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Get the Most From Your Home Show Booth
Involve your vendors, make an impact and generate leads.
Boston-based Elite Media Solutions exhibited at the Residential Design and Construction (RDC), attended by architects, interior designers and builders.
Although they may not be as popular as they were during the housing boom, home shows, renovation shows, and other consumer-focused trade shows are still happening at convention centers in your marketplace.
Putting on a booth at a home show can be hit or miss. I know some CE pros love doing them, while others hate them. Over the years, I've worked my share of show booths.
While it's not my favorite business activity by a long shot, there's an effective process required in order to make the most of it.
Regardless of your initial feelings, like any venture, you need to at least consider doing a home show. I would even argue that now is a better time than ever to work a show, since consumers who attend them today might be the ones you want to meet: the ones with cash in their pockets.
Time is money, and for that matter, money is money. Planning and executing a home show booth will cost you both. Consequently, you need to focus on important details in order to win enough business to justify the expense. Here are some tips.
You should already know about sharing marketing costs with your vendors through co-op advertising dollars.
While some vendors are more enthusiastic about it than others, many vendors have marketing dollars they'll give you for things like home shows, provided that you can present your rep with a sensible marketing plan.
Of course, they'll expect you to heavily promote their brand in addition to your own. Getting a financial commitment of 50 percent or more of the cost to do the show is well worth it.
The best booths make a branding statement. A show attendee should know in a heartbeat what your business is. In the next heartbeat, you need to excite them.
With big screen TVs and big speakers, that shouldn't be hard.
But remember to keep it simple. Booth clutter is ugly and distracting and will cost your business. You don't need every single size of flat panel on display.
My preference is to create a room setting, focus on a few key products, and generate an inviting, exciting atmosphere in your booth.
I still spend a lot of time at home shows, either consulting with dealers, or just going to network and have fun.
Walking the halls, I scrutinize booths, and I see two kinds of booth people working them: ones who are obviously friendly, happy salespeople and quiet, often grumpy people trying to hide at the back of the booth.
You're there for a reason: to meet new prospects, and drum up leads. Obviously you want your friendliest, happiest staff working the booth, fully engaging with passers-by and prospective clients.
Yet some companies forget this and stick their bookkeeper or floor sweeper in the booth. Why?
Leads are the whole point of being at a home show. So how do you do it? Many companies use a free draw for a prize as a way to get names, addresses and phone numbers from prospects. I disagree.
In reality, show goers fall into two basic groups: prize hunters who fill out a ballot at every booth and have no interest in your services, and those who won't fill out ballots because they don't want to be cold called by you.
Cold calling thousands of people is a complete waste of time, and mailing a brochure to those same people is a waste of money.
You want quality leads, not quantity.
This is exactly why you need your salespeople working the booth: they know how to find quality leads in conversation with passers-by. If they do their job with show goers -- generating interest and taking names and numbers for future follow up -- you'll get better warm leads and a better closing ratio than just assaulting everyone who left their name at your booth.
Doing a home show is a marketing expense, so you need to spend it wisely. You want to get new business in return.
There's a lot of hard work involved in preparing for and executing a booth, but stay on point, plan your work, work your plan, and you'll make it work for you.
Lee Distad is a freelance CEDIA Certified Professional Designer who offers design and process consultation to firms in the Custom Installation industry, as well as copy writing and other professional writing services. Lee’s business and industry blog can be read at http://www.leedistad.com
Putting on a booth at a home show can be hit or miss. I know some CE pros love doing them, while others hate them. Over the years, I've worked my share of show booths.
While it's not my favorite business activity by a long shot, there's an effective process required in order to make the most of it.
Regardless of your initial feelings, like any venture, you need to at least consider doing a home show. I would even argue that now is a better time than ever to work a show, since consumers who attend them today might be the ones you want to meet: the ones with cash in their pockets.
Time is money, and for that matter, money is money. Planning and executing a home show booth will cost you both. Consequently, you need to focus on important details in order to win enough business to justify the expense. Here are some tips.
Involve Your Vendors
You should already know about sharing marketing costs with your vendors through co-op advertising dollars.
While some vendors are more enthusiastic about it than others, many vendors have marketing dollars they'll give you for things like home shows, provided that you can present your rep with a sensible marketing plan.
Of course, they'll expect you to heavily promote their brand in addition to your own. Getting a financial commitment of 50 percent or more of the cost to do the show is well worth it.
Make An Impact, Simply
The best booths make a branding statement. A show attendee should know in a heartbeat what your business is. In the next heartbeat, you need to excite them.
With big screen TVs and big speakers, that shouldn't be hard.
But remember to keep it simple. Booth clutter is ugly and distracting and will cost your business. You don't need every single size of flat panel on display.
My preference is to create a room setting, focus on a few key products, and generate an inviting, exciting atmosphere in your booth.
Man Your Booth With Extroverts
I still spend a lot of time at home shows, either consulting with dealers, or just going to network and have fun.
Walking the halls, I scrutinize booths, and I see two kinds of booth people working them: ones who are obviously friendly, happy salespeople and quiet, often grumpy people trying to hide at the back of the booth.
You're there for a reason: to meet new prospects, and drum up leads. Obviously you want your friendliest, happiest staff working the booth, fully engaging with passers-by and prospective clients.
Yet some companies forget this and stick their bookkeeper or floor sweeper in the booth. Why?
Generate Leads
Leads are the whole point of being at a home show. So how do you do it? Many companies use a free draw for a prize as a way to get names, addresses and phone numbers from prospects. I disagree.
In reality, show goers fall into two basic groups: prize hunters who fill out a ballot at every booth and have no interest in your services, and those who won't fill out ballots because they don't want to be cold called by you.
Cold calling thousands of people is a complete waste of time, and mailing a brochure to those same people is a waste of money.
You want quality leads, not quantity.
This is exactly why you need your salespeople working the booth: they know how to find quality leads in conversation with passers-by. If they do their job with show goers -- generating interest and taking names and numbers for future follow up -- you'll get better warm leads and a better closing ratio than just assaulting everyone who left their name at your booth.
Doing a home show is a marketing expense, so you need to spend it wisely. You want to get new business in return.
There's a lot of hard work involved in preparing for and executing a booth, but stay on point, plan your work, work your plan, and you'll make it work for you.
Lee Distad is a freelance CEDIA Certified Professional Designer who offers design and process consultation to firms in the Custom Installation industry, as well as copy writing and other professional writing services. Lee’s business and industry blog can be read at http://www.leedistad.com
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