With everyone facing budget cuts, does it still pay to go to major industry tradeshows?  I am returning from one of my industry’s biggest, and the answer is an emphatic “Yes”.

We were going to a major trade show that drew more than 4000 attendees in better years, and were concerned by reports that many friends and clients that attended in prior years were not going in 2009.  Attendance was down to 2000+, but our sales productivity was high, in spite of the reduced numbers.

Why?  The pattern was clear:  companies cut their delegations in half, sending only the key decision makers.  All of the junior staff that normally attended were left home, so we could focus on the right individuals more easily.  As a bonus, the weaker competitors were also gone.  We had our best show ever, hands down.

What were the lessons learned?

1. Prospects are will attend the best trade shows, but weaker ones are languishing.  Focus your efforts.
2. If your business generates revenues for your prospects, like ours, you will be very popular at shows.
3. Your prospects are sending only their most senior staff.  Send your best people.
4. Cut costs.  Our senior team shared rooms, and we kept our entertaining to a minimum.  Those tradeshow breakfast and lunches aren’t great, but they are free.  And you can network at the cocktail hour just as easily as you can in an expensive restaurant.
5. Frugal is the in thing.  Get rid of the corny trade show goodies, and focus on helping your prospects succeed in their business.  They will take you more seriously, and you will avoid offending with any signs of excess.

Trade shows are still a great sales asset, even in tough times.  Find the budget for the key ones in your industry, even if you have to cut back elsewhere. 

This entry was posted on Monday, August 24th, 2009 at 10:29 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.