As seen in the January 1989 issue
of Telemarketing (now Customer Inter@ction Solutions).

The Best Kept Secret In Trade Show Marketing

BY NADJI TEHRANI

At one of these conventions, we decided to have a low-key presence. We rented a booth and decided to hire a local booth attendant, who I'll call Type A, to distribute Telemarketing magazine and collect sales leads. On the first day of the show, the hired booth attendant was completely trained by one of our sales managers as to exactly what was expected of her. When the exhibit hall opened, the sales manager became increasingly concerned about the attendant's lack of motivation, enthusiasm and interest. She had a laid-back attitude and stayed as far away from the aisles as she could, as though she wanted to avoid the attendees. Her attitude was that the world owes her a living, the magazines are on the table and if people want them, and if people insist, she'll run their identification card through the imprinter so they can get on the mailing list! She seemed far more interested in talking to the young salesmen in the adjacent booths about social matters, lunch appointments or which hospitality suite she would go to!

If a customer wanted to buy a book or order a subscription, he or she literally had to interrupt the "social talk" to get more information. The sales manager grew increasingly impatient with her performance and gave her repeated warnings throughout the first day. Due to this attitude, she collected only 29 sales leads during the first day.

I arrived at the convention the second day of the show and learned of the booth attendant's unacceptable performance. I immediately had a serious talk with her, explaining that we had spent several thousand dollars to come to this show to generate new business, not to socialize or pay her $25 an hour so she could talk to non-customers and set up lunch, dinner or other appointments. Since I noticed some talent in her, I decided to give her one last chance to shape up or ship out!

The bottom line: she did not respond and she got a total of only 58 sales leads for the first two days of the show! She was dismissed immediately.

I then registered a very strong complaint with the temporary agency and insisted I get the best available booth attendant or I would not pay them a dime and would bring the matter to the attention of the local Better Business Bureau. My justifiably bitter complaint paid off handsomely.

The next day an outstanding booth attendant, who I'll call Type B, went to our booth. Unbeknownst to me, she got to the booth (somehow) two hours before the exhibits opened and she immediately read every single magazine, brochure, flyer and book she could get her hands on. She developed (on her own initiative and without any training whatsoever) a remarkably accurate, convincing and memorized script that she presented to virtually everyone who passed our booth.

Due to inadequate transportation availability that day, my staff and I arrived nearly two hours after the show had opened. Naturally concerned about the status of the new booth attendant, I rushed to our booth.

What a pleasant surprise! I could not believe my eyes. I stood speechless right in front of her, wondering when she had learned so much about Telemarketing magazine, our two books and TBT EAST and WEST conventions! Since she did not know me, I asked her several questions and she responded with unbelievable accuracy! She handled the attendees with such professionalism and care, the like of which I have never seen in my life. Her warm, sincere and bubbly personality, fueled by her positive, can-do attitude, literally stopped every attendee to hear the telemarketing story!

As for the results, she was in a class by herself. Although the last two days of any show have much slower traffic than the first two days, her accomplishments were sensational! She distributed a record 3,000 magazines, calling for another 1,000 emergency shipment. She sold dozens of books and got over 400 sales leads versus only 58 for Type A.

The evidence is black and white! It speaks glowingly for itself. A positive, can-do attitude, self-motivation and initiative generate results. Without these attributes, there is no point in getting out of bed in the morning!

There are many fine lessons to learn from this true story, among them:

1. Do not take people with a Type A attitude to the show.
2. Before you blame he trade show for poor sales lead generation, take a hard look at your staff. Are they Type A or Type B employees?
3. Before you take employees to a trade show, have them read this editorial first. Then, make it crystal clear to them that they are not going to the show to socialize, they are going to work hard (12 hours straight a day) and generate business. If they still want to go, perhaps you are fortunate enough to have Type B staff members.

Also, take care of your Type B employees. I paid the Type B attendant a $100 bonus, gave her my business card and told her that anytime she wants to work for me full-time, just give me a call.

There's much more to trade show marketing than just showing up! I wonder, do they really teach this sort of thing at Harvard Business School or is this not "academic" enough?

Sincerely,
Nadji Tehrani
Publisher and Editor-in-Chief

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