There is no doubt that the current financial meltdown has caused a serious need for marketing and sales functions in most corporations to be reevaluated, modified, and readjusted.

Most all tactics within a firm's marketing mix will need to be evaluated to determine which are the most effective in stimulating sales and closing business.

Trade show exhibiting is one of the most expensive and time consuming activities in the marketing/sales mix, and it often finds itself on the top of the list of the cost- cutting chopping block.

Because trade show exhibiting expenses include the immediate outlay of cash for exhibit space, exhibit materials, shipping, labor, transportation, travel, hotel expenses and daily expenses for those who work the booth, it is often easy to see where accounting-driven corporate management seeking to save money might decide that trade show exhibiting during tough financial times is just not worth it. Before that important decision is made, however, consider just how your presence - or absence - at important trade shows affects your business. Trying to save a few dollars today could compromise business tomorrow.

Consider this: If you drop out of a trade show that you have exhibited in before, what will your competitors say to your prospects and customers about your absence? The fact that you are not on the exhibit floor will provide your competitors with an excellent opportunity to simply and effectively cast doubt about your financial health and, more importantly, your ability to continue to sell and service your products. The exchange between your prospects and customers with your competitor could sound something like this: "Gee, I don't know where they are. Maybe they're in serious financial difficulty and can't afford to exhibit. But not to worry, because we're here and ready to serve your every need."

So before your company decides to drop out of any trade show, here are a few suggestions that will keep your customers, prospects, and competitors on the same page and make the most of the opportunities available to you on the show floor.

• Reduce the size of your exhibit space. As long as you are on the exhibit floor, your people are available to conduct business as usual. If a question arises about the size of your booth - if in fact it is smaller compared to previous years - you can simply say that serving prospects' and customers' needs during these challenging economic times is more important than having a fancy exhibit.

• Use simple exhibit materials. Today's lightweight, easy-to-set-up-and-dismantle exhibit materials provide the cost-conscious exhibitor with many opportunities to cut costs and maintain an excellent trade show presence. When compared to custom exhibits, modular exhibit materials offer dramatic cost savings and provide a simple backdrop for creating a professional exhibit environment from which to conduct business.

• Rent Exhibit Materials. Research local vendors to find an exhibit builder who will rent you an exhibit, including labor to transport it to and from the show and installation and dismantling services - all for one quoted price. Product could be shipped to the exhibit house and all materials could be delivered to the show for installation by workers who know the hall and what it takes to get in and out with few problems.

• Man the Booth with Local People. Instead of flying people from all over the country into the show city, try to man the booth with local sales, service, and/or office personnel. This will not only save money, but it will also give selected people an opportunity to represent the company in the exciting and often educational environment that trade shows offer.

• Consider National Shows More on a Local Basis. When money is tight, you can expect fewer prospects and customers to travel long distances to attend a trade show. But as an exhibitor, you'll likely see more local attendees, so adjust your goals and objectives to maximize those opportunities.

• Show Special Non-Product Benefit Offerings. While product is king, there are many non-product offerings that add value to a sale during tough economic times. Discounted or free extended warranties, free technical support, free product updates, a 30-day money-back guarantee, generous low-interest payment plans, free shipping, innovative trade-in allowances, lease option to own programs, and discounted service contracts are but a few ideas to add value to an exhibitor's trade show presentation.

• Immediate and Effective Sales Lead Follow-Up. New business is tough to get, so every opportunity an exhibitor has to favorably impress a prospect/customer and obtain the sale is magnified. Now is the time to focus on providing excellent after-show customer service. Sales lead management is critical in responding to a prospect's request for more product/service information, and the exhibitor who can effectively meet the challenges will get the sale.

• The Press. The trade and consumer press will continue to attend trade shows seeking news, new products, and stories associated with the industry and exhibitors. Successful exhibitors always have complete press kits to hand out, and they always pre-arrange interviews with editors attending the show to foster post-show coverage, ensuring that their products, services and news are accurately reported.

