The greatest show on earth

Matt Lynch is national sales director of LYNKA Promotional Products. John Lynch is president of LYNKA.

Do you want to increase your sales in this recession?

Simple. Have your sales reps meet more clients. But how many sales meetings can your reps really attend in one day? Four, five, maybe six? What if we gave you a secret weapon that would guarantee 30, 40 or even 50 meetings in one day? You say we're crazy? We say "trade show!"

Trade shows are the single best way to meet your existing clients as well as find new ones. The trade show atmosphere exposes you to more potential face-to-face selling time than any other form of marketing. If your industry organizes an annual trade show here, you need to seriously consider whether you should be there. The Międzynarodowe Targi Poznańskie (MTP) in Poznań is the mother of all Polish fairgrounds - you can check out its program of shows at www.mtp.com.pl. If you visit the Polagra-Farm International Agricultural Trade Fair in September, you will be shocked and awed by the size of the show as well as the resources that some companies put into their exhibits.

Trade shows aren't cheap. So if you are planning to take the plunge, make sure you spend your money wisely. At LYNKA, we have been exhibiting at trade shows in the country for many years now, and have developed some guidelines for squeezing every last złoty out of our investment:

- Choose a show: By calling the show's organizers, you can gather some crucial information before making a commitment. They can provide you with a list of this and last year's exhibitors. Is your competition on this list? Maybe you should be there too. The organizers can also provide you with an approximate number of visitors from previous years. In your budget don't forget to plan for booth space, hotels, travel, meals and promotional items.

- Location, location, location: If you do commit, commit early and handpick your location. Try to be in a main corridor; corners are the best places. If at all possible, avoid upstairs locations and try to get a space on the ground floor.

- Invite clients and prospects: While many trade show organizers do promote the show, you should create your own invitation and invite your clients and prospects at least three weeks in advance. You should schedule meetings at your booth in advance since it can get pretty busy at times. There is no better way to solidify the client relationship than in this fun, relaxing atmosphere out of the office. Take advantage of their visit by planning a dinner or party in the evening, introducing them to your other clients and giving them some business.

- Organize the booth: Don't block your entrance with display stands. You should make it easy for traffic to flow through your booth. You should also organize your storage area/back room: this makes replenishing brochures, samples and presents much easier. Set clear rules as to how your staff should dress. We make it easy by providing them all with corporate apparel embroidered with our logo. Have a supply of corporate gifts available in case some of your top clients happen to stop by.

- Hostesses: These long-legged "booth babes" are a common sight at trade shows here, but if they don't know anything about your company, then they are a waste of money. Spend some time training them on your USP (unique selling proposition) and let them know the "rules of engagement" well in advance. We recommend that you use your sales staff - they're already trained. Remember that you only have a few moments to capture a visitor's attention.

- No smoking, eating, drinking or using cellular phones: You can have a coffee with clients, but nothing is a bigger turnoff than seeing all the employees sitting down ignoring the attendees. We don't allow our people to sit down unless they are with a client, and we schedule breaks so we are not left understaffed.

- Reserve time to visit other booths: There is no better place to learn what the competition is doing than at a trade show. You can also find other suppliers and companies that can give you business.

- Collect data: We have created a special form for every contact that visits our booth. We always ask for their business card, and then we take notes during the conversation. We use a ranking system that helps immensely with setting priorities for follow-up and allows us to address specific issues raised by the clients.

- Open early - stay late: Don't be tempted to close early because everyone else does. Our father always reminded us that "many a big fish has been caught at the end of the day."

- Follow up: This is the most important element to a successful show. Last month, we visited a trade show at the Palace of Culture - this time as a client. In three hours, we vi-sited about 20 potential suppliers. After one week only one company followed up with a letter and a phone call. Do you want to guess how many companies won our business? Exactly. Your follow-up strategy is critical and should be planned before the show.

The people visiting your booth have tra-veled a great distance and spent considerable money to tell you they want to buy. How rare is that? These companies should be treated like gold - they are the most prequalified leads you'll ever meet.

A well-planned and executed trade show can be exactly the boost your company needs in difficult times. So take the time to do it right.

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