Trade Shows are Too Polite – It’s Time to be Breaking Bad!
Don’t play fair at trade shows. Take some tips from “Breaking Bad” and don’t be too polite. You may be the nicest, most generous person in the world, but you need to channel your inner Walter White and do what has to be done. Here’s how to generate more business and revenue at trade shows.
Don’t Be So “Nice”
I’m an easygoing guy, kind and gentle. But put me to work on a trade show and I’m transformed. I have a passion to stop traffic, grab attention and bring qualified people into the booth where they will seriously consider my client’s product or services. Along the way I don’t care if I frustrate, infuriate or aggravate the competition or the other exhibitors around me.
Sound a little obsessive and driven? Well, if you aren’t doing the same things, you are wasting opportunities, time and money. “Breaking Bad” will show us the way.
Breaking Bad
The hit show “Breaking Bad” gave TV viewers a weekly dose of Walter White, a plain high school chemistry teacher turned maniacal meth dealer. I’m not advocating drugs, murder or becoming a polished, pathological liar, but there are some business lessons to be learned from this award-winning series. Here’s how you can get bad – in a good way.
#1 Plan ahead – Target shows with the biggest potential. Don’t count on the location or the venue to make a lame event into a success. The only guaranteed “magic” in Orlando is at Disney.
#2 Focus on the biggest need – Identify it and sell it before the show. Grab customers early and often, and consistently market to your specific target audience.
#3 Everyone wants a free “taste” – Gifts and prizes are great, but client-specific demos are better. Get your clients addicted to doing business with you because you deliver what they are looking for.
#4 Sell the Experience – Don’t search for customers. Make customers search for you. Give people a single, overwhelming reason to come to your booth. Create an experience that is so valuable that they’ll forget about going to the competition.
#5 Pump up your chemistry – Collecting business cards and “leads” is comforting but useless. Identify potential customers in advance and start a positive relationship before the event. Then talk 1-on-1 at your booth. Relationships trump shotgun marketing every day.
ROI is Like METH
Every organization has a marketing plan that targets strategies and actions to achieve specific marketing objectives. Costs are balanced against returns and the result is ROI. Return on Investment is potent. Pursuing it is addictive because it feels so great when you get some – and you get the shakes when you don’t have it on a regular basis.
In terms of marketing effectiveness, trade shows are a bargain. You can cook up a ton of ROI if you strategize, plan and execute the things that matter most and don’t be nice. Break bad!
Take Control of the Consequences
The overall theme of “Breaking Bad” is that there are consequences to our actions. So take control of the consequences at your next event. Not long ago I was speaking to a major medical company about their trade shows. The manager’s top two priorities were:
#1 Shipping arriving on time.
#2 Booth installed early.
That was it. From the discussion, sales and revenue weren’t consequences at all. The rest of the plan was right out of the 1990s. You’ve seen it dozens of times: The marketing team stands around waiting for attendees to come talk to them – while giving away brochures and booth gack. That’s way too passive. Did you notice that Walter didn’t do business with anyone who wanted his product? Select your customers carefully. The goals are revenue and sales. There’s no prize for giving out the most T-shirts.
Lead Generation or Business Generation
Look at your marketing plan for trade shows. Does it focus on Lead Generation? If it does, you’re being too nice. Most lead generation strategies fall apart about 45 days after the event. Focus on Business Generation. Look at results of your past three or four events. How many “leads” did you bring home? How many sales did you bring home? At the end of the year, how will your success be measured? I bet it’s by sales.
There’s a Time To “Play Nice” And Then There’s Not
Trade shows are like carnivals – colors, lights, music, games and people constantly working to entice potential buyers into their spaces. And just like a carnival, trade shows aren’t places for “normal people.” So don’t be normal. Grab the business. I don’t mean be rude and over-aggressive, but have a purpose and act on it. If Walt was giving you advice, he’d tell you to go for three goals and you’ll succeed:
Disruptive Marketing. You are attracting attention. Attendees are slowing down and blocking the aisles because of all the attention. The neighboring booths complain.
Total Area Domination. People come and wait patiently. While they do, the fire marshal complains that the booth has too many people.
100% Focused Engagement. Your team knows the key prospects before they get to your booth. They are prepared with customer-specific information that’s so valuable attendees lose track of how long they spend working with the team.
It’s Time to be Breaking Bad!
You may agree with me that Walter White was a world-class jerk. He might have been a little noble at the first, but bad choices and greed killed him before cancer did. That being said, he was highly successful in his business. He had a vision, knowledge, strategy, carefully chosen relationships, and a smart team.
Make sure you do, too.
Be Bad To The Bone
The last episode of “Breaking Bad” attracted a record 10.3 million viewers in the US. Many of them had watched for five seasons and just had to see how Walter was going to wrap things up. Well, let’s just say he didn’t ignore any priorities or people. You can do the same thing with your trade shows and event marketing. You don’t have to lose your moral compass or humanity.
You can be very professional and deliver results – just don’t be quite so “nice.” Break Bad!
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