Expanding overseas sales is a common goal for many companies. Attending an international trade fair can be an effective way to achieve this if done right.
At a trade fair, you eagerly wait for prospects to visit your booth and discover your products, though competitors surround you. Unfortunately, reality may fall short of expectations.
Despite collecting business cards, few visitors actually stepped foot in your booth. Months later, those leads generated minimal or no sales. Your investment was a disappointment.
Why the poor outcome? It often comes down to common mistakes in preparation and execution. Before committing to another show, avoid these pitfalls:
Checklist of mistakes to avoid in a trade fair
Unclear Objectives
Not defining specific goals for sales, leads, branding, etc, makes execution disjointed.
Insufficient research
Don't understand competitive offerings, pricing, or booth locations. Risk being outmatched...
Poor leadership
No experienced owner driving strategy and execution from pre-show planning through follow-up.
Wrong audience
Wasting time and resources marketing to non-target demographics who can't buy.
Excessive staffing
Too many untrained booth reps overwhelm visitors. A few key personnel are more effective.
Last minute preparation
Failure to carefully select products, and create customized collateral and sales pitches.
Not informing customers
Existing clients don't know you are exhibiting and miss opportunities to connect.
Misaligned messaging
The booth team lacks cohesion on product details, pricing, and capabilities due to poor briefing.
No sales support
Neglecting to have key collateral like catalogs readily available to provide to prospects.
Weak follow-up
Interested leads grow cold when quotes, samples, and calls are not promptly executed.
In conclusion, the pitfalls of trade show participation extend beyond the few examples mentioned here. The key to avoiding these mistakes and maximizing your trade show ROI is strategic preparation tailored to your company's specific needs and goals. With careful planning that accounts for common trade show mistakes, you can achieve significant improvements in lead generation, new sales growth, and overall return on your trade show investment.
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