How to Increase Sales with Epic Trade-Show Follow-Up
The trade show is over. You’re tired — exhausted, actually. You really don’t want more work to do. So let's look at how we can streamline the trade show follow up process while simultaneously increasing your trade show sales.
Your trade show follow up work can be whittled to two categories: current-buyer follow-up and prospect follow-up (leads). Your goal is to upsell your current buyers and to book new orders with your prospects.
1. Current-buyer follow-up
Trade show follow up with your current buyers is a snap when using a B2B eCommerce solution. Your work has already been minimized because, as we saw in Trade Show Life Part 2: How to Write More Orders and Increase Trade Show ROI, you will be sending visual follow-up meeting recaps directly through your B2B eCommerce solution's app. Include an order link with the visual recap so the buyer can see why she is buying the collection of items.
You can quickly upsell the buyer's order by adding additional items to the recap that may have trended well at the trade show or that you're confident will sell well with the buyer's clientele.
*Tip: If you know your current customer's budget, create a draft order / quote above their desired budget, and show why the collection as a whole is worth the additional investment.
Did a buyer not make it to your booth? No sweat — use your B2B eCommerce solution to send a login plus a curated selection of available products as an integral part of your trade show follow up strategy.
2. Prospect follow-up
You captured prospect data with your B2B eCommerce solution. You even entered excellent notes — products liked, details about your conversations, stories shared and other specific details about their preferences and store info.
Just as you did with your current buyers, share a visual meeting recap to use as the basis for your next discussion.
If you call your prospect within five minutes of viewing an email you have sent, you are 100 times more likely to make contact!
Next, take the prospect's information you logged and do additional research about the store and send an impressive trade show follow up message. Be sure to touch upon all of the key points from your discussion, as well as reasons why the products they liked and any additional products you suggest will be a good fit.
The key to new sales is keeping momentum on your side and managing the discussion. Your first follow-up may not be the time to ask for the order, but it is the time to show you are thinking for them and being a friend in their business.
Remember to also use your B2B eCommerce platform to view when your prospect has opened and viewed your email. Use this opportunity to make a relevant phone call that is more likely to be answered. According to insidesales.com, response speed is crucial, and if you contact your prospect within five minutes of viewing an email you have sent you are 100 times more likely to have contact!
What's next...
Wholesale selling is all about showing you truly understand the customer’s business. Recap every meeting and keep the momentum going by showing visual presentations of a proposed buy with a proposed budget.
A common sales mistake is not clearly demonstrating why the customer should purchase. An effective litmus test to gauge if you truly understand their business is to ask yourself:
- Why will these products perform well for this retailer?
- Why do these products work well as a collection or package?
If you are rock star, the retailer's budget becomes less relevant and you can upsell based on clear follow through that answers the why.
As always, don’t get discouraged if you don’t get new sales immediately. If you genuinely believe this retailer is a good fit for your products, then remain persistent in showing your understanding of their business and why your products will sell well in this store.
Check out the Trade Show Survival Guide for a quick reminder of how to kill it at trade shows!
