Trade Show Display Marketing Tips and Advice

Sales forecasting can play a major role in your company's success (and your own career development). According to research from the Aberdeen Group, companies with accurate sales forecasts are 10% more likely to grow their revenue year-over-year and 7.3% more likely to hit quota.  But despite the advantages, many sales leaders struggle to create sales forecasts that are anywhere near reality.  We've compiled an in-depth guide to creating a trustworthy sales forecast -- rather than a wish-cast.  Read on to learn:

We think TRADE SHOWS are the best way to touch a prospect.  But in between your shows you might want to look at these tips:  For years, there’s been a debate raging in the sales community: When reaching out to a prospect for the first time, should you call or email?  After all, first interactions with prospects are key -- you’re aiming to establish trust, provide value, gather key information, and perhaps even secure a follow-up meeting. If you don’t use the right medium, they’ll be less receptive to your message (and that’s assuming they engage at all).

Major industry events are all about entertainment, motivation, and connection, right?  Well, sure.  But they’re also great opportunities for salespeople to build relationships and generate revenue.  So how did “I closed $50,000 of business at an industry event.”  Even at a trade show event while in your booth you can use these tactics to help close a deal!

We've all heard the claim our attention spans are shorter than a goldfish's -- and shrinking by the minute. The thing is, that's not really true. In fact, "Goldfish can perform all the kinds of learning that have been described for mammals and birds," says Professor Felicity Huntingford, who's spent more than fifty years studying fish behavior.

She continues, "They've become a model system for studying the process of learning and the process of memory formation, exactly because they have a memory and because they learn."  Your prospects might have the ability to focus more than eight seconds. The problem is, they just aren't willing to give most salespeople more of their time and attention without them having earned it. So, like the best bull riders, saddle up, and use these eight tactics to grab a prospect’s attention in eight seconds or less and send better email.

Edith Wharton once said, “Ah, good conversation -- there’s nothing like it, is there? The air of ideas is the only air worth breathing.”  Ms. Wharton had a way with words (written and otherwise), but she would likely be horrified to know that most of our daily conversations nowadays start with shorthand texts or three-line emails.

And yet, in spite of the proliferation of texting and emailing in modern conversations, you still have to know how to strike up a conversation to get a raise, build your network, ask someone out, or provide someone with feedback. It's as important now as it ever was to know how to break the ice, get to the point, make a connection, and frame a request.

But it's hard. That's why we put together this handy guide on talking to anyone about anything. We hope these tips help you navigate everything from cocktail parties to conference rooms with the greatest of ease.

Sales success largely depends on routines. There are only so many hours in a day to sell -- the more practiced salespeople are at completing everyday tasks, the more time they can allocate to high-value activities like meeting with prospects or learning new skills. But sticking to the same process isn’t always a good thing. If you rely on the same prospecting methods and never try anything new (like participating in a trade show event with a booth), you’ll miss out on valuable opportunities. After all, many buyers will never get on your radar via traditional channels.

Maybe they haven’t changed vendors for 20 years and would only switch if a trusted business partner referred them to another supplier. Or maybe they’re unaware of their problem in the first place, so they’re unlikely to download your content or seek out a salesperson. To find these high-value prospects, you’ll need to try add some creative prospecting techniques to your arsenal. Use these six ideas as inspiration.

In 2012, Brent Adamson, Matthew Dixon, and Nicholas Toman penned an article for Harvard Business Review that explores the notion that most companies know their needs and are capable of determining solutions for themselves, thereby shaking up traditional sales strategies and methods.   Their assertion was based on a Corporate Executive Board study that investigated nearly 1,500 B2B customers and found that they had completed “on average, nearly 60% of a typical purchasing decision -- researching solutions, ranking options, setting requirements, bench-marking prices, and so on -- before even having a conversation with a supplier.”

This was devastating news for traditional solution sales reps but supported what high-performing, savvy sales professionals already were doing differently: engaging customers “well before customers fully understand their own needs.”  While the sales landscape has changed because of content marketing and the fact that the majority of enterprise customers research products and services prior to making contact with sales professionals, the value of a sales pro’s knowledge has not changed.

According to Deb Calvert, author of DISCOVER Questions Get You Connected, most salespeople rely on the same three types of questions: Straightforward fact-gathering questions, objection-surfacing questions, and goal-assessment questions. These question “flavors” can be highly valuable, but only if you combine them with other ones. Three types of questions will lead to just three types of answers -- and that means you’ll likely overlook valuable information, misdiagnose pain, make incorrect assumptions, and dig into the wrong areas.  To avoid these mistakes, incorporate the seven question categories below into your sales conversations.

Timing is everything. If you contact a prospect right after they buy an expensive competitive product, they're not going to bite.  But if you find out they're in the market for a new vendor, you can reach out to your prospect before they begin researching, which ensures your message will be received with much more interest.  So even when your selling in your trade show booth - you need to know how to trigger the event.

Figuring out whether the buyer can afford your solution is nearly as important as figuring out whether they can use it - even when you working a prospect in your trade show booth.  After all, need doesn’t matter without the ability or desire to buy.   But talking about money with your prospect can be tricky. Not only can these conversations feel awkward, but you may not know exactly what to say or how to say it.   That’s where this list can help. To identify whether a buyer can -- and will -- pay for your product, use these 50 questions.