Are You Insane?

Of late I have seen more insanity in the workplace that usual.  Here are some samples of insanity I have been a witness to:

• A friend of mine told me how one of her peers had her office door removed (without consulting her) so he could "better communicate with his team".  
• I was chatting to someone on a flight to Alice Springs who worked for a major bank. An external consultant recommended that as part of an OH&S audit one of the branches to be sampled was Tennant Creek. An external OH&S lawyer and senior HR person had to travel for a day and a half to perform a 90 minute interview that was not permitted to be done by phone.
• I have personally sat in a meeting called to discuss why we were having so many meetings

Personally, I cannot understand why any of these and many other things happen.  I see insanity on the Trade Show and Expo floor also.

At a recent three day trade show, one of the exhibitors was so embarrassed about how her stand was doing, she would not call her manager and tell them their figures at the end of each day.  They were 75% down on previous shows.  I asked if she had done anything different from a previous show and she said yes.  Their new products needed some explaining so they kept the stock out of the customers reach.  For almost two days they had this format.  Even though in the old format they had made major sales!  I told her to instantly change the booth back to have the stock at the front with the new stock to one side.  They had not finished the change and it started to make an impact.  Visitors saw the stock and came up to ask questions and buy.

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result.

If what you are doing on a show floor is not working, change it.  If your greetings and attempts to engage don't work, change them. If you booth doesn't look good, change it. If your staff are not working out, change them.  Most shows are at least two days long, don't get to the end and say "It didn't work".  That would be insane.  If something is not working, change it.

What insanity do you need to change at your next show or in your work place?


Warwick

PS Many people have asked where can they see me speak.  I am speaking at an upcoming seminar (that is remarkably affordable - some would say insane!) in Melbourne on How to Get More Face to Face Sales.  Get the details here. 

Let them touch it!

People want to touch it!!


They want to feel the new product.  They want to see photo's of the service. They want to experience what it's like.  Brochures can be good but the real thing is better.


I was speaking to my brother who is big in Send Out Cards (among other entrepreneurial ventures!) and he was describing a booth he was going to show Send Out Cards at.  We talked about different ideas but just seeing cards was not enough.  You could hold the cards or see big pictures on the walls. You could talk about how easy it is to send out personalised cards to your clients, prospects or family members but it's not the same as doing it yourself.


I suggested that he let them do it.  Let them work through the whole process so that they are doing it and can touch and feel the process not just hear about it.  So he was going to look at setting up at the booth with his camera and laptop.  Prospects get their photo taken and then use the system to send themselves a card with their own message.  So not only do they see how simple it is to use, two or three days later they get a card with their photo on it showing them how cool it is to receive the card.


Let them touch it!


If you can find a way, get the prospect physically touching your product or service.  This makes it personal, memorable and way more sellable.


So what about your next show?  How can you take your product or service and make it touchable?  Make it real for your prospect and very soon they will be your client!


Let me know if you need ideas to make it touchable.

What Motivates You?

What Motivates you?


Technically the short answer is "Pleasure" and "pain".


The truth is we are motivated about the idea of an event or thing or what we think will happen if we do or dont have/do a thing.


The issue is 80% of people are motivated by pain and only 20% by pleasure - yet pleasure is more sustainable!


Everyone is different. The key is to tap in to what motivates us as an individual and use that. So what keeps us going when we want to stop? what drives us when we can't help but move forward? What is the "Idea" or "Vision" we can't live without?


Mine is the idea of a business operating how I want it to, a family life that supports me and I can contribute to and to be the man I can be.

When it comes to exhibiting in a Trade Show or Expo, or just in business and life, what motivates you?

What about Booth Babes and Booth Blokes?

I am often asked whether it is worthwhile having "Hired Beauty" (what I call Booth Babes and Booth Blokes) on your stand.


This is what I think!

Engage or Exit!

So many visitors to a Trade Show or Expo have on their mind "Engage or Exit".

