Unlike digital marketing, live industry events allow sales teams to engage one-on-one with multiple prospects over a focused period of time. Value selling tools are a compelling way to attract enough qualified visitors to your booth to justify your investment. Try these tips at your next show.
A Better Way to Attract Attendees
While attracting random passersby with branded swag can be a fun part of the trade show experience, serious buyers need a persuasive reason to visit and spend time at your booth. Begin by engaging attendees before the show and continuing the discussion on-site.
Value selling tools are highly effective in initiating conversations with pre-qualified prospects and closing deals faster. Consider using a benchmark assessment tool to help attendees compare their company to others attending the show or a value calculator to estimate the magnitude of the problem that you could help them solve.
Engaging Before the Show
With every other exhibitor scrambling to schedule appointments, the output from a self-service benchmarking tool offers a decisive way to get attendees’ attention. Those focused on improved company performance vs. good times at the show will want to understand the scope of their issues; how they can sharpen their edge, ideally with your solution; and how their situation compares to their peers and competitors at the event.
Because participation is self-selecting, those who invest time in the assessment tool before the show tend to be serious, more qualified prospects. They are motivated to get the personalized insights in their printed report and are more inclined to schedule an on-site appointment as requested when they’re done using the tool. Keep in mind that a proper comparison can only be made when you have results from all who participated in the benchmark assessment which, by definition, occurs at show time.
The benchmarking tool can be promoted via social media or perhaps in a blog post highlighting your presence at the event. The most effective promotion, however, is through a pre-show email sent directly to attendees, provided a list is available from the show organizer. In addition to a scheduling option within the tool, be sure your communications include contact information for scheduling an appointment with your sales team and insights into how you can further the conversation on-site.
If you are unable to reach attendees before the event, use the tool during the show with the promise of a follow-up when all results are in.
Creating a Valuable On-Site Experience
Your goal is to make the most of the limited time attendees spend at your booth. You need to quickly show the economic value of your solution and provide a compelling take-away they can bring back to the office.
We recommend making your benchmark assessment tool or value calculator also available to walk-up attendees on a self-service kiosk or dedicated laptop. You can also display a QR code that directs attendees to your value selling tool using their mobile device. Be sure you have ample signage to draw attention to the opportunity.
However attendees access your tool, it should be fast and easy and allow your sales team to discuss how your solution can solve their issues. The conversation continues when you send their personalized report after the show.
Conclusion
Use value selling tools to attract more qualified visitors to your booth and provide informative takeaways that accelerate the sales process. Advance promotion of your presence and the opportunity to use your tools can ensure a steady stream of sales that improve your ROI and justify the high cost of participating in live events.
How Can ROI Selling Help?
Here’s how ROI Selling can help you launch and grow your value selling program.
- Have a complimentary consultation to discuss best practices for using value selling tools to improve trade show ROI
- Quickly build an assessment tool that is applicable to the audience at one or more upcoming shows
- Quickly deploy a show-specific value calculator
Resources
Connect with Darrin Fleming on LinkedIn.
Join the Value Selling for B2B Marketing and Sales Leaders LinkedIn Group.
Visit the ROI Selling Resource Center.
