At a corporate tradeshow, a single trainee who works for a large manufacturer of construction machines collected more leads for a used machine than all the other ‚professional salespeople‘ did.
Once a year, a construction machine dealer invites its customers, prospects and friends for a private tradeshow. With over 250 visitors, it sold two machines for €1.1 million.
Impressive success? Not at all. The salesperson admitted he had already made the sale, but wanted to sign the contract at the event.
Most of the other 249 visitors did not make inquiries, did not request information or bought anything. They just enjoyed food and drinks.
But there was one big exception: A trainee in his first year at the dealership decided this machine was his baby. He kept approaching visitors to talk about this one machine and, eventually, generated several leads to purchase it.
Just a nice story? No. There is a moral to what this individual accomplished and how it applies to your trade fair participation. Too often, your salespersons believe the trade fair is a waste of time. They only speak with those people they know or with those who already have an appointment. In fact, one salesman complained, „Why do I have to be here when I could be out seeing customers?“
Remember: a tradeshow works differently. As many as 60 percent of trade show visitors are new, unknown to your sales team. The right people to have in your stand are hunters, those who love talking with just about everyone to find the ones who are good prospects. Using your salespeople may be a waste of time.
Instead, once you identify your hunters, train them. Let them know about your goals, your values, and, especially, about your products. Value them for their efforts and positive attitudes.
After the event, send your salespeople to follow up with the leads collected by your hunters.
Learning:
1. Identify your hunters
2. Train them about your goals, values and especially your products
3. Value them for their efforts and positive attitudes
4. After your hunters made an appointment, make sure customers are followed up immediately by your salespeople.
