Trade Shows. Worth it?

[Adrian]

@MangoBananaPie

Hi Adrian,
A lot of business owners do poorly in shows because they don’t have a clear intention.
The most important part of having a good experience doing a trade show is to go in there focussing on 2 things: collecting as many names and email addresses of potential clients as possible and connecting with business owners in non-competing industries.
To collect names and email addresses offer a prize such as a free window cleaning. Have a sign displaying your offer that’s big enough to be seen and read from far away in all directions.
People will be coming up to you just to toss their cards into your fish bowl.
If you’re on a low budget try this.
Partner with a window manufacturer or other related business and share their space with them.
Pay them a buck a card or so, so that they’re motivated to get visitors to drop cards in too.
Learn as much as you can about their business and help them man the booth.
Do the drawing at the end of the show and notify everyone of the winner a few days to a week after the show via email.
Then a little later email them all again (except the winner of course) and offer them a consolation prize of 20% off your services as a gesture of good will just for entering.
Imagine collecting 200-500 cards and generating 20 -100 new clients or more over the course of 2011.
Would that be worth your while given the lifetime value of a client? You bet it will.
Continue to keep in touch with these prospects over time and continue to generate new business.
With the business owners you meet,
concentrate on pool maintenance, carpet cleaning, sprinkler system maintenance companies - any non-competing companies especially those that are likely to have a comparably sized client list.
Approach them about doing joint mailings. You mail a special offer from them to your clients and they do the same for you.
Just be sure you get to know these business owners well and that they each deliver excellent services and have excellent customer care.
Ask for client referrals and check out their promo materials to be sure they’re top notch.
Be sure you feel it out with him or her so that you’re not exposing your clients to anyone sub par to your business.
Also if you do more than one of these be sure to stagger them so you don’t get more business than you can handle all at once.
Hope this helps you.

Thanks for the thorough response. Alot of good input. This show has snuck up awfully quick so Im not going to make the deadline but will concentrate on mailers for now. Hopefully the next one I will be more prepared for and I will consider your ideas!
A

[Blue_Ocean_Window_Cl]

I plan on participating in a local Farmers Market that happens each week and wonder about the value. $100 for 4 exposures to the locals who tend to want to support local businesses. Have you looked into Le Tip or BNI in your area? My Le tip chapter provides a job a week, more than paying for the membership.

[MangoBananaPie]

Farmers markets can be great exposure. Collect email addresses. BNI is also awesome. I’m partnering with a carpet cleaner and an auto detailer who are both fellow members.
Curious what Josh, who posted a response to this thread early, did exactly to generate 35 new clients at a trade show. If you read this Josh, please say more, share details…

[Blue_Ocean_Window_Cl]

Update: Farmers Market is paying off big time. Collect 6-10 names a week and have gotten some 300-500 jobs from the effort. I give away a free exterior clean every 6-8 weeks and call the people who didn’t win to offer a consolation gift of…