I know… you are sick and tired of Tebow.  Yet, over 2 weeks after his last game of the year in which his team was never in the game, Tim Tebow is still one of the top trending searches on Google.

There are several things we can learn about marketing our brand and message from watching Tebow and the way he presents himself.

1. Tim Tebow is real.  He is an open book, sometimes too open.  But the fact that we know exactly where he is coming from and we can compare that to his actions, force us to pay attention.  It is that “reality tv drama” effect that is so captivating.
2. Tim Tebow is sincere.  His walk backs up his talk.  Whether we agree or disagree with him, there is no doubting his sincerity in his words and actions.
3. Tim Tebow is passionate.  He is driven and focused with incredible discipline.  He rarely appears off message and never sends out a conflicting image or message.
4. Tim Tebow is demonstrative.  He has cemented images in our mind that embrace his message.  His faith is his foundation and the platform from which he does everything.  Say Tebow and you immediately think of “Tebowing” – the pose – which encapsulates his message.
5. Tim Tebow is continuously telling his story.  From “Tebowing” to the black eye paint with Bible verses, he is always on message and repeating his story.  Football is a tool for him.  There is a bigger agenda and goal and he uses everything at his disposal to tell his story.  Repeatedly.

So how do your marketing programs stack up?

Are they real and sincere?  Can people feel the passion from your representatives throughout the organization?  How do you demonstrate your message?  What images pop into your client’s mind when thinking of your company?  How consistent is the look & feel of your image? And how does your look and feel tie to the messages you are sending out in your marketing and your trade show displays?

Tim Tebow is a model of consistency, determination, and focus on the image and message with an genuine understanding of the total picture.  How would our results be impacted if we implemented our programs with the same drive and focus?

Photo credit to http://www.flickr.com/photos/denverjeffrey/5040576290/  

To integrate Tebow’s branding style with your trade show exhibiting plan, read the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper. This report tells you the most effective strategies and tactics exhibitors are using today in their trade show marketing efforts.  Click here to request your free copy.

You will see our booth just as you enter the exhibit hall.

Skyline would love to see you in our booth, #1325, at EXHIBITOR2012, March 5 to 7, 2012 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It promises to be an excellent show.

Many exhibit marketers have renewed their strong trade show schedules, and are looking to expand their booth spaces to take advantage of the face-to-face nature of trade shows.

But because our industry tends to lag the economic cycle, there are also exhibit marketers attending EXHIBITOR2012 who are in expansion mode, just now making up for the reductions they made during the downturn.

But all exhibitors have adjusted to the new reality:  They need a responsive exhibit partner who can augment their smaller team, boost their trade show results, all the while maximizing their highly scrutinized budget.

We look forward to meeting with exhibit marketers who attend the show, to demonstrate how we can help enhance their exhibiting success.  If you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206 when registering.

5 Reasons To Visit Skyline At EXHIBITOR2012:

Free Trade Show Seminars

Skyline will host 12 “bite-sized” seminars in our booth.  You can get the best nuggets on insights about 6 popular trade show topics such as promotions, social media, booth staffing, exhibit design, and more.  We will present each 10-minute session twice during the show, every hour on the hour that the show hall is open.

Here’s our free seminar schedule (you may want to print it and take it with you to the show):

Expert Advice
After each seminar we will take Q&A from the audience, answering questions about the session topic or any trade show or marketing questions you have. You can also visit the booth at any time to talk with our experienced staff.

Useful, Elegant Gifts
Attendees to our seminars will receive a cool, aluminum-clad notebook.  The elegant notebooks give you a place to jot ideas and reactions to our seminars.  The aluminum covers also evoke the clean, elegant look of our metal exhibit systems.

Chocolate
To complement our “bite-sized” seminars we’re offering bite-sized chocolates.  Stop by anytime during the show when you need a boost, and get a crunchy, creamy nugget of Ferrero Rocher chocolate.

Meet With A Trusted Exhibiting Partner
Whether you are an existing Skyline customer wanting to see what’s new, or an exhibit marketer looking for new ways to achieve trade show success, you can request a meeting with us.  Just click here to ask for a date and time to meet, or stop by to visit us in booth 1325.

Trade shows are a valuable marketing medium.   But they’re also hard work.  You need help you can depend on to succeed.  We hope to see you at our booth at EXHIBITOR2012.

Again, if you need a free pass to the exhibit hall, click here, and enter in promo code 4206.

Lounges have tremendous momentum in the design of trade show exhibit spaces and special events. Dedicated sitting spaces are now an integral part of design directives.  These areas are resolute in providing a communicative approach to information exchange and information gathering.  In today’s era of viral marketing and virtual interacting, it is a featured highlight of face-to-face marketing.

It only makes sense to promote the right kind of atmospheric conditions that foster conversation when 46% of executive decision makers make purchase decisions while attending a show, 51% of executive decision makers request that a sales representative visit their company after the show and, get this, 95% of the executive decision makers meet with their current suppliers at a trade show.   And a lounge does exactly that.  It is a luxurious conclave ground where the talent meets the target.

