UNDERSTANDING YOUR CUSTOMER’S TRADE SHOW MINDSET

Hopefully, you're already starting to understand that trade shows are a unique setting for making big sales. In this chapter, we're going to take a closer look at the biggest reason why: your customer's mindset when they arrive at the show.

As any experienced sales professional can tell you, selling can often be an uphill battle ... at least in the beginning. That's because, not only do you have to find a qualified prospect, but you often must grab their attention, pull them away from whatever task (or vendor) was already occupying them, and overcome their general resistance to making changes – even those changes that might make their lives easier and their companies a little bit stronger.

All that changes on the trade show floor. Why? Because customers are in a buying mood. They’ve arrived in a new city, with new surroundings, and with the express purpose of learning and trying new things. Put another way, they’ve been dragged out of their day-to-day work and placed in an environment that’s designed to put them in a receptive mood. Don’t underestimate this dynamic; there aren’t many opportunities in life where prospects know they’re going to be sold and are looking forward to it.

This realization is nothing new, and exhibitors have been using it to their advantage for decades. That's one of the reasons that modern trade shows can start to feel like circuses as much as industry events. Organizers know that attendees are feeling more open and less restrained, and so they do anything they can to encourage that attitude. Exciting music, flashy displays, and attractive models showing off new prototypes all feed into the process. They create a sense of momentum that naturally leads to increased sales. Buyers are excited, and they are surrounded by other people who are feeling the same way. Nobody wants to be the only one to go home without a signed order slip for the latest and greatest gadgets and technologies. At trade shows, lookers become buyers; all you do is give them a good reason to sign on the dotted line.

That desire to "keep up" can be more powerful than many salespeople realize. From our side of the table, it usually feels like we are doing anything and everything we can think of to draw prospects deeper into the sales process. On the other hand, they often do their part and pull away. These rules can sometimes become reversed, however, in a couple of situations that are common to trade shows.

The first is when you have a product that is completely innovative or unmatched by the competition. In other words, there are some things that are so new, groundbreaking, or innovative that they create their own demand. Typically, your product development team will tell you in advance if your company will be unveiling a blockbuster new offering at the trade show. If that happens, you might be amazed at how many potential customers will simply walk up to you and virtually close themselves. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's a wonderful thing.

The second thing that can get customers chasing you down is the competitive spirit. Just as you must watch out for all the other companies presenting at the trade show, so do your prospective buyers. As the days come and go, they'll often see many of their colleagues and competitors investigating various products and upgrades. In other words, they're going to see the other companies they bid against taking steps to get stronger. They are not going to want to get left out, and that enthusiasm can propel them to act more quickly than they might have otherwise.

For that reason, it is critically important that you project yourself and your company as being in demand. Don't be afraid to let your prospects know that people are excited about what you've been doing, and the many ways your products and services can help them remain competitive and profitable for the future.

Buyers might not commit to something just because others have, but you can be sure that if they get the feeling, they are in danger of slipping behind, they'll want to find out what all the fuss is about.

In the end, it's not just the new product lines and ideas that make trade shows so compelling – it's the feeling of excitement itself. Buyers are coming from all around the country (or maybe even the world) to you; for many of them, it might be their only trip outside of a rural area for months or years. Never forget that nearly every sale you'll ever make is an emotional event. Trade shows accelerate the sales process because they provide a setting in which men and women are already emotionally involved in the buying decision. This gives the event its own momentum and makes everything else move faster.

One study after another has reflected this truth. For instance, an Exhibitor Magazine survey showed that more than three-quarters of companies felt that trade shows gave them their very best opportunity to check out products they hadn't used before, and that a significant percentage intended to make a buying decision at the show. And in fact, several respondents who hadn't planned on making a purchase ended up doing so.

Trade shows are a great place to be selling because they give an environment where customers want to buy. So long as you can match their mood and build their enthusiasm, you'll be in a great position to close dozens of new orders.

Pullout: Trade Show Discounts

Along with all the reasons people come to trade shows ready to buy, there's one more that I haven't mentioned yet: the prospect of big discounts.

There are a few reasons for this, not the least of which is habit. Those of us who have been to dozens of trade shows over the decades know that they used to be a great place to get special pricing on just about anything; if you're looking for a rock-bottom deal, the exhibitor booths have traditionally been the place to find it. Besides, weak salespeople have been teaching customers to demand and expect price breaks – regardless of the setting – for a long time, so you shouldn't be surprised if your prospects are being quoted lower numbers by your competitors.

What all this means is that you should expect potential customers are going to be trying hard to wear you down on prices. There are two important things to keep in mind: Come prepared and keep selling the right way. In the first case, talk to your sales manager or department director about the best way to handle discounts. It's likely that they'll have a plan in place and let you know how flexible the company is willing to be.

And then, remember the cardinal rule: Fight price with value. Prospects wouldn’t be talking to you if they weren’t interested in buying; by asking for discounts, what they're really saying is that they want to buy but think they can get you to agree to something less than you quoted. In most cases, they'll end up buying regardless of the price, so be sure to emphasize the long-term benefits of buying from you over a small percentage in savings now.

Naturally, there will likely be exceptions to this advice. It could be that your company has decided to offer special trade show pricing as an incentive to close new business before you leave town. Or, you could be offering heavy discounts on discontinued product lines or floor models that would have to be shipped back to a warehouse. In any of those cases, trade shows can be a win-win situation for bargain hunters – many of whom will wait until the last few hours of the show to approach you.

In general, however, you should treat your customer’s request for a discount the same way you would on any other day: very carefully. It's not easy to say no and risk giving up a commission, but low margins can and will ruin your business. Remember that your company might be spending hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions, on the trade show exhibition. Don't give away the profit on that just because someone asks you to.

Henry, Carl. Trade Show Selling: How to Make a Year's Worth of Sales in a Few Days or Less. Unknown. Kindle Edition.