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ASK
OUR EXPERTS...
I recently took my business to a tradeshow but I sold
very little product. What should I do to sell more items?
By Donna Dahl of MaKoYe Marketing
There are many reasons why exhibitors take their businesses to a
tradeshow. Selling product is just one reason. What is often forgotten in
the art and science of sales is that visitors will buy relationships first
and product second. When your visitor makes a connection with you on an
emotional level, there is a greater likelihood that your visitor will make a
purchase. Your goal is to make that happen in condensed time.
Many vendors find there are three basic parts to condensed product promotion
at a tradeshow: Connecting, Engaging and Asking. Connecting happens with
something as basic as making eye contact and it is quick! Engagement happens
when you are able to begin a conversation with your passerby. Some find it
difficult to talk to strangers; others find it very easy. Practice helps.
Add a few pointers sharing your knowledge about the value of the product and
then ask the visitor to make a purchase. The visitor that declines? Request
a reason. Learn from the experience. The visitor that accepts? Learn from
your customer. Ask what attracted them to the product.
Signs can make or break your exhibit. Not enough signs may mean you will
lose potential customers. Why? They could not see your sign to read your
invitation. On the other hand, too many signs will make your booth too busy.
Passers-by will go into sign-denial. Professionally-made signs suggest you
have invested in yourself and the chances are that you will invest in your
customer, too. If you believe your signs are fine, consider changing your
merchandise displays.
You may be getting more sales from the tradeshow than you first thought.
Wait at least three months to do your final tally of sales that you directly
attribute to the show. Then calculate a separate category. Track those sales
which you have attracted either indirectly or as referrals or as repeat
business as a result of “tradeshow-ing.”
Shopping is what I do with a grocery list. As a visitor, I rarely take a
list to a tradeshow. Shopping is work. “Playing” in the stores is not. I
visit a tradeshow to “play” in the portable stores. I want to experience and
learn what I may not otherwise discover when I am shopping from my list at
the grocery store. What can you offer the tradeshow adventurer in me?
For more advice on tradeshow marketing, contact Donna Dahl of MaKoYe
Marketing at 403.720.9876, email
donna@makoye.com or visit
www.makoye.com
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