If you have a smaller trade show booth space (20′x20′ or so) and if you find the above statistics valuable, you might want to think about a club design layout. However, if you have a larger space you might want to pledge a portion of it to an elegant setting with flamboyant and interesting furniture that speaks to the sensuality of the limbic system. The lounge inside your space is a grand setting for showcasing your latest innovation.  50% of trade show attendees want to see “What’s New” in products and services. 90% of the trade show attendees have not been called upon (face-to-face) by any company exhibiting at the show in the 12 months prior to the event.

Why not make the experience delightful?

Research from Cap, Gemini, Ernst and Young states that “Consumers don’t differentiate retailers by their value propositions.”  This means brands don’t distinguish themselves by having unique products or services as much as they do by the experience they present.  A memorable experience is one that thrills or excites customers and prospects.  As kids we thrived on thrills.  We remember our first touch down.  We remember our first voyage on Pirates of the Caribbean.  We remember our first Festival of Colors.  As adults, we continue to seek thrills in our professional and personal worlds.  ”We want the thrill of getting high response rates to a direct marketing campaign; the thrill of exceeding our sales quotas; of earning that next job promotion in record time.  Businesses that understand what excites their customers are those that stand to gain higher levels of customer loyalty, no matter the challenges their markets face.”  Jeanette McMurtry, MBA

Lounging in cappuccino and hot pink is all about the ideal setting that piques the thrill of what’s new and exciting in a monotonous day-to-day survival.  Next time as you plan your space, think about the ways that you can distinguish yourself in those precious moments of interaction that we call face-to-face marketing in the hyper-competitive marketing world of business-to-business.

Want more great ideas on creating the best exhibiting space? Read the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper.  This 32-page book has almost 100 tips, including exhibit design as well as budgeting, promotions, measuring ROI and more.  Click here to request your free copy.   

A trade show takes a significant amount of a company’s marketing budget so it’s important to make the most of the opportunity. The payoff can be higher and quicker than many other marketing channels. Winning at trade shows depends greatly upon the work done in advance.

• Investigate the Show.  When you are choosing which trade shows to attend do a little homework.  Find out how long the show has been in existence, the past attendance numbers, the number of vendors, and the advertising planned by the show management.  If possible, talk with other companies who have participated in the past and get their reviews.
• Picking the Booth Space.  Ask early for a floor plan so you can see which booths are available along the center of the show floor.  You can have the best displays and products in the world, but if you are tucked away in a corner you may become the show’s best kept secret.  Don’t wait until the last minute to reserve your space; the best locations will go quickly.
• Advance Marketing.  Take advantage of advertising opportunities offered by the show management, but don’t leave all of the advertising up to them.  Make certain you let all customers & prospects know of your plans to exhibit at the show by pre-show marketing.  A drip campaign is often successful, using several channels, such as e-mail, direct mail, personal invites from sales staff & more.
• Get the Attendee List.  Most shows provide an advance list of registered attendees for the show.  Cross-check the list with your own database to find which customers are attending.  Then segment the list by company size, geographic location or assigned sales rep.  Use the list in your pre-show marketing efforts to drive booth traffic.
• Strategically Plan Your Exhibit.  Don’t try to cram every product detail on your trade show booth graphics – your brochures should contain all of that information.  Any trade show exhibit should quickly tell a prospective customer 1.) who you are, 2.) what you do and 3.) how you can help them.  Consider what needs to happen in the space to meet & exceed your trade show goals.  For more ideas on designing a trade show exhibit, check out my blog posts on “What Transforms a Trade Show Exhibit into an Experience” and “How to Get the Most Value from Your Trade Show Display Purchase”.
• Use Technology to Enhance Your Presentation.  Light, motion and color attract attention, so use this to your benefit.  Depending on your product or service, you may want to include interactive presentations, videos or live demonstrations in your trade show exhibit.  The more involved your visitors are, the more likely they will be to remember you later.
• Collect Information.  Have a system in place to get the names and email addresses of all your guests and follow up with every guest after the event.  There are many technologies available which collect more information than a traditional badge scanner.  At least get a clipboard to handwrite notes!
• Follow-thru!  When the show ends, your marketing campaign isn’t over.  79% of leads generated at trade shows are not followed up afterwards (ceir.org) — what a waste!  Follow-through by continuing the marketing campaign and ensure that sales reps keep in contact with prospects they’ve met at the show.

Are you winning when it comes to trade shows?  Get more of the most effective strategies and tactics exhibitors are using today to boost their results by reading the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper.  To request your free copy, click here. 

Sorry, we’re not going to be talking about how to fix your love life in this post. However, there are a lot of similarities in getting the attention of a potential mate and getting the attention of a trade show attendee. You only have a few seconds to convey your message and attract those passing by.  And, unlike Craig’s List,  there is no “Missed Connection” section on a trade show’s website.

