Making the Most of Trade Shows, Expos, and Conferences

I spent a few days last week at an expo and a separate conference and, as always, was surprised at how few exhibitors and speakers had properly prepared for success. And that was just from my surface observations.

Although this isn’t an exhaustive list of possible preparations and actions, simply following these few key items would have made for a much more successful event for many of the companies that spent plenty of time and money to be in these shows. Here’s my short list of tips:

:: Decide what you want out of the show/expo/conference at the beginning of your planning, then create targeted actions based on your strategy. Capturing every attendee’s business card for a TV giveaway isn’t necessarily a good idea if your target audience is a small segment of those in attendance.

:: Give passers-by a reason to engage with the people at your booth. Far too many people set a table up at the front of the booth and sit behind it. Bad idea. Be accessible. Getting people out of the flow of traffic in the aisles into your booth can bring much better results in most cases.

:: Have a 3-second pitch to stop qualified attendees in their tracks. “How you doing?” isn’t what I’m talking about, either. At one show I helped a client prepare for, their pitch was this simple question: “Did your company have to fire more than 10 employees last year?” Everything about their booth asked this question and drew people in. They only talked to their target audience (HR managers with pain points surrounding employee turnover due to performance problems). The quality of their leads was impressive. No, they didn’t leave the show with the 1,500 business cards the people in the neighboring booth had; but they did leave with a few hundred qualified leads with whom they had meaningful conversations and specific follow-up agreements. They didn’t have to wade through the looky-loos to get to the serious prospects after the show.

:: Follow up. I’ve gone so far as to create business cards with specific, trackable contact information on them to give to exhibitors at events just to see how the follow-up is handled. Sadly, by far the majority of vendors never follow up at all. Why do the show and gather the information if you’re not going to proactively use it after the show?

Having a complete plan that addresses strategies and activities before, during, and after trade shows, expos, and conferences will help you meet the right people and achieve your desired results. Maybe I’ll write a book on this topic some day. For now, I hope these tips are helpful.

Here’s to your live event success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Nike’s and Wayne Gretzky’s Advice

For years, I’ve appreciate Nike’s tag line that tells us to “Just Do It.”

This past week, I’ve encountered a number of situations with clients, cohorts, and myself in which the answer has been, “Just Do It.” What a refreshing reminder! When we let doubt, fear, or any other obstacle keep us from getting out there and making our mark, we rob ourselves of the success we’re seeking.

Not sure if a campaign is ready to roll out? Just test it! Don’t know if the question you’re going to ask will lead that prospect to make a purchasing decision? Just ask it! Whatever the next step is you need to take to get your marketing results to the next level…Just do it!

Gather your team. Define what your company needs right now to move forward. Don’t focus on obstacles, but instead see solutions. Then act. Famed hockey legend Wayne Gretzky says it best when he reminds us that we miss 100% of the shots we never take. Take that shot.

Today is my day. How about you?

Here’s to your marketing success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

The Paradox of Superior Client Service

Consider these two statements:
“No one can be everything to everyone.”
“The customer is always right.”

We’ve heard both these statements many times. Most of us will agree that these two notions each have merit. But if they are both true, how can we offer great service to our clients?

If we spend our time creating one-off solutions for the exacting needs of each client, we can’t be efficient. If we don’t meet our clients’ desires, however, we won’t have a business very long. Where do we win?

Somewhere between a strict, cookie-cutter approach to the way we do what we do and an attitude of bending any direction possible on the whim of every prospect and client lies a place where we can be defined in what we do, yet still be flexible enough to meet our clients’ needs.

Rather than offer up specific solutions on this point, I’d like to begin a conversation. How do you balance the need for consistency with the requirement of meeting clients’ demands? How can we create a model in which some customization of products or services is part of how we do business without creating a resource overload?

I invite you to share your experiences, insights, and further questions on this topic below. We all have much to share from our own experiences. Let your experience benefit others.

Here’s to our collaborative success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

When Desperation Pays Off

Any business owner who has spent any amount of time around me has heard me say, “No…that makes you look desperate,” in response to ad copy, a sales pitch, or some other effort to close a deal or bring in business. No one wants to look desperate. And with rare exception does anyone want to work with someone who is desperate. It’s typically just not good business.

But what if you truly are desperate? The good news is, you may be in luck.

While appearing desperate is almost never good, handling desperation creatively and aggressively can actually pay off in a big way. Here’s why.

When we’re in our comfort zone, we don’t want to risk making a mistake and losing what we have. We tend, in general, to become less aggressive in the way we think and, therefore, the way we act. As money tightens up, clients leave us, or other situations arise that take us out of our comfort zone, we become more willing to stretch ourselves and try new avenues to get back where we want to be.

In reflecting on the highs and lows of my career, I’ve realized that what I (and most people) would consider to be my high points were actually nothing more than the times when I’ve had the most clients, made the most money, or had the most toys. The more I’ve pondered my path and experiences along the way, the more I’ve realized my real highs—the times I’ve been the most creative, aggressive, passionate, driven—have been when I’m “down.” Interesting.

If we step back from the popular view that being successful is directly correlated to money, and instead tie our success to innovation and the good we do for those we serve, the only thing keeping us from success is ourselves. Yes, there may be a period of time during the learning curve when money may be scarce. This is true in any pursuit. But a firm belief in this principle will always result in a match between needs and resources.

So, if desperation is at our doorstep…if we genuinely have nothing to lose…we may be in the best place of all. No mistake will take us further down. No misstep will cause us to lose what we have (because we have nothing). At this moment, we can look at someone who has successfully taken a direction we never thought we could travel because of our limitations. We can formulate our plan. And we can act on it without reservation. After all, we have nothing to lose.

