Tradeshows and Conferences: Lessons in Sales

Tradeshows and conferences. For that perfect combination of “entertainment and education,” you really can’t beat tradeshows and conferences. Bring a few thousand (or more) salespeople together with a few hundred (or less, or a lot less) potential prospects and the show is a pretty good one. Similar to what you might witness when one ambulance pulls up in front of a building full of lawyers. If you take the time and give yourself permission to be a spectator vs. participant just for a little while, tradeshows/conferences can be pretty entertaining. And sad. Mostly funny. But sad. But funny…

Don’t misunderstand; I take the revenue creation part of these events very seriously. If all I wanted was entertainment and education, I would save my money and head over to the neighborhood park to watch four year olds show all of us hotshot sales pros how to really close deals and do it without long sales cycles. But given that tradeshows/conferences are intended to have some level of education, it doesn’t hurt to be on the lookout for some entertainment at the same time. And friends, at any show, there is no shortage of humor and learning opportunities. They probably won’t be in the education sessions, but they won’t be too hard to find either.

Recently I spent a couple of days at a tradeshow. I wish I could say “I invested a couple of days,” but “spent” is probably more accurate. The educational sessions I attended (where my prospects were and therefore where I was) were pretty good. The networking opportunities (which was not where my prospects were) were numerous and the chance to observe other revenue generators was fantastic.

Whenever I have free time at shows and conference events, I spend a little time shifting roles from “participant” to “observer” for a bit. My physical observation areas (labs) fall into these categories:

1) The bar

2) The show floor

3) Lobby areas

Lobby areas present a prime opportunity to observe business development meetings. It can be relatively simple to get someone to agree to get off of the show floor and take a nice comfortable seat for a sales meeting. I would like to claim that these are “sales conversations” but as we shall see in a moment, some are anything but conversations. In the case of this particular event, I focused on lobby area observations because there simply wasn’t much going on in the booth area and well, the bar stuff is pretty much the same stuff over and over, although it does reign supreme for market intel consisting of rumors, speculations and well, just plain weird behavior.

Meeting a friend who happens to be a pretty bright guy/ geo-political expert/general all-around good fellow, we staked out the end of a sofa and pulled up a chair. We had been talking for only a few minutes when Suzy Sales Gal sits down with her “mark,” er, I mean, “prospect.” After a few minutes of my friend and I trying have a conversation, we gave up. Our conversation was simply no match for Suzy’s decibel level. Our conversation clearly over, we turned to watch the carnival (there is a reason those guys along the carnival midway were referred to as “barkers”) next to us.

Here are a few observations from Suzy’s meeting with “Mark”:

1. Suzy was very well trained by her company. She must have been because she used so many buzz words and acronyms that there is no doubt they could have only come from a big marketing department. Unfortunately, “Mark,” as we shall refer to the prospect, had not been included in the corporate training and therefore had no idea whatsoever what she was talking about.
2. Suzy was very well trained by her sales manager. Or a samurai fighter, not sure which. Mark would lean back, she would lean in. Mark would make a statement and she would agree (EVERY time). Mark would raise his voice loud enough to be heard over the noise and she would raise hers 20 fold. Mark would look at his watch and start to say something and she would jump right in and tell him more. She was very well skilled in the art of “Yell and Tell.”
3. Suzy probably attended one of those sales training programs that state, “All buyers are liars,” so she simply chose not to let Mark talk. Good of her to protect his honor like that.
4. Suzy knew all about features and benefits. OK, I am just assuming she did, I really have no idea what she was selling and I am pretty sure Mark didn’t either!
5. Suzy may have trained with Ringling Brothers in their game alley. She knew how to rope the guy in and get him to sit down; she just forgot that he was there to have a conversation. And no matter how much he tried, Suzy was not going to let that happen.

The following day, back in another lobby area, I was introduced (OK, I was eavesdropping but don’t blame me because it’s another “yell and tell” example) to John as he meets with his prospect who we will call “Buddy,” because Buddy is a people pleaser and will listen to anyone talk. Doesn’t matter that Buddy doesn’t have any idea/plan/desire to buy anything. Here are a few keen insights gleaned from their time together:

1. John is a very bright and well informed guy. Just ask him. He’s not shy. Simply listen to him for 30 seconds and you will know how smart he is because that’s where the conversation will end up going. Buddy smiled and laughed along. Buddy likes to hang out with John. Buddy likes to hang out with anybody.
2. John is very connected. Just listen for 30 more seconds and John names every major player and intimates that they are all his friends. Buddy smiles more.
3. John works on big deals, spends big money and is powerful. You get the picture by now.
4. John has a lot to say on everything from IT, personnel, OEMs and strip clubs. Again, John proves he’s a genius.
5. John is tireless. He has talked for over 30 minutes without Buddy uttering a word of significance. He may have had a thought but 1) John never asked him anything and 2) John never shut up.
6. John’s company (he did eventually get around to the company) is clearly the “best solution.” He’s proven his superiority by bashing competitor after competitor (by name) without talking about either Buddy’s needs or his own capabilities.

Lest you begin to think that these events are more akin to a carnival than the heavy investment that tradeshow/conference participation or attendance warrants, rest assured that there are plenty of great opportunities to generate revenue. As a matter of fact, the more Suzy’s and Johns, the better off the rest of us are.

Friends, don’t be Suzy or John. The next time you are working with a prospect, in the early stages of the sales cycle, take the time to ask, listen and guide the conversation. As for Suzy’s prospect, Mark, let’s just say that he got out of there quicker than the guy in the row behind you when the flight attendants signal that the plane has come to a complete stop at the gate. John’s guy, Buddy, well, he was in no hurry to disengage from John. Buddy wants to hang out with the big dogs even if the dog really is a dog. And John, oh he definitely does not want the conversation to end because as long as he’s got an audience, he can talk about his favorite thing in the whole world, himself. Even if that means spending an hour talking to Buddy. Have a goal and be prepared to disengage if there is no opportunity. It’s ok. Really it is.

Are these true stories? Yes. Are they fair depictions of the profession of revenue generation? Of course not, they merely serve to remind us of paths to not go down. Now, I’m not as loud as Suzy or as arrogant as John, but I would like to gently offer up a little advice for your consideration before your next interaction with a prospect. Take the time to uncover some idea of what is challenging them (corporately and individually). Invest some time in getting to understand their world (even if you think you know it). You can do this by:

Engaging – ask questions.

Sharing – stories about what you do for others.

Listening – actively make sure you really understand what they are, and are not, saying.

Asking some more – ask a few more follow up questions.

Sharing some more – share some proof of any claims you make.

Arranging – arrange mutually agreed upon next steps.

And don’t be the rep that specializes in “Yell and Tell” or “How Do You Like Me So Far.” The prospect cares a lot more about themself than they do about you, so focus your conversation accordingly.

Disclaimer: Incidents are real. Names are changed…I think. If any of the participants were named Suzy, John, Mark or Buddy, I did not know it. As far as John and Buddy, I know those weren’t their real names because I recognized them both and yes, I was one of the competitors John was bashing. For some reason that made me smile. I told you, this stuff is funny. And sad. And funny. And sad.