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

Do you Do the Numbers?

Not just the simple "How much money did we make?"  I mean really do the numbers.

• Do you consider the total costs? (not just booth cost but labour, pre show marketing, post show followup, accomodation etc)
• Do you know how many people stopped at your booth? (you could measure people for 6 mins each hour and multiply by 10 for an hourly average)
• Do you know how to measure your brand impact?
• Do you know how many people bought from you after the show because they met you at the show? (maybe using a special code from the show)
• Do you know whether the numbers add up to make exhibiting worthwhile?

Use these ideas to make sure you do the numbers for your next show!


Lovin' your work!


Warwick

Would your Hard Drive survive?

At any show, it is hard to stand out above the crowd.  Thousands of people coming in the doors, hundreds of exhibitors, loads of press, blogging and tweeting, how can you bee seen???

Here is how ioSafe did it. 

• They invited reporters to leave the show and go on a field trip
• They arrived at a typical suburban house
• Photos were taken of the reporters and loaded on the hard drive in the ioSafe
• The ioSafe was tossed into the backyard pool
• It was retrieved about 5 mins later
• The ioSafe was then placed in a pottery furnace and baked
• It was removed from the oven and hosed down until it was cool enough to handle
• The drive was then taken from the safe and the photos were loaded on a handy computer

For the full story, check out Corporate Event Magazine's write up (full credit to them for the photo too).  It is worth the read as it also talks about how they handled the press releases to their advantage.

While this sounds like a cool thing to do, I am sure most of you don't have data safes to drown, burn or explode.  But some principals can still be used for your next expo.

• Can you do something specifically for the press (it would need to be special and not just "let me tell you about my product")?
• Can you arrange an offsite meeting?  It could be for hot prospects, press, existing customers, influential industry members - get them away from the cacophony of the show and you are more likely to have their attention.
• How can you demonstrate your product in action? Telling people about it is never as good as showing them.
• What can you do that is different from the others, and in particular, different from your competitors?

Now you can take action!

What's New?

Happy Easter!

I hope you had a fun long weekend - with or without chocolate!!

This time of year is a celebration of new life.  I recommend you do the same. Stay with me, I am not going to be preachy.

What I mean is how will you celebrate what's new?  New ideas, new starts, new careers, new relationships, new business, new niche's, new employee's, new team members, new hobbies, new approaches, new booth, new engagement technique, new resources, new business coach, anything that is new.

You may also want to consider is it time for something new? New ideas, new start, new career.... (see list above)

You may not need anything new but it is a good question to ask.

So what's new?

What is Most Important?

I have just come back from three days hosting an Expo/Trade Show. There was a great array of brands, products and services all displayed and promoted in different ways.  It struck me that the most important thing was most over looked.

It wasn't the booth set up, some of the simplest booths were extremely busy.
It wasn't the give aways, samples or bowl of lollies on the table.
It wasn't the price of the product or service as items of all prices were selling.

It was the "Engagement" process, how the exhibitor captured the attention of the visitor.  Many of the expensive corporate booths had people walk past because the people on the booth were not focussed on attracting the people.  Some smaller business owners were a bit shy and waited until people came to them. Yet there were some star performers who ALWAYS had someone at their booth, and nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd.

The same can be said no matter what you sell.  The first step is to get the prospect's attention, to get them engaged with you so they can discover what you are selling.

So no matter what you are selling, it could be a new idea to colleagues or a the idea of taking a holiday to your partner or selling the concept of staying off drugs to your kids or selling an actual product to your prospects, how will you engage with them? How can you put yourself aside and appeal to what is important or interesting to them?

That's what is most important!