Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Increase qualified leads at tradeshows

We all know that the goal of a trade show participation is generating new leads. Yet we almost treat the lead generating activity as a last minute low priority item. Much of our time is working on our "sales pitch", the new features of the product, how much it costs, etc. When it comes down to getting the lead (much less qualifying the lead), we ask for a card, or "can I scan your badge". If we took time to fill out the standard form on the lead scanner, it usually is a last minute guess at what information we are looking for.

What we don't do is plan ahead. When was the last time you had a "lead generation" work session? Asking the questions that a prospective customer may have? Role playing? Getting to know and understand the prospective customer, what the issues and hot buttons are?

• A good brainstorm session will bring up situations or questions that may have arisen at a previous show. It can give light to how to handle a situation. What to look for at the next show.

Many times, the visitor may not be the purchaser of a product. Or even the influencer.
• Asking leading questions to find out who the decision maker is and how to get to them is more valuable that doing your sales pitch on every visitor that comes by.

• Asking questions about their work environment, their team, and what their challenges are will help you determine if your product is the right solution for them. How can your product make their work easier, faster, more cost effective, etc.

It's not just about trying to "SELL" your product to every visitor that comes by, but really, trying to find the right customer that needs your product. Once you do that, your selling process will become much easier. For more tips on increasing your performance at a tradeshow, goto: http://www.design2marketinc.com/solutions/solutions_goexpo.html

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