By William Cline
Improving sales conversions at any B2B trade show, like DEMA, requires a strategic approach that focuses on engaging prospects, building relationships, and effectively conveying your value proposition. Here are five effective ways to enhance sales at your booth:
- Preparation is Key:
Before the DEMA show, research attending companies and individuals to understand their needs, pain points, and challenges. This will enable you to tailor your pitch and demonstrate how your product or service can solve their specific problems. Create a list of talking points and potential objections, and train your sales team to handle them effectively. The last point in this article even suggests role-playing to practice dealing with objections or problems.
Engage in Active Listening:
During conversations, focus on actively listening to the prospect’s needs and concerns. Encourage them to share their challenges and goals, and ask open-ended questions to gather more information. This not only shows that you care about their business but also helps you tailor your responses to their specific situation. A wonderful book about the concept is “Never Split The Difference” by Chris Voss & Michael Kramer. The book is about negotiating as if your life depended on it (written by a former FBI hostage negotiator). A large part of the book is understanding ‘active listening’ and how powerful it can be once employed in a conversation.
- Value-Based Storytelling:
What are the first 25 words of your pitch? You have 7 seconds to grab your prospect’s attention and focus. Craft compelling stories that showcase how your product or service has positively impacted similar businesses. For instance – “we have a retailer that switched to this widget, and it’s saving them $2,500/month in maintenance on their compressors.” Use real-world examples and case studies to illustrate the value you bring. Storytelling is a powerful way to make your solution relatable and memorable, helping prospects envision how your offering could fit into their own business scenario. In my previous article “The Value of Pre-Planning and Pre-Marketing for The DEMA Trade Show” (published 8/2/23 on Dive Newswire), I mentioned a great resource for giving story-based presentations: “Weekend Language” by Andy Craig & Dave Yewman.
Demonstrate Solutions (show & tell):
Whenever possible, offer live demonstrations or interactive presentations that highlight the features and benefits of your product or service. Visual aids, prototypes, or software simulations can better help prospects understand your offering and address any doubts they might have. A hands-on experience can leave a lasting impression and differentiate you from competitors. This is a challenge for travel sellers and destinations, but exhibitors in the past have done a brilliant execution of this ‘show & tell’ concept – remember the Papua New Guinea guy wandering around the show in nothing but a grass skirt? That simple act created an immersive experience and was very effective in drawing crowds, especially based on their daily giveaways (another great option).
- Quality over Quantity & Follow-Ups:
I have heard exhibitors express disappointment with only four or five people that showed up to a presentation. That’s the wrong attitude for DEMA. Those five prospects could represent a million dollars in orders or more over the next few years. As the legendary Neal Watson says “Companies that exhibit at consumer shows tend to have a misconception of numbers when exhibiting at DEMA. A consumer show may attract 10,000 enthusiastic dive consumers that results in 200 or 300 individual contacts and produce dozens of possible bookings. In comparison to the DEMA show, an exhibitor can establish a relationship with one major dive wholesaler or retailer that specializes in travel and book hundreds of divers a year for years to come – it’s not quantity at DEMA, it’s the quality of who is attending the show.”
Exhibitors should not be disappointed in the number of leads generated by the show, based on the fact that even one new client can, in some cases, make a big difference in your company’s bottom line. So follow-up is critical. As I mentioned in my previous article, don’t let the conversation end at the trade show booth. Implement a robust follow-up strategy to nurture leads after the event. Collect contact information and preferences, and call or send personalized follow-up emails. Provide additional resources, such as whitepapers, videos, or webinars to further educate prospects and keep your brand top of mind. Quality – not Quantity is the smart DEMA Show mantra for dive marketers.
Bonus Tip (I know I said 5 – but this is a golden suggestion for the DEMA show):
- Team Training and Role Play:
Conduct thorough training sessions with your sales team before the trade show. Role-play different scenarios, objections, and pitches to ensure your team is well-prepared to handle various interactions. This practice helps build confidence and consistency in delivering your messaging. Even if you’re a one-person booth operation, practice your opening lines, remember, you have about 7 seconds or about 25 words to get their attention and make your ‘pitch.’ You will find 7 seconds goes very fast – so know your ‘lines’ as they say. It’s proven to improve sales and conversions.
Remember, the goal is to establish a genuine connection, understand the prospect’s needs, and present your solution as the best fit. Continuous improvement based on feedback and results from each DEMA show will refine your approach over time. If you sent out pre-show specials, know what you’re selling and use that in your opening lines. If your pre-show marketing is effective, the prospect may answer “yeah – I saw that in an email and I have some questions….” Bingo – you got their attention.
Lastly, take notes, ample notes. It’s amazing how fast four days buzz by and before you know it, you’re wrapping the show and it’s all a blur. Take notes of what worked, what did not, and ideas for next year while the show is brutally fresh. Those notes will become gold for planning your 2024 DEMA show in Las Vegas.
About the author: William Cline is president of Cline Group Advertising, Marketing & Research, a scuba-focused consultancy based in the Dallas, Texas area. His website is www.williamcline.com.
