Maximizing trade show impact requires extending your unique sales experience beyond the conference floor through personalized follow-up, thought leadership, and strategic use of technology like video and LinkedIn to convert leads into clients.
- Personalized follow-up is critical: Generic thank-you emails damage your brand; instead, send individualized messages referencing specific conversations and include clear calls to action like demo videos or discovery calls.
- Five key strategies boost results: Stand out through frequency and familiarity, harness LinkedIn for networking, leverage personalized video messages, use digital business cards for contact management, and provide simplified calls to action.
- CPG buyers prefer thought leadership: Recent data shows that packaged goods buyers prefer salespeople who deliver unique, personalized experiences rather than generic interactions.
- Technology enhances but doesn't replace effort: Tools like Vidyard, Blinq, and Calendly improve effectiveness only when used authentically to create genuine connections, not shortcuts.
- Build sustainable processes: Successful trade show follow-up requires customized systems based on your customer, company, industry, and personal style to form lasting habits.
In a previous article, I discussed the importance of crafting a unique sales experience (USX) for trade shows. In simple terms, USX is a potent blend of thought leadership, value proposition, sales technique, and unique and distinct technology integration that can set you apart from the competition. With PACK EXPO Las Vegas right around the corner, let's focus on leveraging your USX to create a memorable post-conference experience and secure meetings with your ideal clients.
Statistically, most salespeople find trade shows to be a home run for lead generation, with many attendees having influence or buying authority. However, our recent Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) buyer data reveals a preference for working with salespeople who provide thought leadership through a unique and personalized experience. This underscores the importance of extending your USX beyond the trade show floor.
Here are five ways to enhance your USX in the post-conference phase:
Stand Out from the Crowd: Frequency and familiarity are key to standing out. Prompt follow-up after the trade show reinforces your brand and ensures you are recognized over the competition. Remember, your USX should shine through in every interaction. Shortcuts like BCCing all your leads with a generic thank you note immediately pollutes your USX and resets the gains you made at the trade show. For example, potential clients you engaged with at the trade show should receive personalized communication expressing your gratitude for their time and highlighting information they shared at the trade show and a call to action like a short demo video and an opportunity to book a discovery call. This prompt follow-up ensures that your brand remains at the forefront of their minds and emphasizes your USX of providing a seamless and intuitive experience. You establish a strong presence by consistently demonstrating your commitment and expertise, increasing the likelihood of converting these leads into valuable clients.
Harness the Power of LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a potent tool for professional networking. Connect with individuals you met at the conference, engage with their posts, and share valuable content to maintain a presence in their professional network as thought leaders.
Leverage Video Technology: Personalized video messages are more engaging than traditional emails and help in memory retention. Vidyard, an online platform for creating customized videos, and similar technologies, allows you to create these personalized messages that enhance your USX and make post-conference communications memorable.
Use Blinq for Contact Management: Blinq Technologies provides a digital business card that captures the contact information and a picture of every person you meet, ensuring no potential lead falls through the cracks. This technology aids in personalizing your follow-up communications, ensures your prospects remember you, and reinforces your USX.
Simplified Call to Action: Provide a clear and simplified call to action when contacting prospects. Make the next step easy for them to increase the likelihood of a positive response. The technology mentioned above makes that next step easier to create and more engaging. For example, a personalized video delivered via email or LinkedIn can be created rapidly and connected directly to a calendar app like Calendly to give leads instant access to pursuing your product or service solutions.
Crafting a USX sounds as simple as an outline, but it is challenging to execute as you work through day-to-day tasks and setbacks. The technology mentioned above improves effectiveness, but only if you avoid the temptation of using it for shortcuts. That's why building the process based on your customer, company, industry, and personal style is essential so that it's a natural process that can form good habits.
If you are struggling to form a USX that provides consistent results, the PMMI sales certification helps apply these sales systems in a custom format so that you build a practical end-to-end process. Remember, a thoughtful and engaging follow-up strategy sets you apart from the competition and ultimately leads to successful business relationships.
Learn more about PMMI’s Certified Technical Sales Professional (CTSP) certification here: oemgo.to/ctsp2023
Matthew Neuberger, founder of Neuberger & Company, is a renowned speaker, Sandler Trainer, and thought leader. With offices in Maryland and Arizona, he integrates emerging technology and AI with sales, leadership, and negotiations to simplify and amplify growth for his clients. He is the architect of the Packaging & Processing Equipment Selling in Today's Market course, which is part of the PMMI Certified Technical Sales Professional Program, a recognized standard for technical sales training in the packaging industry.