It's not a conscious thought, but they know if you don't pay them attention or at the very least acknowledge their presence, they are out of there.  How do you do that?  It's easy when there are only one or two people per staff member in your booth, but what about peak hour?  You MUST have a strategy to deal with the busy times.  Even if you have one of your team nominated as the "Preview Person".

The Preview Person will quickly move among the people, get their contact details and what they are interested in.  They do not have to be as knowledgable as your key staff members but they can quickly engage, comment on how busy it is and get someone to get back to them.  It is a way that everyone gets engaged and your can then follow up later in the show by calling their mobile phone or follow up after the show.

How do you deal with peak hour?

You gotta Stand in the Stand!

One of the things that annoys me, but more importantly, costs exhibitors money, is sitting in your stand.

Let me explain.

If you were an exhibitor at a Trade Show or Expo, you would have paid thousands of dollars for the privilege. Dollars for the space, dollars for the stand, dollars for the promotion, dollars for the travel to get there and back, dollars for accomodation and meals and dollars for emergency sundry things that you forgot about and needed to get last minute. So after spending all of these dolllars, what do you get?

Anyone who has worked at a Trade Show knows that the biggest thing that you get is the pain in your feet! The show floor is concrete with a "film" of carpet if you are lucky. No matter how good your shoes are, the feet hurt. If only I could just sit down!!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Nothing will scare a prospect away quicker that someone sitting in the stand. Think about you own reaction when you walk up to someone who is sitting in their stand. Because it starts with the sitting, then the person sitting says to themselves, "I'll just relax a little". When the prospect comes over, they say to themselves, "I'll get up if they are interested".
The person coming over thinks, "They are not that interested so I'll move on."
The seated person thinks, "Yay, I don't have to get up because my feet hurt!"

Prospect, potential sale, potential lifelong value of customer GONE! The thousands (if not tens of thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands) invested in the show WASTED all because you have sore feet.

The Trade Show or Expo may be on for one, three or maybe eight days. That's only eight days of your life that you have to have sore feet. As wifey says to me when I am whining, "Suck it up princess!!" This is why they call it a Stand. You have to stand there. You have to be on full alert. You have to make your guest feel welcomed when they come over and not feel uncomfortable. Standing at the edge of your booth welcoming guests, being friendly, engaging with prospects will do this so much better than sitting at the back of the Stand thinking about your sore feet.

Each prospect visiting will be visiting your stand for the first time, so for you it has to be the first time. With all the enthusiasm and vigour of the first time.

You Gotta Stand in the Stand!!

Enjoy

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy

Trade Show Basics

Wifey and I went to the Holiday Expo at the Melbourne Royal Exhibition Building on the weekend. We went looking for information on an up coming holiday Wifey is having with one of her friends and to just have a look at the Expo and how people and companies worked it.

First things first, The Royal Exhibition Building is a stunning building. The very first Australian Parliament met here in 1801 and it has recently gone through a major refurbishment. It has a great deal of history associated with it and it is amazing reading some of the plaques there. Having said that, it is not really the best location for a trade show. The layout of the building makes it challenging to maximise the space for the exhibitors and the flow through of the traffic and air. Air?? Yes, air. It was so hot and stifling even though the weather was not very hot. This is one old building without the benefit of air conditioning!

There were a stack of people there, which was great news for the exhibitors. Many exhibitors were giving away free holidays so there was a frenzy of people wanting to win the trip to Disneyland, Tour of Africa and even a trip to Port Stephens. Experienced Trade Show people know that they are collecting the details of interested people to market to after the show. What most of the competitions did not have was a sign saying that by entering the person was agreeing to be contacted by the company to let them know more about their great offers. In this "new age" of privacy this is essential

Another thing that is essential is booth presence.

One booth had no posters. You read that correctly NO POSTERS. So while everyone else had glossy posters of the destination, pictures of people having a fabulous time, even dummys hanging from the top of the booth, this one person had just the blue walls of the booth. He had a stack of brochures on the table but nothing to attract people to him to get them. Even if he had stuck the front page of the brochure around the place, it would have made a difference. You booth needs to have a presence. You don't need to cover the walls, but something that will attract or engage the customer.