Compared to many international trade shows, U.S. shows have relatively short show hours and fewer show days.  This means that most attendees don’t have a lot of time to spend with any one particular trade show booth.  They will try to hit as many booths as they can. Oftentimes, there are other events associated with a show that attendees are also visiting.  In short, there is a lot of competition for attendee’s attention and you don’t have a lot of time to impress them.

Most U.S. shows have badges or name tags, often color-coded to quickly identify who is who, containing all of our information that can be scanned and exchanged quickly.  Attendees spend about 1-3 minutes at each station and move to the next one.  If you feel there is a connection or potential to do business you may exchange contact information. Sound familiar?  It’s sort of like speed dating!

So how do you effectively grab the attention of a passing attendee?

1. Use Eye Contact to Initiate a Conversation:

Check out my previous post on the Power of Eye Contact.  Making solid eye contact and simply initiating contact with an attendee is the first step.  Use engaging phrases, or “pick-up lines.”  My favorite one?  “Hi.” Just as simple as that!

In case that’s not your style, here are a few more:

“So what brings you to the show?”

“Are you looking for anything specific here at the show?”

If they are noticing something specific about your trade show exhibit, ask “What do you think about product X or product Y?”

2. Engage and Qualify Them:  

Now that you have their attention you need to pique their interest and qualify them as a potential lead.  This means asking a few questions and  getting them to provide as much information as possible.  You might not be able to spend a lot of time with this person so you want to make sure that if you or someone else follows up with them after the show, they will have all of the information that they need.  Ask them if they have tried your product or know your company.  Ask them what they thought of the current product or service they are using — what do they like or dislike about it?  Take a lot of clear notes, as this is valuable information that will help you reestablish the connection that you’ve created during the follow up.

2. Exchange information and Determine a Next Step:  

Now that you have engaged and qualified them, determine what the next step is and make sure you both know what that is going to be. Get their contact information so you don’t leave it up to them to follow up. Think of it this way: they are the bombshell that is getting approached by every guy in the bar.  Chances are, they just might not remember you.  Don’t take it personally though – they will be talking to a lot of people over the course of the show.  If you will personally be following up with them after the show, give them your contact information.  If someone else will be doing the follow up, let the attendee know you will be passing along all of the information you have and they will be contacted by someone else soon.

Remember, your company has spent a lot of time and money for you to be at the show and each attendee that walks by your booth could be an opportunity to make a connection.

85% of your trade show success depends on your booth staff. To ensure you’re making the most of every opportunity they have, read the Booth Staffing Guidebook.  Click here to request your free copy of the 48-page book filled with insightful articles, worksheets, and checklists.

Imagine this:  You had a great show, with a flood of booth visitors and a pile of leads.  And yet after the show, your fine effort fizzled into nothing because your hard-earned leads sat gathering dust atop someone else’s desk.

Lead management is the least visible, yet most important final stage of your trade show marketing.  To help you bring this essential step into the light, here are the 10 best tips that I’ve gleaned over the last two decades:

• Seek to get not just leads, but qualified leads, so that your field sales force will value them and follow up.
• Train your staffers to qualify leads at the show according to high, medium, and low qualified levels, and then label them as A, B, or C leads.
• Do more lead follow up!  Have a lead fulfillment plan prepared before the show starts.
• Don’t rely on just a business card from trade show booth visitors: Have a lead card or electronic lead retrieval system so you have enough space to record details on your booth visitors’ wants and needs.
• Do more lead follow up!  Get your sales and marketing management to stress the importance of lead follow up — and even put some teeth into repercussions if they aren’t.
• Have one person responsible for lead fulfillment, data entry into your CRM database, and lead transfer to sales.
• Do more lead follow up!  Build more frequent touches with leads after the show (via calls, emails, or mailers).
• Prepare before the show to be able to quickly send fulfillment right after the show — even during the show. Include in the process the ability to customize fulfillment to include what the visitor specifically asked for.
• Do more lead follow up!  Check in regularly with your reps to report on lead progress.
• Watch out for the critical link that is too often broken:  What booth visitors reveal to your booth staffer and what your booth staffer responds is not passed on to the field sales rep, which causes lack of motivation for lead follow up and frustration with the booth visitor.

So much of good lead management starts with proper preparation of your booth staffers.  Yet what happens after the show is just as important — but gets less attention once the urgency of the show is over.

I hope you enact some of these 10 tips and get even more value from your trade show leads.  Your company has invested so much to get them — make sure you succeed at this critical final step.

This article is one of a series on Top 10 Tips for various key trade show topics:

> Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Promotions

> Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Exhibit Design

> Top 10 Tips For Trade Show Booth Staffing

Lead management is just one piece of the puzzle for successful trade shows.  Read the What’s Working In Exhibiting white paper to find out more tips and tricks to get the most out of your exhibiting experience.  Click here to request your free copy.