In a strange twist of irony, it’s at these moments so many of us seem to perform best. This is when we look the most confident to others. Our desperation positively charges our efforts and makes us what we should have been when we were “up.”

The challenge after realizing this truth is to harness our ability to act boldly when we don’t feel the pressure of imminent destruction closing in on us. Only in this way can we remain far from the cliff’s edge and consistently continue our ascent to higher pinnacles of success.

Here’s to your confident success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

How to Ensure Your Success (in one proven step)

I have some bad news: I’m dying. But I have some even worse news: You’re dying, too.

Recently, I’ve observed reminders all around me of our unstoppable progression toward an inevitable end of our days in business, our physical abilities to serve others, and our mortality. But don’t jump ahead of me. This isn’t a message of gloom, but rather one of exuberance!

Businesses die. People die. But despite these unavoidable facts, we each have the opportunity to make a positive difference before these times come. My father used to say, “Make hay while the sun shines.” That’s what I’m talking about.

As important as “making hay” may be, the reasons why we’re doing it are even more important. Of course, we each need money to live. That’s a given. There are many ways to make money, however. Some make a positive difference in the lives of others, and some do not.

It all comes down to adding value to the lives and situations of others. If what we do for a living enhances lives, creates jobs, helps businesses and people succeed at what is important to them, and so on, we’re adding value. We will be personally fulfilled and we’ll make the money we need.

By contrast, when we’re making money but not adding true value to the lives of others, we don’t find sincere personal fulfillment despite the fact we may have a fat wallet. I would submit in this scenario, we are not genuinely successful. And, of course, if we’re not adding value and not making money…well, it’s definitely time for a serious assessment.

I’ve watched friends and acquaintances travel both directions on this road. Some move from working hard to add value to taking the easy road of hollow and meaningless profiteering, while others have caught the vision of the importance of always adding value to the lives of their vendors, employees, and clients--thrusting forward and upward to new and better heights.

Take some time to step back and assess your situation. How can you add even more value to what you offer? How can working with you bring more fulfillment to the lives and situations of your target audience and others with whom you associate in business?

If you are vigilant in making this your ongoing focus, I can promise you without reservation you’ll find every success you desire. My sincere thanks to those who have molded me over the years and helped me see this reality.

Here’s to your value-building success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Winning Customers and Clients by Owning Our Mistakes and Shortcomings

I recently returned from being out of town with a couple of clients. Over the course of two days, we were in a number of meetings, large and small, with clients, prospects, and joint-venture partners. After a group meeting the first morning, one of my clients went to lunch with a large group, while I and my other client went to lunch privately. (I just have to throw in here that we found an amazing little Thai restaurant just west of downtown L.A. It was nothing to look at, but the food…Wow! And the proprietor was the neatest lady you’d ever want to meet.)

When we rejoined the others after our heavenly meal, we discovered their lunch experience hadn’t been the pleasurable one in which we had basked. They had gone to a well-known, semi-pricey place near the Staples Center downtown. They ordered their food, then visited for 90 minutes before their lunches began coming out. By this time, they needed to leave to get to their scheduled appointments.

Not only had my client’s lunch showed up extremely late, it was ice (literally) cold. It appeared the “grilled” chicken had come directly out of a freezer and not even been warmed. Everyone got their lunches packed in to-go boxes and left…not at all pleased with their experience.

The two gentlemen who had organized this lunch group felt terrible and offered to pay for everyone’s lunch--a bill of somewhere around $650. They then went to the manager to explain the situation to see if the establishment wanted to own up to its shortcomings and give them a discount. When they finished sharing their story, the manager apologized sincerely and told them lunch was on him. The entire bill was covered.

The gentlemen were shocked!

What had developed into an unpleasant, uncomfortable situation for the people in that party (most of whom were very upset and swore they would never set foot into the establishment again), was immediately reversed as all were pleasantly surprised at this gesture of genuinely going the extra mile to make things right. While there were some conversations that afternoon about the less-than-acceptable dining experience, the bigger point was everyone’s disbelief that the manager so readily owned up to his staff’s mistakes and did the only thing he could at that point to try to make amends.

There are two morals to this story: 1.) We all stand prepared to receive much-deserved complements when we perform well for our clients. We should be equally prepared to take the heat when we fall short. 2.) A mom-and-pop Thai restaurant is almost always a good bet.

Here’s to your client satisfaction success!

Bryan Waldon Pope

Great, Free Template for Managing Marketing Campaigns and Activities

A new year is upon us, and with it comes the need to make sure our plans are in place to make it the best year possible. An important tool for making this happen is a functional marketing campaign calendar.

For years, I’ve kept mine in a word processing document with monthly headers and activities chronologically listed for each month. There are two problems with this approach:

1. Activities that span multiple days require entry on each of those days manually.

2. This list approach doesn’t give me a very good vision of how activities correspond.

I found a great, free template for Excel that takes care of the problem. The file covers the whole year, with each month being on its own sheet. I can enter an activity once, then stretch it to cover multiple days if necessary. Perhaps best of all, I can assign preparatory tasks, execution activities, and follow up efforts in different colors so I can quickly differentiate them.

Since I’m color blind, I use orange for tasks that need to be accomplished in preparation for upcoming campaigns, green for activities that relate to campaigns being executed, and blue for efforts tied to follow-up on prior campaigns. These are three colors that stand apart well for me. Now, whether we’re talking about a campaign, event, or other marketing activity, I can quickly and clearly see what’s on my plate for any given month. I love it!

The template is available at no cost at cnet (download.com), a highly trusted resource: Cnet Download Page

I hope you find this template and my comments helpful in planning and executing your marketing this year.

If you have ways you plan, track, and execute your marketing that may be helpful to others, we’d love to hear them! Just comment below.

Here’s to your 2011 marketing success!

Bryan Waldon Pope