Greetings!
Happy Tuesday! Well, it's that time of year again. Yes, it is back to school time. It is also Expo Season!
Going into the fall, and extending through the spring, various organizations will have business expos and trade shows to showcase their members or people in their industry.
This week is the first of a three-part series on how to have a successful expo or show. The first part is preparation, followed by successful activities during the show and finally successful follow-up practices once the show is over. For this week, let's look at 11 areas of preparation that will get you going on a successful start!
|
Preparing for Your Expo
Prep for Success
|
Your time is
valuable. Your money is valuable. Perhaps even more valuable than both of them
combined are leads for increasing businesses and profits. An excellent source
of filling your funnel with new leads and prospects are local business expos
and trade shows.
Although you will have a few "trick-or-treaters"
(people who just walk around and fill their bags with your schwag), most of the
people that attend these shows have at least a curiosity of the products and
services represented and many have direct needs going in. This may be one of
the top three things you can do with the biggest bang for your buck - and your
time - since your time and money are focused directly at the people you are
targeting.
The rewards can be great, but successful business
expos and trade shows require considerable advance preparation to get the
return you want. If you aren't ready, not only can it be a waste of your time
and money, it can also lead to a logistical nightmare. To avoid this nightmare,
use the following tips to develop a solid game plan, monitor your progress and
be prepared to adapt as needed.
Click here to read the 11 successful preparation tips...
|
2 Free Business After
Hours Tickets
|
SEPTEMBER SPECIAL
Sign up for a booth at the Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber of Commerce Business Expo and receive two additional free tickets to the After Hours event immediately following the event. Registration must be made by September 30, 2009. Click here for Expo and booth information.
|
Offer Expires: September 30, 2009 No Cash Value Coupon Code: EXPO
|
Helping YOU!
Quick Hits to Help You Out
|
This past week I was school shopping with my wife and two girls. It was towards the end of the day and we were in the last store we needed to shop at. The store hours were 9am-6pm
It was a pretty hip store that had bright, eye-catching signs just outside of the open front doors that welcomed you as you arrived. Once inside, they had some fresh, up-beat music playing that matched the feel of the clothes they sell. The two staff people were very helpful despite having several customers looking and trying things on.
So far, this sounds like a pretty good experience. And it was. We wrapped up just before closing, found some good deals and were ecstatic that the girls found some things that they liked!
Here is where the story gets a little weird. At about 10-minutes before closing time, one of the gals brought the signs in, closed the front doors and turned off the purchase-motivating music! They may just as well pulled out a bullhorn and announced for everyone to speed it up a bit and make their way to the checkout counter.
I'm not sure if a manager was present or if these actions are condoned by management, but I was shocked that a business would so blatantly tell their customers that they've had a long day and don't really care if you want to spend anymore money in their store.
Don't let this be your store. If it means paying your staff and extra 15-30 minutes to stick around to help the remaining customers, it will be worth it - not only in sales that day, but in the return trips you get by creating loyal customers.
Do you have a question, challenge or opportunity that you'd like a little insight on? If so, e-mail it to workinghard@helpingusellu.com.
|
 |
Referring back to the featured article...
|
"Do you participate in Business Expos or Trade Shows?"
o Yes
o No, and do not plan to
o No, bur would like to
Your answers are and will remain anonymous, so...
Click here to submit your answer
Last week's question and results...
"How many steps are in your sales process?"
o 1
o 2
o 3
o 4
o Other (5+)
* No responses were given to last week's poll question.
Do you have a question you'd like to see in a future poll? If so, send it to me in an e-mail. workinghard@helpingusellu.com
|
|
Wrapping Up
Well, I hope you picked up a few good ideas today and I look forward to being with you again next week. In the meantime, if you have a burning question, shoot me an e-mail and I'll shoot you a reply.
Helping You Sell You,
Scott Gillespie
|
Copyright (C) 2009 Selling U, LLC - All rights reserved.
Would you like to reproduce this document?
Please call us at 989.546.7355 for written permission by Scott Gillespie before doing so.
However, go ahead and forward this to as many people as you want!
Selling U, LLC ~ 9825 E. Broomfield Rd. ~ Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
|
|
|
|
