Smart Selling: Distributor Sales Strategies From HIDA
By Elizabeth Hilla
Senior Vice President, Health Industry Distributors Association
I attend a lot of trade shows, and I know they are familiar territory for many healthcare sales reps. For some, these events are a big waste of time – they’re standing at a booth schmoozing with unqualified prospects, or chatting with the rep in the next booth. For others, conferences and trade shows present enormous sales opportunities.
Often, the difference isn’t the show itself. It isn’t even how many attendees the event attracts. The difference in whether you get the ROI you want out of a trade show usually comes down to what you do to make it happen.
Here are some tips on wringing maximum sales value from trade shows:
- Know the audience. Too many marketers use the literature and the same pitch for every show they attend. In reality, every event and every audience is different, and your strategy should be customized to that audience. For example, if you’re attending a conference for nursing home administrators, make sure you have a compelling message that addresses the administrators’ strategic concerns, like reducing readmissions or retaining staff. If the audience is nurses, on the other hand, you’ll want to have more clinical information.
- Don’t just expect attendees to show up at your booth – invite them! Reach out to top prospects and clients before the show with a direct mail piece or email inviting them to your booth. Give them a reason to come, such as a show special or the opportunity to check out a new product.
- Pre-schedule your time. The more meetings you arrange in advance, the more strategically you will spend your time. Treat your booth as your own personal meeting space and schedule meetings in your booth during show hours. (I recommend ordering a small round table and two chairs for your booth – these will fit even in a 10×10 space.) Set up dinners or breakfasts with key customers and prospects as well.
- Request an attendee list in advance. Study it, and identify the people you most want to connect with onsite. Make sure you take along any business information you’ll need when you speak to these various individuals.
- Take advantage of every moment during the event. Don’t just show up during exhibit hours and hunker down in your hotel room for the rest of the time. Attend all the education sessions and networking events. This will give you opportunities to learn your customers’ issues, and you’ll meet people who might not come by your booth. Make sure you are wearing your badge and have business cards with you at all time.
- Be accessible and professional. When working a booth, don’t sit back with your phone or cup of coffee in your hand. (I know that sounds obvious but I see this at every show I attend!) Stand up, say hello to folks who walk by, and be prepared with a qualifying question to engage attendees in conversation.
- Take good notes. Every conversation has the potential to advance a sale, or provide helpful insight about a prospect. And make sure you write down what you hear. With so many discussions during one event, you won’t remember everything afterward if you don’t.
- After the conference, follow up quickly with new contacts, qualified leads, and current clients. Use the final attendee list to reach out to prospects you didn’t get a chance to meet with onsite.
While you’re working a trade show, there are sure to be folks back home who are calling or emailing you, sometimes with urgent issues. It’s easy to get caught up putting out these fires and missing out on opportunities at the event you’re attending. Resist the urge to check your email every few minutes – and let non-urgent messages wait until your exhibit hours and networking events are over.
In my experience, if you attend the right events and take a strategic and well-planned approach, you can often get more leads and advance more relationships in a couple of days at a live event than you can through weeks of emailing, phone calling, and door-knocking.