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Tips To Close Tough Customers In Sales At Your Next Trade Show

Closing tough customers in sales could be a tough nut to crack, pun intended, but if you do find yourself up against such customers at a trade show, would you just give in? Or would you rather put up a brave front and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat? Take your pick!

Dealing With The Customers At A Trade Show

No two customers are alike. While some are a pleasure to deal with, others could give you a hard time. We have all come across customers who try to push us around or engage us in what seem like never-ending conversations. Not to mention the bullies – the worst kind! You can’t really get a sale out of them, or can you? It all depends on how good you are at turning the tables. This may help:

1. Do not succumb to pressure: Don’t let them get the better of you. If you speed up the meeting or try and adopt a different approach at the last minute because they are making you do so, there’s no way out. Stick to your script, and before you know, they’ll come around. And yes, it is okay to feel scared or get nervous, but the customers don’t have to find out, now do they? Well, they better not!

2. Don’t let the guard down: You may be dealing with the worst of the lot, but if they are at your trade show booth, talking to you, chances are that they are keen on buying whatever it is that you are selling. Now that’s what we call a silver lining. Don’t take anything personally, and just do what you are there for – close a sale. Keeping your emotions in check or the lack thereof could be the difference between success and failure.

3. Get them to talk about what they want: You have your elevator pitch ready and are waiting for the customers to arrive and bombard them with information, but what if they are simply not interested in listening to what you have to say? Just because they choose to walk in, doesn’t necessarily mean they are all ears. Some of them prefer to talk. Grab the opportunity. Get them to talk about their challenges and make them see your products or services as the perfect solutions.

4. Develop an understanding of their priorities: Are there any short term objectives that they want to accomplish? Is there a way to align your products to these objectives? If that’s a yes, the ball is in your court. Do what a good salesman does. Create an urgency and get them to commit.

5. Find out if they are serious: Some customers may commit just for the sake of it. Unless they are serious about resolving the challenges, they’ll be the first ones to bail out on you. Don’t get played.

Sometimes, it may help to rise to their tone. This is tricky though. They’d either back down or take offence and engage in an argument. Tread carefully. The idea is to get them to buy your products and not win a war of words!

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4 Important Reasons For Tech Companies To Exhibit At Trade Shows

Trade shows are simply great. You get to know what the competition is doing, test your marketing strategy, reach out to your target audience and come home with leads. A total win-win, so much so that all companies should contemplate exhibiting at relevant shows. Tech companies are of course no exception.

Build Relationships At Trade Shows

While you may be tempted to establish a connection online, nothing comes close to rubbing shoulders with peers from the industry and meeting your prospects in person. A face-to-face meeting could go a long way in building a relationship, even if the product you offer is more or less virtual. You are anyway just a few clicks away, agreed, but if you take some time out to meet those who matter, chances are that you’d make a rather lasting impression. And who’s to say that you won’t run into some of the key decision makers, who could very well determine the course of your ROI? Hope for the best!

Increase Your Brand Value With Ease

If you exhibit at the popular and successful exhibition, you get to ride on their coattails and can earn yourself some credibility without trying too hard. More importantly, if the show is a hot favorite among the major players in your industry, then your mere participation could help you get an edge. Any such show is likely to be bustling with the crowd, which would certainly come your way if you work for it. The best part is that when you are in the same league as some of the well-reputed industry brands, the audience’s perception of your company is automatically elevated.

Keep Abreast Of The Latest Developments

Journals, websites, and forums can apprise you of the current trends, but they can’t make you experience them for real. Trade shows are where you can check out technologies for yourself, even the ones that the news fail to report and slip through the cracks. More often than not, exhibitors offer a preview of their latest offerings, which could also help tech companies find some inspiration for their future projects. Do look out for product demos if you want to see some of the new-age technologies live in action.

Collect Valuable Feedback There And Then

Trade shows give you the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see up close and personal that how the audience reacts to your technology. You may have had access to their online reviews, but asking for real-time feedback is a whole new ball game, and that’s exactly what you are able to do at trade shows. Of course, the feedback could come in handy if you were to improve your products or let’s say change your marketing strategy. Either way, you ought to know what they think.

Trade shows won’t ever go out of fashion; they are here to stay. Just because online marketing has its share of benefits, doesn’t mean face-to-face marketing is dead. It’s pretty much alive and kicking. And with an increasing number of shows being held for tech companies year after year, now’s the time to jump on the bandwagon!

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Stop Networking And Start Building Relationships At Trade Shows: Tips

Trade shows can cost you a lot of money, no doubt, and be time-consuming at the same time. So it’s only natural for you to try and make the most of your participation in one. In fact, you shouldn’t have to think twice before expecting something in return every time someone so much as strikes up a conversation. After all, what good is a trade show if you can’t do what you are there for – networking, right?

Wrong! Every time you make an attempt at networking, you undermine the importance of building something more substantial and meaningful, a relationship, which could go a long way in ensuring your success.

Why Networking At Trade Shows Is A Big No-No?

  • People are not naive. They know exactly why you are reaching out to them. They don’t like being used. Nobody does.
  • You are not the only one who’s trying to forge a connection with them. They would have been to several other booths before they finally show up at yours. They are done collecting business cards, half of which have already found their way to the trash can, and yours won’t stick around for long either. So much for networking!
  • They despise small talk. While they would love to know more about you and your brand, a customary chit-chat won’t do the trick. They expect you to stay in touch after the show and would give you some extra brownie points if you do.

How To Build Relationships At Trade Shows?

