is the author of How to get the Most out of Trade Shows. A consultant, trainer and speaker, he has written over 150 articles on trade shows.

Charmel Bowden is a writer, speaker and promotion expert who has organized exhibits and trained trade show staff.

As the author of Book Fairs: An Exhibiting Guide for Publishers, I can testify that these two know what they talking about. [e-mail].

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A great kids book, February 21, 2001

By 

L. Robinson "aeroride" (Minnesota (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Over 88 Tips & Ideas to Supercharge Your Exhibit Sales (Paperback)

This book is thin with wide margins, big print and short on creative ideas. It offers only common sense simplistic ideas (ie: wear a name tag) that anyone could figure out on their own. No innovation here.