CIPH Trade ShowsCIPH Trade ShowsPut the power of face-to-face marketing to work for you.Put the power of face-to-face marketing to work for you.

A presentation for CIPH Trade Show Exhibitors by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & HeatingA presentation for CIPH Trade Show Exhibitors by the Canadian Institute of Plumbing & Heating

Now that you have reserved your space in CIPHEX West 2012, it’s time to think about how you can get the greatest return on investment. We are here to help you be successful.

This brief presentation includes six ways to improve your return-on-investment at CIPHEX West 2012. Please share with everyone on your team.

What can you achieve at CIPHEX West 2012?

It would take you months, and thousands of dollars, to make the number of sales calls you can achieve in two days at CIPHEX West.

Trade shows combine the massive reach of advertising, the targeting of direct mail, the persuasive power of face-to-face selling and the networking benefits of the internet.

Your booth is the perfect place for customers and products to see your new products and talk to the experts behind them… your technical staff.

Qualified leads from shows take 30% less time to close – so you can close more sales in less time.

Show Management pre-qualifies the audience for you so that your sales team can zero in on these motivated buyers and take less time to convert leads to sales.

CIPHEX West visitors come from all industry sectors:

Plumbing Hydronics

Pipe, Valve & Fittings Water Treatment

Education Solar

Geothermal Heating

Air Conditioning Refrigeration

Ventilation Kitchen & Bath

And they are…

Contractors

Wholesalers

Government Representatives

Engineers

Kitchen & Designers

Interior Designers

Home Builders

Building Managers

Maintenance and Repair Staff

Students and Teachers

Plumbing Inspectors

Public Utilities

Water Treatment Dealers

They are the decision-makers, whose choices affect your profitsThey are the decision-makers, whose choices affect your profits

And they areQUALIFIED BUYERS.

And they areQUALIFIED BUYERS.

77% of contractors and wholesalers said they plan to buy new products they saw, or from new suppliers they met, at the last CIPHEX West.

Setting clear objectives and specific sales tactics will help you get more qualified leads at the show and then transform those leads into sales.

Here are six ways to increase your return-on-investment at CIPHEX West.

Every person working in your booth should be able to answer 4 important questions about your company and products…

Put your answers to these questions in writing and share them with everyone who will be working in your booth.

1. Our products are used by:

2. Who need/want:

3. Our products are special/better than the competitor’s because:

4. The #1 benefit of our product is:

Follow the THREE MINUTE RULE

To make the best use of your time at the show, learn now to qualify a new lead in just 3 minutes.

Use specific opening comments to get the conversation that leads directly into a discussion of your company or products. For example:

Say : “Are you familiar with our new xyz product?”

Or say: “Have you ever used (product name)?”

Don’t say: “Hi, how are you today”.

Don’t Classify, QUALIFY

Here’s what you get when you classify a lead:•Name•Company•Company type•Phone•FaxIn other words, business card details.

That’s a start, but to convert to a sale, you need a lot more…

Qualifying brings you closer to a sale.

Sample qualifying questions:

Do you have plans to buy a new (product type) in the next few months?

When would be a good time for us to follow up with you?

Is there anyone else in your company that is involved in selecting/purchasing products who I should contact?”

How many widgets do you sell/install annually? (Or another question to give you an idea of the potential volume of their business.)

If you use the computerized lead retrieval system at the show, you will receive a list of the visitors whose badges you scanned.

Information will include:•Complete contact details for each person•Company type•Purchasing authority•Annual purchasing power of the company

You can also add your own qualifying questions to help categorize your leads and make post-show follow up more efficient.

#6 Give-aways and premiums

They can be expensive, so be picky. Don’t display expensive items where everyone can see them.

Save them for good customers and qualified prospects. Keep them accessible, but out of sight so that you can give them to the visitors who buy from you now, or may buy from you tomorrow.

Build your booth traffic: Send a pre-show invitation to key customers and prospects inviting them to visitor your booth at the show where they can learn about your new product (s), AND pick up a free gift.

Dealing with tire-kickers

Thank them for stopping by and move on to qualified prospects. You can politely disengage by saying something like:

“Well I’m sure you want to see the rest of the show… thanks for stopping by”.

An inexpensive gift can help encourage visitors who will not buy your products to move along, but still feel goodwill toward your company.

“And here’s your free pen.”

Follow up, follow up, follow up…

Follow up with leads within 10 days of the show and you’ll be ahead of 90% of your competition.

You may not have time to personally visit or phone everyone within 10 days, but with mail merge options for emails and “snail mail”, it’s easy to send a personalized note immediately and THEN start on the calls and visits.

We appreciate your business – and are committed to helping you have a successful and profitable show experience.

Show Contact:Elizabeth McCullough, C.D.E.General Manager – Trade ShowsCanadian Institute of Plumbing & HeatingTel: 416-695-0447E-mail: e.mccullough@ciph.com

Thank you for exhibiting in CIPHEX West 2012