  • Ask the right questions – questions that may go beyond the scope of the show or might not have anything to do with your products. As long as you don’t invade their privacy and assure them that it’s not a one-off interaction, they’d have no qualms answering.
  • Be a good listener – it’s only human to think about what you would say next while talking to someone, but that’s not how you build a relationship with anyone, let alone those you meet at a trade show. Listen. Just drop the guard for once, and be all ears.
  • Use the right body language – Nothing’s worse than faking interest in what they have to say. Do everything you can to create a rather inviting atmosphere. Don’t cross your arms or legs, maintain eye contact and do not forget to nod. You know the drill!

How To Nurture The Relationships Post The Shows?

  • Connect with them online. Find a common ground and engage them in engrossing conversations. Comment on their blog posts and invite them to forum discussions.
  • Understand their problem areas and offer a solution. Unsolicited emails and handouts won’t go down well with them, but if you address their problems, they will be thankful. If you don’t offer what could be a potential fix, do go the extra mile and connect them to someone who does.
  • Invite them to non-networking events in the area. Free lectures and seminars should do.

Remember, you can’t force people to do business with you, but if you build a relationship with them, you won’t have to; as simple as that!

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Is Automated Event Registration Worth Its While, Or Good For Nothing?

Event management is no piece of cake; if anything, it’s quite the opposite – there’s a lot you must do, but chances are that you won’t have enough time to do it all. And that’s when automated event management comes into the picture – it takes the burden off your shoulders and gives you time, and time is money, right?

Word is that automation is on the rise; exhibitors from all over the world are using it to their advantage.
And not just shows, marketing automation has paved way for successful roadshows and award ceremonies as well.

But the question is: is it yet another flavor of the week, or is automation here to stay? More importantly, what good could come out of it, if you do plan to give it a shot for your next trade show? Let’s find out.

It’s Not New!

Automated event registration is not something you would have heard of for the first time – it’s been there for quite some time now. Seasoned event professionals across the globe swear by it, and maybe rightly so. After all, it does help you maximize engagement, and with correct implementation, could boost the event attendance by up to 20%. And don’t you agree that the task of registering guests and passing on the necessary information to them could take ages, and even worse, it’s a quite a mundane one, to begin with? Well, if that’s a yes, here’s some good news. Cloud-based registration tools could offer you a much better experience. So, it’s a win-win!

Or Is It Now?

You may have chosen the best available online registration software for your next show, but one thing’s for sure – it would warrant some management – quite less, agreed, but definitely not nil. Oddly enough, if you have your hands full, even that little work would add to your woes, thereby defeating the very purpose of embracing automation in the first place. Here’s what may be a deal-breaker:

– You’d still have to deal with enquiries; can’t let them go

– Not all your delegates may be as tech-savvy as you are. And if they are not, be ready to hand-hold and take them through the sign-up process

– And what about payments? Card or invoice, either way, you could land in the soup!

Is there a way out?

Thankfully, There Is!

Find an expert, one who could help you get the most out of automated event registration, but do make sure that the expert or partner you outsource to, does justice to the job. Here’s a checklist that could come in handy:

– Is the software easy to use? Or would the attendees have a hard time comprehending it?
– Is an instant confirmation on the plate?
– Are the fee payments being handled? Or you need to take care of them?
– Does it offer value for money? Is it only about registration or could the attendees also expect their travel and accommodation needs to be taken care of?
– What about social media? Is some kind of integration possible, or is it a big no-no?

The bottom line is that automated event registration could be a game changer, provided you know how to go about it and are able to avert the loopholes involved.

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Here’s How Your Exhibit At Dubai Woodshow Could Yield Better Results

There are shows that only generate business, and then there are shows that go beyond the obvious – shows that let you achieve a lot more, and are not only about on-site sales and/or lead generation – The Dubai Woodshow is one such example.

In fact, it’s more of a platform, one where the Wood & Woodworking Machinery industry in the MENA region comes together, giving the exhibitors the perfect opportunity to showcase their products & services, and create brand awareness at both regional and international levels – a platform where the exhibitors get to connect with the key visitors; visitors who have the purchasing authority – a platform that facilitates interactions with the industry experts and makes it easier to keep tabs on the latest industry trends and technologies.

In short, it’s a platform that you, as an exhibitor, shouldn’t miss out on, and now that that’s been established, here’s how you could get the most out of your participation in the next edition, to be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, from 12 to 14 March 2018:

Identify your goals: Your exhibit at the Dubai Woodshow would give you access to more than 10,000 elite trade professionals from the MENA region and beyond, making the otherwise difficult task of promoting and displaying your latest products and services a lot easier. Is that what you want? Or would you be more interested in meeting suppliers, manufacturers, trade associations and institutions, and establishing new contacts? How about both? Whatever it is, make sure that you and your team know what you are out there to achieve, and you would have a much better experience.

Start early on: Your exhibit is supposed to let you engage with the prospects, right? But you don’t really have to (and shouldn’t) wait for the show to begin to connect with them; try and do that beforehand; well in advance for that matter. Use the social media to your advantage. The 2017 Edition of the Dubai Woodshow saw 9455 unique visitors, and the number is expected to rise even further in 2018. So, you have a task at hand; do it diligently. Let LinkedIn and Twitter be your aids. Follow your prospects; let them know of your participation. Should they attend the show, they must be aware of your exhibit.

Put up a good show: Your success at any show is very much dependent on how your staff behaves, how good you are at grabbing the opportunities, and whether or not you keep abreast of the latest technology – the Dubai Woodshow is no exception. Train your staff; let them know the do’s and don’ts. Plan for product demos, and see if you could also be a part of any of the speaker sessions. The idea is to make the most of your time out there, on the show floor. And yes, do everything you can to draw the crowds. You may consider putting technology to good use. With interactive screens and VR, you could easily become the center of attraction.

Whether you are a manufacturer, trader, supplier, or distributor of MDF or veneer, or you offer your services as a carpenter or architect, there’s a lot you could achieve at the Dubai Woodshow. It’s just the how that you need to work on.