We live in the Internet age, a lot of information is easily researchable and freely accessible. Whether it’s products, specifications, conditions, instructions, prices or ratings, customers are much better informed and products are more comparable than they were a few years ago. So why exhibit at or visit a trade fair at all? My answer: absolutely. If products are becoming increasingly similar, sometimes identical, then a trade fair serves as an ideal platform to present yourself and your products, get to know potential customers, maintain existing customers and receive important feedback and ideas. An often underestimated success factor is professional, engaging stand personnel, because it makes the decisive difference whether the potential customer buys or remains an existing customer. Each member of the stand personnel team is the company’s 3D business card.
Participating in a trade fair means “measuring yourself”
Participating in a trade fair as an exhibitor often means a considerable investment. The size of the stand area, the stand itself, the entire logistics of setting up and dismantling, personnel costs from accommodation to travel to and from the trade fair and even absences from the actual workplace require larger budgets, often the largest budget in the annual planning. Competitors also exhibit, so your own stand must be “befitting”. However, a sophisticated trade fair stand also raises visitors’ expectations considerably when they come into contact with the stand personnel; after all, first impressions count here too, especially with potential new customers. If these expectations are met, the first step towards acquiring a new customer has been taken.
Professional preparation and follow-up of the trade fair is the key to success
Trade fairs are often not planned strategically. The reasons for this vary and range from inexperience to limited resources. Time and again you see trade fair stands that are visually first-class, but there are mainly stand personnel and few if any customers. Are such exhibition stands inviting? The answer is provided by an everyday scenario: do you go to an unfamiliar restaurant where no customers are visible? No. Only where there are guests do you feel sure of getting good food. The same applies to a lively trade fair stand where high-quality products are obviously on offer and good conversations are taking place. Here you feel that you are in good hands.
Professional invitation management is therefore one of the keys to successful trade fair participation. Making plenty of high-quality appointments before the trade fair is often underestimated. It is important to define who should be invited, how and, above all, when. A well-filled diary on each day of the trade fair is the basis for success. Customers who you absolutely want to have on the stand, also as a signal or reference for potential new customers, must receive important additional information. When is the managing director available for discussions if the trade fair lasts several days and his presence is limited to one or two days? Are there special product presentations or exclusive trade fair conditions? Personal telephone invitations are the first choice here.
When it comes to converting meetings at the trade fair stand into follow-up appointments, it is very important to make a binding appointment within a week of the end of the trade fair. It is just as important to look at the business card of the person you are talking to before you say goodbye. Why? Because you know the name and position of the person you are talking to! That’s right, but the decision-maker’s telephone number often ends with the number “0”, so when you make an appointment you end up at the switchboard and don’t have a direct extension. This means cold calling and often the person you are talking to can no longer remember dozens of conversations during the trade fair, assuming you work your way through to the decision-maker at all. So what should you do? Simply remain confident: “Mr. Customer, what magic word do I have to say to your assistant so that she puts me through to you?” In 99% of cases, you will receive the direct extension with a smile and leave a lasting impression because you communicate more cleverly than other people.
Welcome your customers to the stand
This goes without saying, but in addition to the right approach, it also requires an open and inviting stand area. Do not place your products at the edge of the stand, but as centrally as possible. This encourages the customer not only to look, but also to enter the stand and thus be available for a relaxed conversation. The aim is to make contact, identify customer needs and wishes, share experiences and ideas and, of course, make sales. Competent, attentive stand personnel who listen, identify the customer’s needs and communicate the benefits of your product will significantly increase the success of your trade fair participation. Ask the right questions and lead the conversation. This will help you get to the heart of the conversation more quickly, work in a more targeted manner and free up time for new contacts.
It is essential to set specific and realistic goals for participation in the trade fair. The stand personnel should do the same for themselves. Those who are committed, determined and enjoy working on the stand will win.
Successful trade fair participation can be planned
A professional trade fair appearance with good sales results, new customers and satisfied existing customers is a matter of good preparation and follow-up work and convincing discussions. Especially with potential new customers, the often very short conversation must create important trust, the needs of what and why the customer is buying must be quickly recognized and your own product must be offered as “his” solution in a beneficial way.
Stand staff should also be able to deal confidently with surprising questions such as “…why should I buy your product?”. Here it is important to be prepared and to anticipate such questions in advance of the trade fair and to have the right answers ready spontaneously. Is your competitor currently at your stand? Take the opportunity and let your customer know. A “Mr. Customer, you see, even our competitor likes our products!” can be the icing on the cake of your sales strategy. Good preparation contributes 90% to success.
Companies that invest specifically and sustainably in the necessary further training in the area of professional trade fair presentation are not only ideally equipped for future challenges and ensure that their employees are not only the decisive “kick” better than the competition at the trade fair stand, they also value their employees, which leads to a high level of motivation.
by Uwe Andres, trainer at Lorenz-Seminare