Getting started doesn’t have to cost big bucks
By Judy Artunian
Special to the Tribune
If you’re an entrepreneur, the conference and seminar invitations arrive almost daily. They promise to connect you with hundreds of potential customers or teach you how to tap into your inner manager.
Whether it’s an eight-hour session on how to raise investment capital, or a three-day office technology trade show, it’s important to think strategically when deciding which events to attend and how to use your time when you’re there.
Many of these events charge fees in the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. But a high price tag doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get results. Beware of seminar and conference announcements that offer vague promises to reveal marketing “secrets,” or those that promise to turn you into the next Bill Gates in a single day. A legitimate conference will spell out what you’ll learn.
“They should be able to tell you what benefits you’ll walk away with. If there are no action items listed on the Web site or brochure, it could be a sales seminar where they want to sell more services to you,” said Romanus Wolter, a San Francisco small business consultant and author of “Kick Start Your Dream Business.”
According to Wolter, any course or seminar can be a networking opportunity as well as learning experience. He recommends introducing yourself to the people sitting next to you and handing them your business card or brochure.
“Tell them about the benefits of your company or your product, and explain why you’re attending the seminar. Be specific. Say, ‘I want to get my product into Macy’s.’ “ As people circulate and talk to others at the seminar, “someone will know someone at Macy’s,” he said.
Attending a conference to learn new skills is one thing, but exhibiting at a conference is a more costly and complex matter. Before you commit to renting exhibit space, ask the conference organizer for a list of attendees at the previous year’s event to confirm that the show draws the market you’re seeking. The more specific the list, the better.
“Some places list attendees by their job titles. You can see how many of the titles that are truly part of your target market actually attend the show,” said Matt Provenzano, director of marketing for Rockford-based SupplyCore, a purchasing services company. “We also check to see if our key competitors and partners are exhibiting. That’s also a good indicator that we should attend.”
Even the most targeted show won’t necessarily reap a satchel full of sales.
“A lot of people want to write orders at a show. Unless your product is cheap and almost an impulse buy, that’s not going to happen,” said Steve Miller, a Federal Way, Wash.-based consultant who specializes in trade show strategies and author of “How to Get the Most Out of Trade Shows.”
Trade shows are better at building relationships and collecting leads. But keep your expectations in line here, too.
“Small exhibitors and new exhibitors tend to have unrealistic expectations,” said Miller. “They hear that a show draws 20,000 people so they think they’ll get a gazillion leads. That’s probably very unrealistic.”
According to Doug Ducate, president of the Center for Exhibition Industry Research in Chicago, if it’s your first time at a particular conference, renting a low-cost exhibit space makes more sense than sinking big bucks into a elaborate booth.
“Stick your toe in the water before you make a huge investment. You want to make sure the products and services exhibited are consistent with what you offer," he said.
“Don’t hesitate to ask the organizers to give you advice. From their standpoint, a new-to-the-show exhibitor is a very important part of the business. They have a vested interest in helping you have a good experience.”
Most large trade shows offer a basic package to new exhibitors for about $2,000. It usually consists of a carpeted space, a sign, a table with a drape and two chairs.
According to Miller, you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars to create a polished, eye-catching exhibit from the basic tabletop materials. “You can spend less than $200. It takes ingenuity and time,” he said.
Most shows allow you to bring in your own signs, table coverings and even carpeting. Miller recalled the tabletop display for a company that made fudge wrapped in gold foil. The company draped its tables with a black cloth, hung a black shower curtain for a backdrop and laid down black carpet.
“They placed a horn of plenty on the table, filled it with candy and had the candy spilling out all over the table,” said Miller. “The gold against the all-black background was a great visual. Your eye was drawn to that booth.”
Use your free listing in the trade show directory to bring more traffic to your exhibit. “Make sure the information in the show directory speaks to that audience,” said Provenzano. “In our case, we tweak our message depending on who our audience is. It’s different at a purchasing show vs. an industrial show vs. a government show.”
When you’re at the booth, always look as if you’re there to do business. Avoid sitting down, talking on the phone, eating or reading. Above all, talk to the passerby. Miller has what he calls his “Ten Foot Speak First Rule.”
“I tell my clients to get it into their head that any time an attendee comes within 10 feet, they have to say something to them. ‘Hello’ is fine. Just don’t wait for them to start the conversation,” he said.
If you can’t afford to exhibit at a conference but you want to have a presence, consider sponsoring some aspect of the show. A major industry player might sponsor the shuttle buses that transport participants to their hotels in exchange for splashing their logo across the buses. But there may be more modest sponsorship opportunities for the taking.
Several years ago Laurie Kahn, president of Chicago-based Media Staffing Network, started asking various convention organizers if she could sponsor the bathrooms.
“They didn’t have huge price tags on the bathroom sponsorships because no one had ever sponsored them before. I came in and offered to sponsor them for ‘X’ amount and they were thrilled to get the extra money,” said Kahn, whose company specializes in staffing management and sales positions for the advertising and media industries.
For her sponsorship fee, Kahn is allowed to stock the restrooms with hand lotion, shoeshine kits and even urinal screens, all sporting her company logo.
Kahn and Provenzano also raise the profile of their respective companies by looking for speaking engagements.
“When people see you speaking on a panel,” said Provenzano, “they’re more likely to stop by your booth later to ask for more information.
When the conference is over, your work continues. Don’t let more than two weeks pass before you follow up with people who have requested information, as well as those with whom you want to stay in touch.
Finally, many experts say that the biggest stumbling block for conference goers is overcoming their shyness.
Said Kahn, “I always think of that recurring scene in the movie ‘All That Jazz,’ where he slaps water on his face, looks in the mirror and says, ‘It’s showtime!’ That’s what it is. These conferences are your three days to make connections.”
copyright 2007 Media Staffing Network |