You also need something when the customer comes over. Another booth had run out of brochures on the first day and so had none for the second day. Running our of brochures is a good thing. It means you had way more prospects than you expected, but to have nothing to give is not OK. Surely the guy could have found a place to photocopy the front cover of a brochure with his website on it. While it may not have been as sexy or attractive as a glossy it gives them some resource to work with. He spent most of the day just sitting in the chair waiting for people to come and talk to him. You could see people look his way, notice the brochure stands were empty and walk away.

What have you done to dress up your walls or to replace brochure stock when you ran out? How do you create a Both Presence? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com

Are You Wasting Your Time?

I spent a few hours at the Melbourne Motor Show on the weekend. So many of the booth holders are wasting their time, which is effectively hemorrhaging money!

So many of the stands had two types of people.
1) Booth Babes
2) Car Dealers

Booth Babes

After talking with some of the booth babes it was quite obvious that their training was minimal. Most of them confessed to not knowing much about cars. They could point out the different ones and possibly had a bit of an idea of idea about features and benefits but not much. I can put up with a lack of knowledge on product, particularly if they admit they don't know the detail. Let's face it, if you are an enthusiast you probably know more than the sales team does let alone a Booth Babe. What annoys me with Booth Babes is when they don't know how to engage with prospects. Simple conversation - what models do you like, what colours have you considered, are you interested in buying a car, what are looking for at the show, are you having a good day. These are all really basic questions that can be used to engage and qualify potential prospects. A qualified prospect can then be introduced to a sales person.

I would love to have a car company understand that the "engagement" with the prospect (or future prospect as heaps of kids were there) is more important than knowing about the car.

Car Dealers

Car Dealers seem to ooze an aura of "I am more important than you". Maybe they are assessing the prospect for financial value or maybe they see the Motor Show as a personal inconvenience, whatever it is, their attitude sucks. If I ran the booth I would keep the Car Dealer out the back. They tend to have a negative impact on people.

What I'd Like To See

What I would like to see is members of the associated car club on the stand. How cool would that be!! A group of people who are clearly passionate about the car and willing to engage with others to talk about them. Give them free uniform, free entry and free lunch and I suspect they would do the job willingly. Enough basic sales training to identify a qualified prospect and be able to pass them on to a sales person and then just let their passion for that car or that brand flow.

The person you select to operate the stand is as important as what you put on or in the stand. If the person is just sitting there, not engaging or not interested, you are wasting your time and wasting your money.

Who would you like to see on a stand at the Motor Show?

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com

Don't Just Sit There!

I couldn't believe it.

They would have spent a truck load of money for the stand. I wont mention who it was but it was a highly recognisable airline. I was at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne. It was hard to tell there was a global financial crisis going on. Some amazing stands (multi-level with suites for discussions) and some amazing marketing going on. A surprising amount of traffic was moving around also, apparently attendance was up by almost 10%. From an organisers perspective, it would have to be seen as a success.

There Was Static

So how would you take advantage of all this traffic? Well the airline in question had a reasonable size booth. Nice comfy chairs, welcoming decor, plenty of marketing collateral for people, an attractive woman in the booth and the plasma screen in the background was playing static. I thought it must be a glitch that they would fix but when I went past again 45 minutes later, it was still showing static.

The woman in the booth was not interested in much that I could see. She was still sitting in the chair waiting. I am not sure what for.

Take Responsibility

I understand that technology deserts you just when you need it. But surely there would have been a better way than just showing static. Some thoughts I had on what the company representative could have done:

• Turn off the TV - Nothing was showing, better a blank TV than a distracting one.
• Say "Hello" - At no time did she try and engage me in conversation
• Ask "Do you know how to make the DVD work?" - Who knows I may be an AV wizard and she could then sell me her product
• Stand up - It was horribly apparent that she did not care and did not want to be there, simply standing up would have changed her approachability
• Smile - The easiest and simplest thing to do.

