Avoid the Empty Aisle Syndrome

I was looking at my Twitter stream recently and saw some disturbing pictures from @TimboReid as he was visiting an Expo in Melbourne.  The scariest of which was this one:





Unfortunately exhibitors get into the habit of expecting the organiser to bring in the crowds.  That is not how it always works.  They are flat out organising the exhibitors, the set up, charging the visitors and doing some broad marketing for the entire show.  What you want is people and companies who are specifically focussed on your product and services.  No one knows them better that you.  Typically the Expo organiser will give you some free tickets as part of your exhibitor package, if they don't then ask for some - they can only say no!


Once you have some of these free tickets, use them wisely.  Invite some people from the group below and even book some appointment times with them so you can focus on them.  So here is who to invite:


Your existing customers   
It is commonly accepted that it is five times easier to sell to an existing customer yet most organisations focus solely on marketing to new clients.  Build on your existing relationships and re-engage with your customers by having them refresh what they think they know about you.  You can show them what is new for you and what else you can do for them


Industry Leaders
If you have been wanting to get the attention of Industry Leaders or key players, invite them along to visit your stand.  You know they will probably want to come to the show anyway, so why not make a time for them to be at your stand.  At the very least it will be a good photo opportunity for your marketing or internal newsletter.


Hot Prospects
If you have some hot prospects or organisations then get them to your stand.  Yes they will probably visit your competitor or see what else is around but they will know who invited them.  You will have enough confidence in your own solutions that you can deal with the fact that they will be visiting your competitor.  Take the opportunity to shine in front of your prospect.


Your Niche
No doubt you have some kind of regular marketing process, be it your blog, newsletter, twitter stream, advertising or networking.  Make sure that your niche know that you will be at the Expo and you would love for them to visit.  Give them a reason to visit - maybe a "Mention this newsletter/blog/card and get a free....."  If you are giving away gifts you may as well give it to someone in your niche versus someone who just walks past.


So now it's your turn.  Who are you going to invite to your next show?  Get it started well before the show and you will definitely avoid the Empty Aisle Syndrome.


Enjoy!


Warwick 
The Get More Guy
www.warwickmerry.com

Are you Good or are you There?

I heard at a National Speakers Association of Australia meeting that there is a difference between being Good and being There.  (Sorry I can't recall who said it!)
Basically what they said was, are you rewriting, practicing, polishing, learning, waiting, refining until what you are doing is really good or are you just getting it out there?
The Pareto principle tells us that it will take 20% if the effort to get us to 80% of the result we are after.  Can you afford the next 80% of the effort?


I know there are some of you saying, "Yeah, but you would want your surgeon to get it 100% right!!"  I agree.  There are some professions and situations you would want the 100% effort and result.  My point for you is, does it have to be perfect?  With what you are working on at work or at home, are you in one of those "has to be 100%" jobs?  Do you have to have it "just right" before you release it?  Can you get the majority of your results by getting it or yourself out there?  It may not be perfect, but I am sure it is damn good!!


At a recent Trade Show is Los Vegas, an exhibitor had this very problem.  His stand didn't arrive and wouldn't until half way through the show. To avoid being fined by the organiser for an empty booth, he did what he could.  He built one out of other people's scraps.  The result was so good, when the "real" stand arrived, he left it out the back.  What he did wasn't perfect.  It probably breached corporate brand guidelines, it hadn't been tested, he didn't know the best message to send but it worked.  It wasn't Good but it was There.  You can read the Exhibitor article here (it is worth the read!) 


What are you delaying on because you want it to be Good?  Maybe you could just get it There?




Image: Flickr Matt N Johnson

Need More Adventure?

Need More Adventure?

When was your last "Adventure"?  I don't mean tracking wombats through the state forest (although some people may have done that), I mean done something that is an adventure for you.  Something that gets your heart racing, your adrenaline flowing and your sense of anticipation at full alert.

So many people get into the rut of everyday life.  All of a sudden it becomes: get up, go to work, come home, have dinner, watch TV, go to bed and repeat.  Even if you have a few hobbies like sport, study or theatre thrown in, it can get repetitive.  So where's the Adventure?

Your routine maybe different. It may include flying around the countryside exhibiting at Expo's and Trade Shows, but we have all had that feeling where one show just blends into another.  Sometimes we need a bit of adventure to break the routine.  (By the way, the adventure can frequently give us ideas to use at the next show!)

My challenge to you is to plan for and then have some adventure in your life.  Plan and do something within 2 months time, something that challenges and excites you and that you are interested in doing.
It could be:

• 10 minutes of stand up at an open mic night
• Karaoke singing with friends
• Auditioning for a local theatre production
• Booking guitar lessons
• Going skiing (we almost have snow on the Victorian high plains)
• Writing a book (if you want the short cut to a best seller, check out this great opportunity that I am taking part in)

Mine is going in a radio competition to be on Melbourne's Fox FM Breaky Show.  It's a little out there but you can check out the details (and please vote Yes for me and No for the others) on http://www.fox.com.au/shows/mattandjo/you-and-jo-entries

What is your challenge?  Let me know what it is as I would love to hear about it.


