Part 2: Sales! Are you attracting strangers?

In our years of trade show experience we have seen sales and marketing teams each expressing expectations on the other. Both perspectives are valid but not always easy to understand. So it seems helpful to show the needs of marketing and sales “translated” into practical actions.

In this two-part article we aim to share our experience, thoughts and perspective on the importance of good team work to create optimal trade show presences. We explain how we think the two teams, marketing and sales, need to support each other.

Link to Part 1 for those that missed it!

In this second part, we explore the role sales people need to have in supporting marketing’s need for information and feedback, together with the engagement necessary to best exploit the event.

As we expressed in the first part, marketing needs to deliver four key solutions to the trade show if sales are to be supported. Sales needs then to utilise these four opportunities and maximise their value.

The professional judgement of a sales team on the value of an event is a strong basis for justifying budget. Sales’s knowledge of what works is important when it comes to budget requests and justification!

Firstly, don’t create the social equivalent to a “do not disturb” sign!

If the exhibition space has made people stop, then the sales people have been dealt a good start. It is important that the sales people are seen to be ready to engage. It is clear that the sales people have existing customers, need to prepare their “demo” messaging and want to be efficient in their time use.

The problem is that standing in groups discussing and preparing, checking mobile phones for customer emails and turning one’s back to prepare a demo, are all the social equivalent to a “do not disturb” sign!

Understandably sales must prepare themselves and be active with their existing customers too.  It is just that one should not give an impression that is not conducive to the purpose of the event. It needs to be performed in moderation. Loosing just one person who stopped is a shame.

Secondly, sales must assume that the visitor is an insecure, embarrassed and introverted person… and “take the lead”!

Once a stranger has stepped onto the stand they often need to be guided. Sales people are confident and have the social skills to navigate human interactions without much worry.

The problem is that each of us have a tendency to assume that other people are the same as we are. The visitor or stranger to the stand may not have the confidence to start a conversation, approach others and may not be an extrovert. This means that the sales person must assume that the visitor is an insecure, embarrassed and introverted person until they establish otherwise.

It is easy to assume that a person that is not clear with their questions or knows nothing about the product or company is just wasting time. More often than not though, they are simply insecure and not time wasters.

Thirdly, the leads and the direct feedback are important for marketing too!

Once the stand has supported sales to engage a stranger, the actual interaction is clearly a sales function. The leads that sales generate are a significant tool for the measurement of event ROI. Equally though, the general feedback that people give to sales, or that sales can determine, provides an additional check on the event.

Leads are the more traditional method of measuring the value of a marketing event. The data, if sales provides it, creates the basis to justify budget or to decide and concentrate the marketing energies on those activities that bring results. Whilst this attempt to work out the best options is in the best interests of sales, sometimes sales treat filling out complete leads as a burden rather than their opportunity to influence. Taking the time is therefore important, as annoying as it may be.

Leads are sometimes used to differentiate between prospects and existing customers, and recognise only the business from prospects as the value of an event.

This can be the case, but it can also be misleading. In some cases the mere presence at an event is a requirement for existing customers to retain faith with the company and products. Both marketing and sales need to be sure that the measurements that are used don’t influence decisions badly.

In addition to leads there is other feedback that can help marketing make a better platform for sales. This feedback is however, far more difficult to quantify than leads.

Trade shows and other events often have a wide range of people, from users of products through to the executives making purchasing decisions. Stands may be communicating with the wrong group or may be attractive to the wrong audience which may not be easily apparent.

Sales through their interaction and with conversations with existing customers can see how the messaging, stand space and presence comes across. This feedback whilst less formal or definable, acts as a check for marketing to ensure the messaging is targeted properly.

Fourthly, knowing which tools are likely to work is far more useful

As discussed in part 1, marketing needs to provide the right tools and resources for sales. This includes the demo pods, iPads, presentation walls, brochures, give-aways and all the other tools that support sales to create and build a relationship and deliver the message.

Things are sometimes inappropriate, unergonomic, broken or difficult. Marketing needs to know this, both in terms of what is wrong but also with suggestions that could make things work or be more suitable. Sales are the front-line, they know what they are doing, they know their audience and they know what works.

Giving out give-aways that are taken out of courtesy rather than pleasure is a waste. If sales says nothing, the fact that they were “successfully” given out is the only basis for decision making that marketing has, and they order lots more!

If the iPad is dropped but no-one explains it was difficult to hold, marketing will order a replacement. If they do not know the cause they won’t get a grip ring on the back that would make it easier to use and avoid the problem in the future.

What sales knows, can make a real difference to the budget and the support that can be delivered in the future.

In conclusion

The two parts constitute a real and achievable basis for team work with marketing events. Both the marketing and the sales teams in most companies are under pressure.

It is ultimately in both teams’ interests to cover for each other, guide each other and support each other.