People often say "80% of life is showing up" - it's true too if you are looking to grow your business. A few months ago I wrote about how 'showing up' is the first step to getting involved in social media. You can read about that here. In addition to showing up where your prospects are online, it's a good practice to also find them where they are offline.
Many B2B companies and 'brick and mortar' stores don't necessarily find customers online. If you are selling to prospects who aren't sitting in front of a computer all day - whether they are on their feet in a hospital or school or working on the floor of a restaurant or construction site - these potential buyers are not necessarily going to be searching for you on the web. In fact, they may not even know what to search for on the web or even that they could actually search for something like what you are offering.
In addition, depending on what your product or service is, it may not be easily understandable via the web. Depending on what you are selling, your words and your consultation may be what gets you the sale or conducting a live demo might be what's needed. Of course having a strong web presence can only help you, but you may need to employ additional means of making your target audience aware and interested in your products and services.
Hence, showing up at offline events. Having a strong understanding of the industry you are in and your target audience will give you a good sense of where your prospects frequent. Your current customers are a wealth of information as they probably can tell you the best places to 'show up' at. Do they go to yearly trade shows? Do they gather at familiar watering holes on a particular day? Do they admire certain companies for sponsoring events that they go to with friends and family? Are there neighborhood events or industry events that you need to be at to show that you support the community?
The more you know about your target audience and where they go, the more likely you are to find events to show up at. And if you know your customers, you might get lucky and get an invitation from one of them for you to join in on the fun.
OK - admittedly showing up only gets you 80% there. There is another 20% that can really help you get the attention of prospects at the event. Try some of these things to get your prospects engaged and talking about you:
Tell your target prospects ahead of time that you will be at an upcoming event: If you know who is going to the event, reaching out ahead of time to the 5-10 people you want to be sure to connect with at the event can help you get in front of your target audience in the most convenient way for them.
Identify current customers who are going to the event & ask them to introduce you to others: If you have customers that love you, confide in them that you are hoping to help others like them. More than likely they are willing to help you and their friends by connecting you both at an event or take them all out to drinks.
Get a booth at an upcoming trade show: If you do go down this route, set clear goals in terms of how much you are spending and what you hope to achieve. It's good to have achievable goals such as the number of leads you hope to collect and even go so far as identifying how many sales you'd like to make at the show and after the show. Also, have a strong presence at the show with bold signage, a demo, a seasoned sales professional, and some fun ways to attract people to your booth.
Identify panelists and participants at the event that you want to meet: If you can't afford a booth of your own, put together a list of 20-30 people who will be exhibiting, speaking, or attending that you'd like to meet and find out where they will be when and... show up. ( Ideally you talk to them as well once you find them.)
Arrange for a pre/post-event: Can't afford even going to the trade show? Reach out to your prospects before hand by hosting a breakfast or host cocktails or drinks afterward so you can connect with them more informally. Be sure to have a game plan to follow up with a few target attendees with a more formal conversation where you can chat more about how you can help them and win some new customers.
Take your product with you to the event: Don't be pushy but don't be shy either - if someone is really interested in your product or service, they may want to make a deal right then and there - be sure to have your demo, product, or calendar ready to make the sale or at least schedule a follow up conversation. There's no better time than the present to make a sale!
Share your best practices for attending events in the comments section below - I'd love to hear from you!
Many B2B companies and 'brick and mortar' stores don't necessarily find customers online. If you are selling to prospects who aren't sitting in front of a computer all day - whether they are on their feet in a hospital or school or working on the floor of a restaurant or construction site - these potential buyers are not necessarily going to be searching for you on the web. In fact, they may not even know what to search for on the web or even that they could actually search for something like what you are offering.
In addition, depending on what your product or service is, it may not be easily understandable via the web. Depending on what you are selling, your words and your consultation may be what gets you the sale or conducting a live demo might be what's needed. Of course having a strong web presence can only help you, but you may need to employ additional means of making your target audience aware and interested in your products and services.
Hence, showing up at offline events. Having a strong understanding of the industry you are in and your target audience will give you a good sense of where your prospects frequent. Your current customers are a wealth of information as they probably can tell you the best places to 'show up' at. Do they go to yearly trade shows? Do they gather at familiar watering holes on a particular day? Do they admire certain companies for sponsoring events that they go to with friends and family? Are there neighborhood events or industry events that you need to be at to show that you support the community?
The more you know about your target audience and where they go, the more likely you are to find events to show up at. And if you know your customers, you might get lucky and get an invitation from one of them for you to join in on the fun.
OK - admittedly showing up only gets you 80% there. There is another 20% that can really help you get the attention of prospects at the event. Try some of these things to get your prospects engaged and talking about you:
Tell your target prospects ahead of time that you will be at an upcoming event: If you know who is going to the event, reaching out ahead of time to the 5-10 people you want to be sure to connect with at the event can help you get in front of your target audience in the most convenient way for them.
Identify current customers who are going to the event & ask them to introduce you to others: If you have customers that love you, confide in them that you are hoping to help others like them. More than likely they are willing to help you and their friends by connecting you both at an event or take them all out to drinks.
Get a booth at an upcoming trade show: If you do go down this route, set clear goals in terms of how much you are spending and what you hope to achieve. It's good to have achievable goals such as the number of leads you hope to collect and even go so far as identifying how many sales you'd like to make at the show and after the show. Also, have a strong presence at the show with bold signage, a demo, a seasoned sales professional, and some fun ways to attract people to your booth.
Identify panelists and participants at the event that you want to meet: If you can't afford a booth of your own, put together a list of 20-30 people who will be exhibiting, speaking, or attending that you'd like to meet and find out where they will be when and... show up. ( Ideally you talk to them as well once you find them.)
Arrange for a pre/post-event: Can't afford even going to the trade show? Reach out to your prospects before hand by hosting a breakfast or host cocktails or drinks afterward so you can connect with them more informally. Be sure to have a game plan to follow up with a few target attendees with a more formal conversation where you can chat more about how you can help them and win some new customers.
Take your product with you to the event: Don't be pushy but don't be shy either - if someone is really interested in your product or service, they may want to make a deal right then and there - be sure to have your demo, product, or calendar ready to make the sale or at least schedule a follow up conversation. There's no better time than the present to make a sale!
Share your best practices for attending events in the comments section below - I'd love to hear from you!
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