Pick a sales training buzzword and it may have touched you.
Maybe managers said you should go to a course to get your
inner feelings in tune with your Palm schedule in tune with
work-life balance, and everything in tune with your life
strategy. Life was great. For about a week.

Then, products changed or were recalled. Lawsuits
mounted. Customer expectations in today’s financial and
ethical marketplace demanded more of you and your
company. In too short a time, your corporate financials were
being restated while your 401K melted and your stock
portfolio slunk away, embarrassed by its original
exuberance. Half your department or division or the whole
company disappeared. Life was great once.

If you’re in sales or marketing, you know what you did every
day. That was the daily drill. You can’t do it any more. And,
you certainly can’t do it at a trade show.

Here are four ways to understand your own - and your
company’s - sales style at a trade show. Maybe you’re still
hot. Probably not.

THE GOOD OL’ BOY NETWORK …
This is the way it used to be and in some industries, it still
is. Women may have broken some of the glass in the
ceiling, minorities may be a tad more than token, and you
may believe age doesn’t matter. Wrong. It’s attitude,
networking and politics. It’s still who knows who.

If you’re in certain industries - usually the ones at the
beginning of the industrial food chain or international money
making - you may think your job is safe because of trust and
GOB networking. Yet, because of international tensions,
economic disasters, lousy mergers, and technology which
produces a 24-hour business day, those handshakes you
felt so comfortable with before, now may get you handcuffs
or a brush off.

TRADE SHOW - Don’t rest on laurels or assume the GOB
will protect you or guarantee your deals. Self preservation
may be more important, pricing may be more critical, and
the pecking order may have changed without making the
papers. What to do? Gather critical information before you
go to the show, don’t be naïve, and learn to open up your
networking channels.

THE RAINMAKER …
It was expected that the right connections (often from GOB),
basic product knowledge, a handle on financials and a
pleasing personality could get you business. Maybe you
were no more than the hunting dog who was well dressed
and played tennis or golf, so you could flush out business
and bring it back for someone else to close and control, but
you brought cache to the firm.

If you’re in the professional services firms - such as
accounting, banking and insurance, law, architecture, etc. -
this has been an accepted method for years. The
designated “Golden Boy” has been critical to these types of
businesses because advertising was not allowed or was
considered crass. The belief was that - work should speak
for itself, and the firm and client should like each other.

TRADE SHOW - This is still a critical aspect of marketing but
don’t expect to do more than nudge the timeline along. It is
time to meet with prospects for a second or third time,
understanding that your competitors will do the same. Time
to bring out your “big guns”, the partners and experts who
will handle the account if you score.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT …
Now get serious about business. Clients disappear.
Products lose dominance. Suppliers change. The smart
firms have individuals and departments, or outsource
experts, who work only for development of new business.

It’s a whole new ball game and you may be in a different
league without knowing it unless you’re smart about who
your markets really are, where they are, and your
understanding of trends – are you current or obsolete? This
is sophisticated analysis, not just friendly hand shaking.
Real-life market research. Serious looks at partners,
strategic alliances and allegiances. Cutting losses. Adding
specialists. Consider corporate intelligence to be the cutting
edge of staying in business this year, next year and more.

TRADE SHOW - The short intense time at a show is
absolutely the best way to find out what’s happening in your
industry. When you hear a new word three times, that’s a
trend. Learn all you can about it, its originators and its
potential for your firm. On the flip side, watch the intelligence
your firm gives in trying to entice prospects. Remember that
the more you give away at a trade show, the less you have to
discuss at deal time.

SALES PROFESSIONAL …
The full-time, on-time, my-time-is-money guy who has been
through all the courses yet has the innate sense of making
the sale and, best of all, securing the best deal to make the
client happy. Of course, the company is happy with the deal,
the margins and the prospect of continuing business.

Competitive, smart, dogged, technology intense and
friendly, this is the best person to ask for competitive
information. Yes, he knows his clients but his antennae’s up
and can tell you what’s going happen to clients in the next
year, the trends in the market niche and ways to save
business - better terms, time to buy or drop.

TRADE SHOW - There’s a tendency to send sales folks to
trade shows. Nice idea. Not necessarily right. Check your
answers to these points -

1) Is this a sales or a marketing show? Are you closing
deals or showing off products and services?

2) The sales oriented show is generally in the retail related
sectors. Examples - the shows are about toys, school
supplies, hardware, stationery, holiday decorations, etc.
Short term sales opportunities. Send your best deal closers
to these types of shows.

3) The marketing shows are generally in technology, harder
industries, those requiring a long-term sales process with
waltzing, tap-dancing, RFPs and more bureaucracy than the
retail segments. Depending on the size of the show, one
sales person to three or four marketing personnel is usually
adequate, but you must know the capabilities of your staff,
the expectations of the attendees, and your firm’s realistic
ROI on this particular show. Jeez, are you planning to
follow-up? What are the requirements of on-floor staff in that
process?

4) Remember that every show is different. And, the
difference between you and your competitor is the
sales-oriented preparation you make before the event.
Know your people, know your corporate style. Be prepared
each time.

Julia O’Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - writes
about practical aspects of trade shows. As president of
Trade Show Training, inc,, now celebrating its 11th
year, she works with companies in a variety of
industries to improve their bottom line and marketing
opportunities at trade shows.

Julia is an expert in the psychology of the trade show
environment and uses this expertise in sales training
and management seminars. Contact her at
804-355-7800 or check the site
http://www.TradeShowTraining.com