Are you getting the most from your trade show booth?

Posted: June 23, 2016 | Categories: Sales

In coaching sales teams, the subject of participating in trade shows often comes up.  Some companies count on trade shows to generate a substantial portion of their revenue.  Others say trade shows are a waste of time.  Clearly, there are many factors that contribute to a profitable trade show booth.  Today I heard a story that illustrates one of the most winning combinations:  Asking good questions and listening to the responses.

Last week, my client was working a trade show booth at a large event.  There were two people operating the booth next to him.  He couldn’t help but listen to how they approached their booth visitors.  There styles were very different.  One person was low-key.  The other was pretty hyped up.  When a person or group approached Mr. Low Key, he began asking them questions.  Soon, he knew if they were a true prospect.  He also determined the positions of everyone, and their role in decision making.  He ended up collecting 14 business cards for the entire day.

Now let’s talk about Mr. Hype:  He didn’t ask questions, and it was apparent that his goal was to see how many business cards he could collect.  He got 300!  What a rock star!

At the end of the day, Mr. Low Key had left, and Mr. Hype was all by himself.  Mr. Hype called his boss and said:  “I really killed it.  I got over 300 leads.  That partner you set me up with?  He only got 14.  What a dud!”  My client said he was very tempted to walk over to him and say, “You know something?   I have listened to you all day.  If I were your boss, I would much rather have your partner’s 14 leads than your stack of 300 business cards”

Mr. Low Key knew the most difficult and important part of selling:  Asking good questions and listening.  Have you ever heard the story of the “Hare and the Tortoise?”

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