Conclusion. Tough economic times can't last forever. Those exhibitors who now focus on servicing prospect and customer needs while adjusting their trade show exhibit programs to meet new economic challenges will survive. And not only that: they'll also emerge stronger and more successful than those who fail to see the light at the end of the tunnel.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_C_LoCascio

It's the most important trade show of the year; your exhibit is completely installed, touched up, wiped down and vacuumed. Your products are working correctly and their support materials are in place and well organized. The stage is set for your selected performers from sales, marketing, technical support and management to add the all important "human element" of trade show exhibiting to consummate this very expensive and time consuming investment. The exhibit is ready for the trade show challenge, but are your people ready?

It's the night before the show opening and in a local hotel suite the pre-show briefing meeting is ready to begin. The objectives of the meeting are to draw focus to the uniqueness of the trade show environment, review key issues with the products on display and encourage and motivate those selected for booth duty to maximize the many sales, service, support and customer relations opportunities that the show promises to deliver.

There are two teams of booth personnel comprised of sales, marketing, technical support and management each lead by a booth Capitan who is responsible for scheduling, booth assignments and the overall people management on the trade show floor. Two shifts of booth teams will work the exhibit while the Exhibits Manager sees to it that the entire effort runs smoothly and efficiently at all times.

A pocket booth duty roster and product guide has been produced that lists all the products on display with a brief review of their features, benefits, pricing and competitive analysis. It also lists meeting schedules, key phone numbers and any show information deemed important.

The suite is set-up as a kind of company command head quarters ready room where the entire exhibit support team will meet each day to relax, compare notes, review the day's business on the show floor, share and discuss sales leads and organize various sales and marketing activities. It will also serve as a meeting place for invited editors, key prospects and important customers to meet with the company's technology and top management experts to review new products, business issues, old and new opportunities.

The pre-show meeting begins with the company President making opening remarks relating to the time and money it costs to exhibit at the show, why each of the exhibit team has been selected to represent the company and the overall goals and objectives of maximizing the returns on this trade show investment. It is also important to announce that management will be working the booth along side sales, marketing and support to ensure that customers and prospects appreciate the company's total commitment to service before, during and after the sale.

The Exhibits Manager then displays a complete layout of the exhibit and reviews the schedule of related events and various details pertaining to how the booth will function, who to look to for help and the dos and don'ts of working the exhibit. In addition, a complete trade show exhibit floor plan is presented showing where various competitors and services are located. Also at this time the sales lead gathering and processing system in use at this particular trade show is reviewed and demonstrated to ensure that all sales leads are completed and managed properly.

A presentation like: "Bridging the Gap Between Trade Shows and Sales" sets the stage for booth personnel to understand the differences between selling in the field and selling at trade shows. It also demonstrates that the exhibit will function in a non-verbal graphic fashion that delivers prospects seeking additional product information and it is then that the important "human element" of selling begins.

Each product marketing manager is then invited to present his/her products that are on display covering the important features, benefits and competitive advantages. Knowing that the competition might be in the next booth, product, service, pricing and delivery details must be able to stand firm as savvy prospects will often compare claims in a matter of minutes to support their purchasing recommendations and decisions.

The end of the meeting again brings up the company President who closes the session by encouraging all to do their best and make the most of this selling opportunity. It's noted that the company will see and meet more prospects in the next three days of the show than it will most likely see in six months in the field.

Once the meeting ends, the entire group makes its way to the convention center to preview the exhibit first hand and to familiarize themselves with individual product presentation stations, literature distribution function, storage availability and the sales lead processing system, etc.
A meal roster and schedule has been developed for this trade show that includes all members of the booth duty team and provides opportunities for management to reinforce good team spirit by spending quality time sharing ideas and experiences during available breakfast, lunch and or dinner hours.

Conclusion.

Trade shows always create a myriad of sights, sounds and emotions. Often travel, out of town food and generally being away from home confuses the senses to a greater degree. The one factor that remains is the business of business somehow always finds its way to the trade show floor. And even though you might have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on an exhibit, the fact remains people sell products to people and therefore staging a pre-show meeting should always be an important part of your trade show program if you expect to maximize your return on the time and money invested.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_C_LoCascio