Trade Shows – The Companies You Dream About Doing Business With – Stop Dreaming, Start Selling!

Every business owner knows the names of dream companies they would want their company to work with.

They are businesses that can, if they decide to place an order, can transform an organization.

I refer to them as the “High 5” wins. These are the kinds of orders the sales team of the owner is able to fulfill and will often rejoice when they land their first business regardless of how small it is in the hands of one of these potential giants.

In all the years when I offered exhibit space to trade show exhibitors, I never ever inquired by an exhibitor whether any of these specific businesses attended the event I was selling. And yet, I was, in the most modest of ways, delighted with my job.

One of the reasons I became successful was because I consistently inquired about who the “High 5” companies were for every one of my customers. If I could showcase potential exhibitors to the people who attended our event from their dream companies as well as others similar to theirs, I would always make an offer.

When I said that I showed them, I highlighted their names with job titles and the number of people who attended from each business. I made them look like real, living people.

The people who could be reached could be approached and possibly bought by those who are in a position to meet at the event.

That brings me back to how important marketing was prior to the show, as well as a strange mindset among specific exhibitors.

Trade Shows Hatch New Beings

If I said that the organizers of trade shows create entirely new creatures to serve as their guests ahead of each show they organize, you’d think you heard about, and yet, many exhibitors seem to believe in this.

They’re not thinking through how they can use events to increase and expand their list of potential customers, especially in relation to the businesses they already communicate with.

They don’t see any value in announcing businesses they would like to do business with about the presence of their company at the exhibition or even noticing that the same individuals might be considering attending.

If this happens, it reveals a disconnection between the ongoing goals of marketing which are outlined in a plan for marketing, and an organization’s participation in trade shows. Sometimes, the two appear to be very loosely linked, and that could be the reason that some exhibiting firms do so little marketing prior to a trade exhibition.

The most frequently cited reasons for this absence of pre-show activities are:

“That’s the organizer’s job” or, more frequently, “we just didn’t think it was necessary – we will be meeting lots of people at the show.”

You will undoubtedly meet people, but you won’t have to wait until after the event to talk to the majority of these “brand-new” specimens. They’ve already been born. They’re out there everywhere, which includes the mysterious “High 5’s” you’ve been contemplating for years.

Your Prospects Are The Show’s Prospects Too

The trade fair is a kind of platform which, through the efforts of the organizers, generates a massive amount of publicity ahead of the event’s start.

Organizers put a lot of effort into attracting the highest possible number of people to their events since the event’s attendance is their business.

The messages that organizers send out prior to the show to the market are often direct or indirect in their manner.

Indirect marketing is intended to increase awareness of the show and highlight the themes and motives for people to consider attending. Direct invitations are sent out when organizers reach out to their database of visitors who have heard before as well as those who have inquired about the show previously (many direct invitations can be distributed by other exhibitors at the event).

In light of all the actions mentioned above, if you don’t conduct any type of promotion prior to the show about the presence of your company at an exhibition and contacting current customers as well as prospective clients from companies who have recently asked you to provide a quote or send them samples… Then you’re missing an enormous chance to arrange meetings and interact with attendees during the exhibition.

People (businesses) are expected to attend, and the people from the companies you’d most like to talk to and promote your business to could attend as well. Make them aware that you’ll be there and that it is beneficial for them to stop by your booth.

What Is My Client Doing On Their Stand?

Through the years, I’ve had conversations at shows with exhibitors who expressed dismay and shock due to having witnessed a customer (or clients) on the stand of a competitor or have observed people from new, well-known business leads, strolling through the halls, neither having been invited to attend the exhibition by the disappointed exhibitor.

When you attend the trade show, it is likely that you will encounter businesses and people that you have never experienced or worked with before. This is among the significant benefits of trade shows in the development of new business.

You will also have the chance to provide an ideal reason to call your clients who are currently clients as well as your clients who are not active as well as your hot prospects, your slow-burn leads, potential distributors, your friendly journalists, and many more people you’ve already spent time and money on with the intention of making them more interested to your business.

It’s such a simple element of trade show marketing. However, it is often neglected and ignored and will ultimately result in sales loss if you do not draw attention to your presence.

Trade Shows And Databases

If you’re a new company that has just entered the market or trade show, then a trade fair will be great to build an extensive database of potential and confirmed customers.

I’ve met many exhibitors who utilize trade shows as their only way to market their business.

Trade exhibitions are the only form of marketing the company engages in (other than their website). They’ve never advertised, nor have they ever conducted marketing campaigns via email or telemarketing, and have not done much using social media, but their business has to thrive, however.

If you’ve been trading for a few years and already have an extensive list of prospective clients and customers using a CRM system, the names and information you get from the trade shows will assist in keeping your database current.

Some people change jobs and move to other companies or receive promotions, and their titles shift. They might relocate to new locations or even get married, and their businesses may buy other companies… all of these factors can impact the information that you have, and this data is the basis you use to create sales.

The Most Active & Interested Companies Attend Trade Shows

Contrary to what is said in certain circles, trade show organizers don’t create new prospects to attend their events. What they do exceptionally well is draw those who are the active, engaged people who are interested in the market to their circumstances.

Anyone who is willing to attend a fair is indicating that they are looking in search of something who can solve a challenge for them or assist their business to grow or grow in the way. They are looking for solutions. These are people who are purchasing mindset.

A lot of these engaged and interested individuals will be the same customers that your company sells during the entire year. They are the companies and individuals who are in your CRM or sales database system. They’ll be from businesses that you’d like to be aware of, and you’d like to meet with as well as the “High 5’s.”