“Most people have the will to win. Few have the will to prepare to win.”
–Bobby Knight

The Beautiful Letdown

Nothing creates a greater sense of anticipation and excitement than the promise a trade show holds for putting your company and brand on display for the entire world to see. After all…we’re talking showtime: that one extraordinary or few times during the year to rub elbows with swarms of key people from your entire selling channel-and to make an impact that won’t soon be forgotten.

Yet, what happens when the show ends…and the typical letdown begins? The thorny, post-mortem self-analysis may lead anywhere…

• Why were we there? What was the point?
• What did we accomplish?
• Did we offer anything new?
• How can I justify it?
• What did we sell?
• What did we even get for our investment?

Obviously, the truth is never 100% good or bad. Still, the nagging sense that something bigger or better could have come from all your hard work isn’t an unreasonable idea.

Don’t fret if any of this seems even remotely familiar. While trade show productivity will always be an inexact art, one can only wonder how many billions of dollars each year are spent on trade shows by companies that walk away with little or nothing to show for their efforts. Curiously, you can bet they are usually the same ones who probably put little or no effort into being deliberate and outlining some clear expectations upfront.

Hangover Cure

Before dismissing the subject, and to be fair, sometimes the post-show ” letdown” reaction is just human nature. Consider the entire city of Chicago back in 1986, in the midst of quite a show of its own. Back then, it was buzzing with anticipation as its NFL Bears prepared to face the New England Patriots-in attempt to extinguish 25 years of championship futility and finally play in and win the Super Bowl. While the game culminated in a convincing victory that could only make most Chicagoans glow, any fervor was indeed short lived. Just days later, star player Walter Payton summed up the temporary depression perhaps shared by millions. “Where do we go from here?” he pondered. The rush was over.

In the Bears’ case, their job was done when their Super Bowl win. But, in the mid-marketer world, less clear and less understood is this: when “does the gun go off” really for our trade show effort? Have we won or lost? What were our expectations? Did we even have any…and were they reasonable? As astute mid-marketers already know-often not only is the game not over, sometimes it’s just starting.

Expect overtime

When was the last time you or one of your colleagues could honestly say, “Our last trade show exceeded all expectations.” The reason it usually doesn’t is because many think
the job ends when the show ends. You might hear things like,

• “We didn’t see the traffic we wanted,”
• “We sold very little,”
• “We gave out a lot of literature, that’s about it.”

These answers seldom are connected with post-show processes. Unfortunately, when the show ends, the typical “out of sight, out of mind” mentality kicks in- and why you need to be prepared. Enforce a follow-up process that serves at once to reconnect, reinforce the message, foster the relationship, and sell. If this sounds quite deliberate, or too obvious, you are right. We’re talking fundamentals here… Strategy and planning, and most importantly, defining clear objectives.