Do you get good visitors at your exhibition stand but they leave too soon without interacting much?
In the previous blog I spoke about the first goal for the exhibitors which is to invite more visitors at the booth but more importantly how to ensure that they land up.
Today we will be talking about the second goal of Exhibitions which is, what do you talk to them and how can you make them stay longer?
To make them stay longer, your first goal should be to have a meaningful conversation with your visitors.
Do you know that there are seven different kinds of visitors who come on to your booths and to have a meaningful conversation with each kinds, you should first be able to qualify which visitor is which. Many a times exhibitors start with the pitch without qualification, without asking the right set of questions and this often results in the opportunity loss.
After an initial introduction, You can qualify these visitors on four basic parameters. Here are they:
- Establish the need first – Your first couple of questions should be about establishing whether the visitor has the need of your product or not at all. If they have a need then proceed to the next questions of qualification. If there is no need then do ask the purpose they are there for and proceed accordingly or else gather their details for future reference or discussions. You can mark them as a cold lead.
- Do they have a budget – The next set of questions should be about establishing what kind of budgets they have. This is a very important qualification because if there is a lot of gap between your product range and the budget they have, the discussions may never be able go forward or close. if they have the budget or they are even closer to your range then proceed with the next set of qualifications. If they do not have a budget, still explain them about the product as you never know when they are able to afford it.
- Do they have the authority – Next to check is whether they are the decision maker or if they have the authority to buy the product on behalf of the company. This part can generally be judged by looking at the visiting card while capturing the details or by asking them a little more about what is their role in the organisation and what all they take care of. If they have the authority, do your every bit to have a great conversation and give a great demo of your product. If they do not have the authority, your target should be after giving a presentation and demo, try and fix up a level 2 conversation with the decision maker. Avoid any negotiations on the cost at this point of time as you know that the decision maker is also going to do its own set of discussions on price.
- Can they act now – If there is a need, they have a budget, and the person you are meeting has the authority, the next thing to check is “can they act now” or is the need immediate or pressing. If the answer to this is yes then this is a super hot lead for you. If they don’t have an immediate need, then it is important for you to check with them the buying window or when will they have the need and mark your calendar to speak with them few months before that need arises.
These are the top four things what you need to do to start a conversation with a visitor at an exhibition and I can guarantee that you will have booth full of visitors and increase in how you close leads from a trade show.
Gagan Kapoor (Exhibition Success Consultant )
Thank You and Happy Exhibiting.
