Ten Steps to Show Success

1. Present Yourself and Your Business in the Best Possible Way. Participate in your own success! Be prepared! Come early! Plan in advance: If you're speaking, get us your topic early so we can post it on our website and advertise it in our pre marketing literature. Your business will be judged by the appearance and the attitude of the staff at your booth. Dress appropriately. Do not smoke, eat, or drink at your booth. Be prepared with a rehearsed, practiced, and polished sales presentation. Say or do something that will stay in the prospect's mind in a positive way.

2. Don't Sit Down. Don't stand behind your table. Stand next to it or in front of it. Don't wait for an attendee to walk up to you. Take the initiative. Say hello. SMILE! Introduce yourself. Talk about your company. Think about what one good contact could mean. Always appear interested and ready to assist your potential customer. Don't make the prospect feel that he or she is interrupting you. Be gregarious and outgoing. Talk to everyone. The vendor next to you could be a partnering opportunity. The attendee with the pocket protector could be a CIO, or from the CIO's office. The decision makers don't wear signs that say decision maker. 

3. Keep Things Moving. Shows provide you the opportunity to promote your company to many prospects in a short period of time. To make as many contacts as possible, try not to spend too much time with any one person (unless, of course, you sense a very hot prospect!) If necessary, get a name and telephone number and call after the show with complete details about your product or service.

4. Make Your Display Work For You. You have only a few seconds to make an impression on the prospect. The prospect should be able to look at your booth and know exactly what your product or service is. Your booth should be kept neat and clean at all times.

5. Have an Effective Promotion Piece. Bring some giveaways. Offer them to attendees; they're a great icebreaker! You must have something that the prospect can take..... Your promotion piece will go into a bag with many others so it is important that it stands out. Don't stack your brochures - If there are fewer, the perceived value is higher.

6. Qualify the Prospect. Do some pre marketing. Hearing about an event from more than one source creates excitement. Instead of just shoving literature into the prospect's hand, take a moment to find out if he or she has a need for your product or service. If not, you have saved yourself time and money. If so, the prospect will appreciate the attention and you will know that you have a potential sale. Think! Be open-minded. Look for opportunities. Ask open questions like "What do you do for the agency?" Be polite even if they are not the CIO.

7. Don't Pack Up Early. The last hour of the show, when the crowds have dissipated, can be your best opportunity to close sales. Don't even begin to pack up until the last attendee has left the show. Preset appointments before, during or after the show with old customers and/or prospects, research the agency in advance by visiting the agency websites, especially "how to do business with", calling the OSDBU, study org charts and strategic IT plans, use services and sources like Fedsources, Input, Carroll's, GCN, Federal Computer Week, Washington Technology, Agency phonebooks, Federal Yellow Book, Congressional Quarterly's Staff Directories, know who you congressmen are, about pending appropriation and policy legislation for your agencies and industry and which congressmen are on the key commitees.

8. Be Patient. Do not expect to walk out of the show with a fistful of orders. Many attendees are only gathering information to review later. You need at least six months to gauge the success of a show. Roll with the punches. Events don't always flow as dreamed of, especially in this post 911 atmosphere. Congress held a table top this Fall. Someone brought a toy gun for a Halloween costume; they locked down the Capital for two hours and evacuated the building! Be flexible.

9. Follow Up. The leads you acquire at the show are valuable! Have a plan in place to follow up on leads as soon as you leave the show. Don't wait a couple months to call or mail to the attendees list (by then, the hot prospects are likely to have become good customers of your competition!)

10. Track Your Leads. The only way to determine which of your marketing vehicles are effective is to ask each of your customers how he or she found out about your business.