PPB October 2018

FEATURE | Trade Show Success 76 | OCTOBER 2018 | with more people if we missed seeing them by a display.” Setting up for a trade show can be simple—in O’Donnell’s case, it takes a matter of hours—while more complex booths like Ariel Premium’s can take as long as two and a half days. “We do have a lead team that designs and props the layout, and we use hall labor to do the construction,” says Duffy. “Our sales team will help the final day, merchandising certain product category sections.” Helzel says her team takes roughly a day and a half on site to set up the booth. “In a perfect world we would love to have somebody set up and tear down for us, but by doing the work ourselves, it also gives us good bonding time as a team,” she says. Much of the work to prepare begins months before a show; in the three to six months leading up to an event, suppliers will begin gathering samples and reaching out to current customers. “Several months out, we confirm which staff members are attending, and we reach out to key customers to see about setting up social and professional meeting times,” says Helzel. When the doors open and the show floor floods with attendees, the work to build business begins. Successful exhibitors agree that engagement reveals qualified leads, and Duffy’s team at Ariel Premium works hard to understand customer needs with every conversation. “The team has a core set of probing questions to learn more about who they are, and who their customers are,” he says. “We also try and get a sense of which products they’re most comfortable selling, or what they might be trying to source for specific customers.” O’Donnell says his team relies as much on booth aesthetics and pre-show engagement as they do on on-site conversations to bring in qualified leads and reaffirm ongoing business relationships. Helzel’s teammakes sure to point out the supplier’s latest offerings when they meet with attendees in the booth. “We look for every opportunity to show attendees the highlights of our line, whether new products or our best-selling items, and to share why we believe they should do business, or more business, with us,” Helzel says. “We will ask if there are any particular projects or programs they are working on, and how we can best follow up moving forward.” Of course, the work doesn’t end just because the show does—ensuring on- site connections are solidified means following up on leads before the wheels on the airplane have stopped rolling. The Ariel Premium crew relies on electronic lead retrieval during the show, and afterward, the sample department and sales team each receive the data for their respective duties. “The complete list is provided to our sample department to quickly fulfill all of our material requests. The list is then segmented by salesperson to follow up on communications with quotes, ideas, etc.,” Duffy says. BACK TO THE BASICS Implement these seven steps to see success during and after your time at the show. 1 Plan far in advance 2 Prepare sales and executive teams 3 Schedule pre-show meetings 4 Be active on social media 5 Provide giveaways 6 Scan every badge 7 Debrief the team back home, and follow up on leads From Morgan Kelleher, head of field marketing at Amplience, an ecommerce marketing specialist and member of the Forbes Communications Council WHEN THE DOORS OPEN AND THE SHOW FLOOR FLOODS WITH ATTENDEES, THE WORK TO BUILD BUSINESS BEGINS. SUCCESSFUL EXHIBITORS AGREE THAT ENGAGEMENT REVEALS QUALIFIED LEADS A B C