Again this points to a key part of a trade show. Train your people and never forget you are the face of the company. At the very least, don't just sit there!!


Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.GetMoreBlog.com
www.GetMoreShowSuccess.com


Image by Pablo Sanz

Are Trade Shows Dead?

I read on Twitter that Trade Shows are Dead.

Gordon Haff from CNET news wrote how technology has made many Trade Shows irrelevant. You can see the article here. It's a good article and has some solid arguments. But I disagree.

Scobleizer blogs that Social Networking has also killed, or at least wounded Trade Shows. But I disagree.

Of course I would think that. I make money consulting to Trade Shows and companies that exhibit at them. Let's look a little further, beyond the initial cynical reaction.

I think that Trade Shows as we knew them maybe dead, but not completely dead. Trade Shows are an incredibly expensive exercise. Floor space, booth costs, staff costs, promotional items, pre-event marketing, post-event follow up and opportunity costs can total to staggering amounts. Naturally, senior executives are considering ROI numbers and asking is it worth it.

Are Trade Shows Worth It?

The answer is a definite maybe. So many companies are not smart about their Trade Shows. They hemorrhage money for little return. Their booths are way over the top in an effort to be "the best", their give aways are ridiculously expensive and not aligned with their message, they do not qualify prospects, they have the wrong people on the stand, they don't followup effectively but worst of all, they have no idea why they are really there at the show. Naturally the ROI numbers are not there.

Trade Shows are speed dating for your customers. Your target market is walking up to you and saying "sell your stuff to me". Prospects go to willingly buy from you, or at least do further research on your products/services and your direct competitors. A smart operator will make a Trade Show pay off big time. It is knowing why you are there, doing the pre-event marketing to get your prospects and clients in, having the right people in the booth with the relevant training about what they are to do, qualifying your prospects (even have them tiered), creating a buzz at the booth to get people in, following up within two days and then having a post-event review to look at what can be improved next time.

A smart operator will also realise while their competition is pulling out of shows, they will have a bigger market share. If they work the show well, their ROI can be increased.

Social Networking and Trade Shows

Social networking and technology in general has had a significant impact on Trade Shows.

Webcasts, Teleconferences, Viral Videos and many other forms of technology now mean that messages once given at these shows, can now be delivered far more effectively. As Haff says, companies like Apple have an easy access to the market place via their stores so you can touch and feel the product without the hustle bustle of the show.

Social networking also increases the buzz. Look at Twitter. Whenever their is a show on, blow by blow descriptions of presentations, booths, exhibitors and even the people attending are posted with pictures for all to see. This then attracts those thinking "is it worth it this year."

It's not Dead, it's Resting

In the words of Monty Python, the Trade Show is not dead, it's resting. It's format is tired. The old way doesn't work. Once the Trade Show does a bit of navel gazing, you will find the invigorated New and Improved version!!

The technology will never replace the face to face meetings of clients, colleagues, customers, suppliers and random interactions that you have at a Trade Show. But the technology of having virtual trade shows, webcast product launches and announcements, blogging latest releases and other forms of social media to interact with "your herd" mean that there will be an integration of this technology with the traditional Trade Show.

I look forward to it.

I look forward to the continual evolution of this market place. But some things will never change. The need for planning, setting KPI's, knowing how ROI will be measured BEFORE the show/marketing activity, having the right people in the right place at the right time, pre-event marketing, post-event followup and the role that the senior management team have in the event.

The intent is the same, but the execution will be different. Face to face, technology to technology or just watching it all happen on your PDA.

I am looking forward to it immensely.

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
http://www.warwickmerry.com/
http://www.getmoreblog.com/
http://www.getmoreshowsuccess.com/

Now is the Right Time for Marketing

From a previous blog you may have read how Adobe are not having a booth at Macworld this year. It seems that they have started a trend. AppleInsider has reported that other big names like Belkin and Seagate are also not having a booth. You can read the article here.

My favourite bit in the article is where it says that smaller booths who had previously been placed out in the low traffic areas are being moved much closer to the Apple stands and the majority of the traffic.

