Page 33 - EXHIBITION BOOK - BOOK 1 Before!_Neat

CHAPTER 11 TEAM COACHING/TRAINING

With any aspect of your business that you want to get a strong return on you need the right people to be
doing the right things at the right time. Exhibitions can be a big undertaking g but as you have seen from
this book they also represent a massive opportunity for your business but it’s critical you plan them out
and have the right team in place to execute your plan. A lot of businesses don’t feel they need to train their
team to exhibit but why get away with mediocre when a small bit of coaching/training can get you much
bigger results.

“The average sales person increases performance by 20% after training….”

The actual value of a trade show stand increases radically when you have well trained staff and whilst I
understand that companies see this as an additional expense I would argue that it’s probably a bigger
investment than all the additional extras you put on your stand. Exhibiting is not like other forms of selling
as it’s reactive and in our day to day business we organise and go to appointments whereas at a show we
have no idea who is going to come on the stand, so we need to be better prepared. I also say this because
if you’re not, the visitor will spot this and has one of your competitors probably within 100 feet of your
stand.

However, while trade shows are worthwhile, they are not easy. To get the most out of trade shows, exhibit
marketers set measurable objectives, pick good shows, design effective exhibits, and more. Read on to
discover the main elements of a successful trade show marketing program.

Train Your Staff So They're Comfortable (courtesy Orbus.com)

At Shows 85% of the positive feelings visitors have are due to the staff. Your exhibition staff are
responsible for drawing in your customers, effectively engaging them and creating leads. Because of this, it
is important that you select the most effective staff that your company has to offer. If they are sales
people, you have to train them to adapt their selling style to the trade show floor. If they are not
salespeople, guess what - they can still do extremely well, given the proper preparation. Trade show
staffing is uncomfortable for almost everyone at first. You will give your staff greater comfort and
confidence by training them to understand and follow a 4-step staffing process:

1. Engage: 30 seconds Start the process by stopping attendees. Prepare and practice questions that won't
get a yes or no answer.

2. Qualify: 2 minutes Determine if the prospect is worth presenting to ... and what to present.

3. Present: 5 to 8 minutes Demo on just the prospect's needs, not everything you know. Prepare for
common objections and questions.