Stopping traffic: how to network, garner leads and boost sales at industry shows - includes related article on where to put out an effective trade show marketing strategy

Home Office Computing, Jan, 1995 by Joe Mullich

Marketing is tricky business: You want to present your company in the best possible light, but you also need to be cost effective. One often overlooked tool for small-business owners is the trade show--a unique forum where hundreds of prospects actually pay for the privilege of seeing your product or service.

Although they are hardly new, trade shows are drawing larger crowds:

An estimated 85 million people are expected to browse exhibit floors this year, according to the Trade Show Bureau. That's because cost-conscious consumers have found that trade shows offer a single shopping source and business owners have discovered that such events stretch marketing dollars. "For entrepreneurs," says trade show consultant Steve Miller, "a good show will bring in more prospects than they'd ever find on their own."

What's more, you can go head-to-head with the behemoths and-- with the possible exception of your product and presentation--a home-based business headquartered in the basement has the same opportunity as a company with fancy offices. To help you market your company, here's a step-by-step guide to trade show selling.

Budget Wisely Because exhibiting can run from a few hundred dollars on up, decide what you can afford to spend before you sign up. The average show costs about $2,000 for the space; a no-frills, 10-foot-by- 10-foot booth is another $3,000 ($1,000 if the display is rented). Tack on travel, lodging, and all the extras (such as carpeting, electricity, literature, signage, special equipment)-- and you're talking serious dollars. But don't be turned off by statistics: Local shows average a fraction of that cost, and once you've made the initial investment in such basics as signage and literature, you can recycle them at other shows. As you'll discover, you don't need the budget of Barnum & Bailey to create an eye-catching exhibit--just your entrepreneurial ingenuity. Target the Right Show The biggest financial blunder you can make is exhibiting at the wrong show. Figure out exactly what you want to get out of the event: Why am I interested--to gain awareness, gather leads, close deals? Who is my target market? What are my goals as measured by contacts made, orders written, leads garnered? How many sales must I generate to break even?

Once you've established your budget and expectations, you'll have a better idea of what types of shows to look into. At most business-to-business shows, the degree of face-to-face selling varies by type of show. Trade shows that draw end users can resemble highclass swap meets--so be prepared to negotiate on price. Local trade shows, such as those sponsored by your area's chamber of commerce, vary widely. So if you own, say, a midsize marketing company with a narrowly focused audience, such as corporate health managers, scratch the local commerce show off your list. Even though it may take a bigger bite out of the budget, a national health industry show that draws a specific crowd would be a wiser choice. Yet for the small marketing firm that services a range of companies, a chamber of commerce show is a worthwhile forum (see "Where to Go to Put on a Show "for trade show resources.)

Now that you've compiled a list of possibilities, whittle it down by highlighting those that offer the highest percentage of attendees who'd be interested in your offerings. Adam Viener and his wife, for example, run a small BBS from their home in York, Pennsylvania. Every other month, they invest only $75 on a local computer show that draws 600 neighborhood users. "Ninety percent of the attendees represent our target market--they are in our local calling area and own a computer and a modem," says Viener, who gauges the success of each show by the number of brochures handed out. While this is a makeshift method of determining the effectiveness of a show, Viener needs to sign up only one new client to break even. And because BBSs come and go quickly, Viener's constant presence instills confidence in his members.

Don't Be a Guinea Pig From a list of target shows, begin researching. Ask each potential show's manager for a directory of the previous year's exhibitors and call them to find out how they fared. No matter how impressive the promotional materials look, stick to events that have a proven track record for at least three to four years. A Tradeshow Week survey of 32 national business shows launched in 1990 revealed that just half had survived one year--and only 28 percent are in existence today.

If a particular show catches your eye, attend at least once before signing up--to avoid what Jon Brovitz calls "baptism by fire." The 27-year-old entrepreneur from McLean, Virginia, wanted to test market a line of upscale security devices he was importing. After reading a few trade show pamphlets, he was struck by the big-name buyers attending the Mid-Year Variety Merchandise Show in New York. "They were the biggest and the best," he says. Sight unseen, he plunked down $4,000 (plus travel expenses) to reserve a booth at the Variety show to be held in two weeks. Poorly prepared, Brovitz ran out of literature halfway through--a costly mistake since the buyers had nothing to take back to their committees. What's worse, even if those top-brass buyers were at the show, they never made their way to his exhibit. Had Brovitz done more research, he would have saved himself the expense by learning that the Variety show appeals to buyers looking for low-priced items.