One More Call

This is going to be short and sweet.  Of course I am passionate about trade shows, marketing, branding, that is our lives. That is what we eat sleep and breathe every single day.

I have a couple other passions, sales best practices and CRM best practices.  I guess after 30+ years of sales experience, you maybe learn a thing or two.

Cold calling is a brutal job and is not for everyone. When you finally meet or find that salesperson that is good at it?  Hold on to them with everything you've got. It is a gift and a rare talent. I am one of those really strange people that love to cold call.  I am not patting myself on the back to say that I am good at cold calling.  But, I am good at cold calling.  

Like anything, if you do something non stop for too long, you can get tired. Some days are better than others.  I have tracked for years my ratios of calls, connects and engagements.  These are critical metrics to know how many dials you have to make to back into your number.  Of course it is much more complicated than I make it sound, but it is a good starting place.

You know those days, you set a # of calls goal for your day (if you don't do this, we need to chat -- you need to set a call goal).  Some days, you just slog through.  Here are some common frustrating results of your calls (some are specific to our industry).

• We JUST bought a new "xxxxx" - we have no needs
• We make our own "xxxxx" - we have no needs
• Can I tell him/her who is calling?  What is this regarding?  Oh we don't need any "xxxxx" (right the receptionist knows that detail.
• We don't allow solicitation calls (I HOPE EVERY ONE OF YOUR PROSPECTS HAS THE SAME ATTITUDE)
• Can I tell him/her who is calling? Let me check.  He/She is in a meeting.  - OK, do we really believe this?
• Specific in our industry, "we don't do trade shows".   Hmmm I'm looking at an exhibitor list and you are sure on there.  Interesting.

Of course we all know, gate keepers lie. There are a lot of ways to get past gatekeepers but that is another subject.  

I am always amazed at how this happens.  The day has not been super productive (don't forget your cold calling should always be planting seeds - so never a complete waste of time).  I push through and say, 'I'm going to make one more call" and invariably, that call makes the whole day worthwhile.  I really should track how often it happens.  Thankfully it happened today after what was kind of a crappy day in general.

Chin up sales peeps, there is always tomorrow and there is always 'ONE MORE CALL'.

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

Doing Nothing is NOT a Strategy

Ugggh. Seriously. UGGGGHHHHH.  No I am not reverting to cave woman status I am so frustrated with people that are just doing NOTHING for trade shows or events. I talk to multiple people every day. Customers, prospects, suppliers and there is a recent theme with a few of the people.

Lori:  "What are your plans for the remainder of 2021? What shows are you planning on exhibiting at?"

Customer/Prospect: "None!" (said rather incredulously) "We may be walk a show but we aren't planning on exhibiting at any shows until 2022."

YIKES!

So let's look at some feedback we are getting from our customers and prospects.

Here are some things I have been told recently.

"I really wish we had exhibited."

"Attendance was down, but decent."

"The time we got to spend and the people that were there were much higher quality than normal."

"We didn't exhibit and our email and phone's were going crazy with people wondering if we were ok, were we still in business. They missed us!"

"We picked up some business from our competitors that did NOT exhibit. It was GREAT!"

Trade Show News Network reports that over 85% of exhibitors and attendees plan on being at live events.  How can you afford to not exhibit?  Live Events Are Back! Read Here.

Let me just tell you, NOT being at a show that you have exhibited at for years sends a message that you may not want.  Here are some suggestions if you really feel you shouldn't go to the show.

1.  GO.  Exhibit.  Period.  End of discussion.

2.  Get a smaller booth space and use a smaller exhibit.

3.  Don't have an exhibit?  Rent one, but EXHIBIT.

You may think this is a very self serving post. I promise you it is not. I don't care if you buy or rent an exhibit from me (well, I would love if you did, but that is really not my point). Don't be short sided and lose market, business and have people wonder about you. 

Trade show venues have been and are ready to host safe events!  Need help?  Email:  sales@totaldisplays.com or call 952-941-4511.

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

Don't Call Me For 5-7 Years

 I had an interesting conversation this week with a prospect.  I have spoken with him many times and he was interested in some products and services that we were offering.

Total Displays is so much more than just trade show exhibits.  We have many clients that have existing exhibit properties but utilize us for combinations of  some of the following:

• Replacement Graphics For Any System
• Flooring
• Furniture Rentals or Purchase
• Storage and Trade Show Logistics
• Installation & Dismantle Services Nationwide
• Custom Retail or Interior fixtures
• Trade Show Accessories
• Trade Show & Office Safety Products

The prospect told me that he had a booth he bought a couple of years ago and that when I asked if I could follow up with him before his next show?  His response was, "really, you don't need to call me for 5-7 years."  

Let's think about that for just a minute.  A couple of questions came to mind for me as a business owner immediately.

1. So, you are telling me your business will not change or evolve at all in 5-7 years?
2. Are you saying that marketing and messaging only needs to be updated once every 7-10 years? (Remember he bought a new booth a couple years ago).
3. You will have no new products or services in the next 5-7 years?
4. You don't think there will be any wear and tear on your trade show exhibit in 7-10 years? 
   
   
   

Could it just have been a brush off from the prospect?  Yes, possibly.  But it made me think a lot about why people update or refresh their trade show exhibit.  Here are some statistics.

• Expected life time of a trade show exhibit is 3-5 years.
• Many of our clients rent exhibits and update their look every year!
• Do you track number of visitors? (You should be).  Most of our clients report that the number of visitors increase when they have updated or made a change to their trade show exhibit
• Do you want to be seen as a static company or a dynamic, growing, evolving company?  If you want to be static, use the same exhibit and graphics for 4+ years.  Trust me it will work.
  
  
  

Trade shows are a very unique opportunity for you to get your brand, products and sales staff in front of literally hundreds or even thousands of prospects in a very finite window of time.  Trade shows are expensive.  There are easy ways to update your look without breaking the bank or you can really wow them with a new look every couple of years.  If you aren't getting the leads you need or are going to the trade show just because you should be there.  Stop.  Don't waste your time or any one else's time.

Let Total Displays help you get the most out of your trade show program with strategic planning and review of your trade show program and your trade show exhibit assets.  We want nothing more than for you to be incredibly successful at your next trade show or event!  Call us at 952-941-4511 or email sales@totaldisplays.com

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com