In the
Media
Bringing
Value to Your Career
Appeared
in IAEM EXPO, February 2004
Expo!Expo! IAEM’s Annual
Meeting & Exhibition
The educational programs at Expo! Expo! covered key issues facing
the exhibition industry, including improving sales and marketing. Denise
Paccione of Marketing Design Group spoke on how to better market to
exhibitors through your exhibitor prospectus, and Maura Schreier-Fleming
of Best@ Selling gave pointers on real-world selling.
Didn’t attend the meeting? Here’s some of what you
missed.
Dissecting the
Exhibitor Prospectus
For whom do you create your prospectus? First-tier prospects? Write
and design the prospectus so exhibitors will identify with your
event.
The most critical element .in an effective direct response
piece is a strong sales message that includes three key
components:
• A clear positioning statement —This is a simple
phrase that defines the event in terms of how it should be thought of in
the marketplace, and why it’s different from the competition.
• A strong USP (unique selling proposition) —Know what
the event offers that prospects can’t get anywhere else, and how that
benefits exhibitors. Think of the USP as an elevator pitch. If a key
prospect stepped into an elevator next to you, and you had a captive
audience for one minute, what would you say?
• A call to action —If potential exhibitors
identify with the benefits they will receive if they do exhibit, what
happens? Identification should he strong enough to cause action. Make it
clear what that action should be, highlight it graphically, and make it
easy for the reader to accomplish.
Develop a theme based on the unique selling proposition,
and communicate that message with impact.
§ Use an exciting
envelope.
§ Create a dynamic
design that leads the reader through the copy.
§ Take advantage of
unusual shapes or sizes that stand out in the mail and create a sense of
urgency.
§ Use strong
colors.
§ Use photos or
illustrations with which the market can identify.
§ Write headlines
and subheads that are creative and benefit-focused.
§ Use concise,
straightforward copy that is bulleted whenever
possible.
What is the best
balance between print, voice, e-mail and fax promotion? Research indicates
that in a B2B situation, direct mail is still most effective. If you’re
not sure, test. Start early with e-mail, followed by a letter,
followed by direct mail, followed by sales calls, followed by a
fax.
Real-World
Selling
Selling is one
of the toughest jobs in the world. Its also one of the best. Here are some
tips to apply real-world selling.
• People are more comfortable with
people they perceive to be like themselves. It’s your job to make the
customer feel comfortable with you by modifying your behavior so you’re
more like the customer.
• Pay attention to the customer’s voice
before you meet. You’l1 get assertive clues from voice pace and volume,
and responsive clues from voice tone. These clues will tell you how to
prepare for your sales call.
• Understand that more assertive
customers (faster talking and moving) make decisions quickly because
they’re less afraid of risk. Less assertive customers (slower talking and
moving) take longer to make decisions because of their discomfort with
risk. To sell to less assertive customers, demonstrate that you
can reduce their perception of risk.
• People who are less comfortable showing their
feelings (fewer facial expressions, less hand movements) buy based on
facts. More responsive people (more facial expressions, more hand
movements) buy based on opinion. Be prepared to discuss your products and
services with customers using either facts or opinions.
• Based on the clues you’ve gathered, plan
how you’re going to adapt to your customer’s style before the sales call.
Decide whether you need to be more or less assertive, or more or less
responsive. Pick just one or two things to do. It will be challenging at
first, but worth the effort.
This is just a sampling of the IAEM educational sessions from
2003. Make plans now to participate in Expo! Expo! IAEM’s Annual Meeting
& Exhibition, December 1-3, 2004 in San Antonio, TX
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