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Thread: How to Ask the Right Questions to Build Trust at Trade Shows & Follow Up With Leads for Event Attribution & ROI Measurement
STEP 1: ALIGN OBJECTIVES BEFORE THE EVENT
First, prior to the event align with your sales and marketing team on the lead generation plan.
What are your business goals? What are your campaign objectives?
When you define your objectives ahead of time, it allows you to be timely.
Not prepared? It could take weeks to follow-up.
STEP 2: BUILD TRUST WITH OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Ensure your team manning the booth understands how to build trust with prospects and qualify leads with open-ended questions like:
- What attracted you to our booth?
- What do you know about us?
- What are your goals for this event?
STEP 3: IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES QUICKLY
For those connecting with customers, ensure there is agreement on how to properly identify opportunities with questions like:
- What are your top priorities for the upcoming year?
- What challenges are you struggling with right now?
- How is this impacting your mission?
STEP 4: PRIORITIZE & FOLLOW-UP
Did you know 80% of trade show exhibitors don’t follow up on their show leads? Why do companies continue to throw away these opportunities?
Prioritizing leads and the speed of initial follow-up should be a critical part of your show strategy. Doing so can give you a significant advantage over your competition.
- High- High interest or requested specific information.
- Medium – Current or targeted accounts.
- Low – Unknown interest or opportunity.
This prioritization allows you to separate those prospects with intellectual interest vs. those with a burning desire to address their challenges.
Prospects who have expressed specific challenges are usually most qualified to share openly and look for solutions. Its best to understand both the organizational impact and personal motivation for addressing their challenges.
STEP 4: BE PERSISTENT, BUT NOT A PEST!
A BD professional touches a lead on average only 1.3 times.
Want to stand out from your competitors? Increasing the number of touches to 6 increases the likelihood of making a contact by 70%! Your process will differ, but here’s a great article from @ptrkdoolin.
STEP 5: DETERMINE EVENT ROI
To understand ROI, it’s of course essential you measure the results and refine your process for the next upcoming event. You will want to measure:
- How many people visited your booth.
- How many of them are classified as A, B, and C leads.
- How many prospects convert to customers in the following 12 months.
- How many of your current prospects convert due to your event attendance.
STEP 1: ALIGN OBJECTIVES BEFORE THE EVENT
First, prior to the event align with your sales and marketing team on the lead generation plan.
What are your business goals? What are your campaign objectives?
When you define your objectives ahead of time, it allows you to be timely.
Not prepared? It could take weeks to follow-up.
STEP 2: BUILD TRUST WITH OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Ensure your team manning the booth understands how to build trust with prospects and qualify leads with open-ended questions like:
- What attracted you to our booth?
- What do you know about us?
- What are your goals for this event?
STEP 3: IDENTIFY OPPORTUNITIES QUICKLY
For those connecting with customers, ensure there is agreement on how to properly identify opportunities with questions like:
- What are your top priorities for the upcoming year?
- What challenges are you struggling with right now?
- How is this impacting your mission?
STEP 4: PRIORITIZE & FOLLOW-UP
Did you know 80% of trade show exhibitors don’t follow up on their show leads? Why do companies continue to throw away these opportunities?
Prioritizing leads and the speed of initial follow-up should be a critical part of your show strategy. Doing so can give you a significant advantage over your competition.
- High- High interest or requested specific information.
- Medium – Current or targeted accounts.
- Low – Unknown interest or opportunity.
This prioritization allows you to separate those prospects with intellectual interest vs. those with a burning desire to address their challenges.
Prospects who have expressed specific challenges are usually most qualified to share openly and look for solutions. Its best to understand both the organizational impact and personal motivation for addressing their challenges.
STEP 4: BE PERSISTENT, BUT NOT A PEST!
A BD professional touches a lead on average only 1.3 times.
Want to stand out from your competitors? Increasing the number of touches to 6 increases the likelihood of making a contact by 70%!
Your process will differ, but here’s a great article from @ptrkdoolin.
STEP 5: DETERMINE ROI
To understand ROI, it’s of course essential you measure the results and refine your process for the next upcoming event.
You will want to measure:
- How many people visited your booth.
- How many of them are classified as A, B, and C leads.
- How many prospects convert to customers in the following 12 months.
- How many of your current prospects convert due to your event attendance.
Did you know 80% of trade show exhibitors don’t follow up on their show leads?
Why do companies throw away this opportunity? #govcon #businessdevelopment
Here’s a thread on how to boost your investment
Let’s dive in ↓
— GovCon Business Development Tips | Hi-Q Group (@WhatsyourHiQ) August 16, 2022