This principle applies not only in Trade Shows but in marketing in general. Many business are taking on the mind set that business will be tough so I will cut marketing expense. This can lead to a decrease in customer awareness which in turn, leads to decreased sales which will guarantee you tough economic times!!

I am not saying "Spend like you have never spent before!!!" (That seems to be the Government line at the moment.) What I am saying is now is the time to continue working your marketing strategy. If Trade Shows are part of it, continue doing them. Continue your normal marketing as well. Some of your competitors will get scared of economic times and so will cease their marketing work, this means you have less competition for your message. If big players drop out of the marketing space (like at MacWorld) you can now get a real boost to your message.

Stick to the strategy and take advantage of the economic times. They won't last forever and when everything picks up again, you will be in a stronger position than when they started. How cool is that!!

Enjoy

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreblog.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com

How to be a No Show

It is always the big question. Should you exhibit at a trade show or not? Especially if you are a bigger player in the market where people will be expecting you there. If you decide not to show you have to take action on it.

As and example, Adobe have decided not to show at Macworld this year.

What would have been disastrous would be if they just didn't show, or worse if show organisers said they were going to be there so Adobe would have to go on the defensive. Now I am sure Macworld wouldn't do that, but other less scrupulous event organisers may try and "bully" or "influence" a significant player to exhibit at their show. What Adobe did was communicate via the media that they were not exhibiting. You can read the article here.

You will notice that although they are not exhibiting, they will still have a presence at the show. Some are saying that, along with a large number of layoffs, Adobe are feeling the pinch of the current financial crisis. Whatever their reason, their approach to managing their "No Show" has been well done.

While I am still of the belief that now, more than ever, exhibiting at a trade show is a great thing to do, if you are going to be a No Show, you need to manage it well. You may not have the bucks that Adobe's PR department does so lets learn from them!

Enjoy!

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
getmoreblog.blogspot.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com

Freebies - do you need them?

Have you seen the freebie trolls?

You know the ones I am talking about, they walk around the trade show or expo taking freebies from every booth they pass. They are sort of like the anti-Santa. They just keep filling their sack with all of the treats available.

It is enough to make you ask the question, do you need freebies on your booth? I mean what's the point if it is just the trolls who are going to take them all?

It is a good question, do you need the freebies or promotional item. A better question would be whats the value of having a promotional item? With your trade booth, you want to always consider what is the value. With your promotional item there are several things to be considered:

Cost per impression - Don't just consider the cost of the item but think about how often you get a chance to lock in your branding. This is why t-shirts and coffee cups can be effective items versus a disposable toy or golf tee.

Relevance - To strengthen your brand and your message, go for items that match your theme, organisation and message.

Streamed - Consider streaming your promotional items so that only qualified prospects get the higher valued promotional items and having something of lesser value for unqualified prospects and freebie trolls.

While these are not the only things to consider for your promotional items, they will definitely aid you in Getting More value from them.

Enjoy

Warwick Merry
The Get More Guy
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com
www.warwickmerry.com

Back to Booth Basics

I am never surprised at how un-common common sense is. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the business arena.

I was just working with one of my Trade Show clients who was getting ready for next weekends Mind, Body and Spirit Festival and he couldn't believe the biggest issue in having a successful trade show. Rather simply it is defining what success is. The simple question of "What do you want to get out of the trade show?"

The simple concept of what gets measured gets improved HAS to be applied to trade shows. This all becomes part of defining your Return of Investment. I am not saying they always have to pay for themselves (the first couple probably won't) but you need to know whether it has or not.

So what do you want from your next trade show?

• Increased brand awareness
• Increased sales (and what figure would that be?)
• Qualified sales leads
• A stack of business cards (from the fishbowl lucky dip)
• Intelligence on your competition (you will be looking at their booth won't you?)
• An opportunity to present to the conference

Now that you know what you want from the show, make sure that everyone working in your booth knows too!!

Good luck with your next show.

Warwick
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com
www.getmoreshowsuccess.com