Photo Credit:  www.studentsoftheworld.info It's a Wombat! 

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. 

Big Impressions - Part II

It happened again!

I am not sure if I should be surprised or not that the very next day after I blogged on making a big impression that it happened again.

Wifey and I are big fans of the Coco Lounge in Glen Waverley.  In particular we like to go there for a Fraus.  For the uninitated, this is a thick European Hot Chocolate.  Typically, I like it extra thick so it becomes like chocolate custard.  Yes, yes, I know I am a bit of a foody.  (You can find out more about Fraus' here, including their flavoursome cafe.)

Anyway, after seeing Robin Hood on tight arse Tuesday (by the way, wait for the DVD.  It is very boring) we adjourned to Coco Lounge for the Fraus.  When we asked for one, the waiter indicated that they no longer served them.  Naturally I went "Noooooooo!!!!!" rather loudly.  We had a few laughs and then a coffee instead.

As we paid, I was speaking to the manager and discussing why they stopped selling the Fraus and he basically said that they were not selling enough and the product would be wasted.  I joked about how would I live without it and then he said "Wait a second"

This is what he brought back to me:

That is 1 KILO of Fraus mix.  He gave it to me free of charge.  It was a very generous gesture and makes me love Coco Lounge even more!  But it wouldn't have happened if I didn't make a significant impression, lets face it, my good looks didn't make it happen!

So what will happen if you make a big impression?  Try it and see.

Let me know what happens for you!

Lovin' your work!

Warwick Merry

The Get More Guy

What Sort of Impression Do You Make?

There are so many competitors out there.  They may not be exactly competitors but there are company and businesses that overlap on your patch of the world.  It may be a team member "competing" for the next new opportunity, a similar business that competes with yours or someone exhibiting at the same show as you vying for the visitors attention.


Wifey reminded me this morning that I make big impressions everywhere I go.  Whenever we go shopping, I have fun with the check out chick (or check out chap).  I figure they are not going anywhere and I know there name (courtesy of the name tag) so I talk to them.  They give me the standard "Hi how are you?" and I make a big impression "Fantastic, Fabulous, Any happier and I would explode".  Maybe not all of those words but some of them!  Then have a bit of a laugh with them.  When wifey went to the supermarket on the weekend, the checkout operator said, "Shopping on your own today?"  My impression was so big that the checkout operator remembered me and Wifey and noticed that I wasn't there.


I do the same things when I am working with my exhibitor clients.  I live by the theory, if you are speaking to no-one, speak to everyone!  When someone walks by the booth I make an impression.  I engage with them by simple small talk that can then engage them in to a relevant discussion.  It could be a memorable one liner, and engaging question about them or a statement that makes them laugh.  Play with it and see what works.


What about you?  What sort of impression do you make?  Will they remember you?  Will they notice if you are not there?  How can you make it bigger, better and more memorable?

Five Observations Fresh From the Floor

I am fresh off the floor from the 2010 Pregnancy Babies and Children's Expo and I have some valuable observations to share.  I spent three days working with exhibitors to help them Get More from their show experience and here are the top 5 learning points:

1. It's all about Engagement.  Some of the exhibitors were concerned about not getting enough interest in their product/service.  It was usually the same exhibitor who was just standing in the booth saying nothing as someone walked past.  Live by the rule, if you are not speaking to anyone, speak to everyone!  If ever you have a quiet time, engage with the very next person.
2. Why are you there?  Some exhibitors forget why they are there.  They get swept up in the excitement and buzz of the show that they forget their prime objective.  Start each day with a briefing refreshing the objectives for the day and what actions are required to meet it.  If you are there to get names and addresses, then get names and addresses.
3. How is your signage? Do you have short, snappy, easy to read (that means HUGE font), action oriented signs?  If not, get some.  People don't really care much about your brand, your long winded mission statement or the features of what you have, they care about a problem they have and how you will solve it.  Find the problem and let them know you solve it.
4. Prepare for the show.  I don't understand people and organisations that spend thousands of dollars to get to a show and all they do is turn up!  At the very least read the exhibitor manual to find out information about the show.  Know what signage, stationery, product, and other items you need in your booth.  Be crystal clear on what you want from the show and what your message is.  Know how you will measure your success and whether it was worthwhile.  If you don't know these things, then why are you even there?
5. Stop whinging!!  Shows are part science, part art and a big chunk of magic.  Things will always be different than expectected.  There will be lulls and peak times.  If things are not going how you want, then change.  You can't expect to turn up last minute, lack half your signage and get the results you got last time with out some change in your approach.  Focus on what is going well and then change the things that are within your power.  Once you start whinging, you bring a whole lot of negativity to your booth which guarantees you wont get the results you are after.

Master these five, and you are half way there!

Enjoy


Warwick