For those of use who have spend a considerable amount of time at Trade Shows either as a guest or presenter know that usually hey are crammed events with a sea of booths. So what can be done to stand out from the crowd?

I have put together a short list of suggestions that have proven to work well for me. Weather you’re new to the Trade Shows bandwagon or a veteran, we could all use a little grease on the wheels.

•  Be a Trade Show Exhibitor, NOT an Attendee.
• Create a relevant atmosphere around your booth, using displays that depict what you do and expresses the benefits to the patrons of the event.
• Be exciting! Plan out some interaction ideas with your visitors. The more they become involved in your booth, the more likely they are to remember you. You have less than 30 seconds to catch the attention of your visitor. How are you going to do it?
• Have a prize Fish Bowl. This is a great way collect leads. Make sure you follow up on your leads promptly and professionally
• Have some gifts or promotional giveaways to draw from the bowl and award a new winner each hour as incentive for prospects to share their business card. 

Believe it or not… the point of a Trade Show is to catch the attention of a prospect and get to know them. This is how your sale is made. So don’t be afraid to chat it up with people and make a scene.

It’s always important for a company to look outside the ideas and strategies of their own business and see what other company’s are doing to be successful in their respective industries. Reading blogs, articles, any information on business success stories could have a quality impact on your own company. This particular idea will be the focus of many future posts.

In this case, check out this article written about trade show tips by Jennifer Lueck.  I found that some of the things said over there made a whole lot of sense over here.

In this article she mentions sales tools and literature to provide customers. It seems evident that promotional products can be very relevant to trade shows…they can be a hand-out, an attraction, a gift to those who attend that remind people of your brand/company. Providing potential customers with something to associate with your business can be very valuable to your bottom-line. I know that if I looked at logo key chain everyday I got in my car I’d think about that business a lot more, wouldn’t you?

Promo products are marketing food….there are several ways that you can look at this idea. The first being that promo products are things that consumers/clients will eat up. They can be very good at getting a company’s name out to the buying public and also serve as an added incentive/bonus to company clients. Promo products are so good in fact that clients/customers/consumers will always way more and different kinds. They’re novel, unique, clever, and people like getting them and seeing them.

A different interpretation of this saying could be the idea the food is fuel. Food provides our body’s with energy and drive. Promo products can work in a very similar way. If used correctly and effectively, promo products can give a lot of fuel to a good marketing plan. They can add some extra fire to a struggling promotional strategy and give an extra punch to an otherwise dull marketing plan. Promo products can keep your image and brand viewable and marketable to the public where other advertising or marketing might fall short. This is the idea of promo products adding fuel to a good marketing plan.

Whichever idea you and your company focus on can help drive a good marketing and promotional strategy. It can be trying to provide good “food” for the buying public to eat up, or it could be adding a little fuel and strength to your marketing plan. Regardless, adding a little marketing food to your company’s diet will always help the bottom-line.

In several recent posts we’ve talked about how the sales process can be very difficult. We discussed how competitive industry markets are these days and how important it is to get a leg up on your competition through any means. To get in edge in the business world you need to go above and beyond, you need to offer your client something, outside of a great product, that your competitors don’t. In the case, we’re talking about promo products. Promo products are a great way to attract your client or customer to your business and ultimately push them over th edge into buying your product.

A key chain, designer pen, anything that can appeal to the customer and also get your brand image out to the public is a good way to win over your customer/client. Such a small gift is still a gift in the consumer’s eyes. It’s seen as a kind gesture and a way of thanking them on the side for doing business with them. This small gift and gesture can often times be enough to get them to buy into the bigger product you can offer. Call it a bribe, call it a gift, gestures like these can mean the difference between a healthy bottom-line and struggling sales numbers.

In business, is image really everything? Does it need to be stronger and more positive compared to your competitors? I guess I can only answer this in one way….ABSOLUTELY. When people say that in business image is everything, they’re saying this for a reason. Let’s take a look…

Let’s take for example Company A, who has a history of bad business ethics, often is receiving bad publicity in the news, and basically carries a negative vibe with buyers. Now take Company B, who has a proven history of ethical business, strong customer satisfaction, and great publicity. As a buyer/client/customer who’s looking to buy a product, in small or large scale, what company will you immediately be most inclined to do business with? Obviously Company B. If you don’t know much about a product created by Company A, what kind of assumptions will you have and will you be able to trust this product without knowing a lot about it? Whereas, if you are in the dark about a product from Company B, won’t you have a margin of trust because of the company’s background? ABSOLUTELY!

The image your company carries is everything. It allows your customer to be comfortable with your track record, have a positive feeling in the sales process, and also feel confident in going into business with your company. Having a strong company image and give your business an advantage over your competitors before you even offer your product.  If you feel like your company already has a great image, then promotional items are a great way to get your positive image to more of the public. Creating a positive image can mean everything and getting that positive image out there, can be just as important!

In the previous post we covered how to make the sales process more efficient, how it’s vital to facilitate to the clients needs, and make it a smooth and comfortable transaction. Now it’s important to cover how you can “load your sales gun.” The more you “ammo” you provide for your sales people, the more success they’ll find. What I’m talking about here are promotional products and promotional marketing items. Whether it’s pens with a company logo, key chains, or any sort of relevant logo marketing merchandise, these are things that your client can use to get their brand name and image to its buyers. Besides being a gift and kind gesture to your clients/customers, they act as a reminder to anyone they decide to give it to, or anyone who sees them. The more people see your brand name or your logo, the more they’ll think about your company and this is great for your business. Getting your image out to the public through any means possible only equates for a larger bottom-line.

So remember, next time you send your sales rep out on the road, or to an important client meeting, give them a loaded gun. Give them an opportunity to wow the client with a way to increase their brand recognition.  Any little thing can make a difference and promotional items can be great marketing ammunition.

So what exactly does this clever little phrase mean? What does it mean to “grease your wheels” and how can this be applied to the sales world? Hopefully by the end of this post it will be clear. To “grease your wheels” simply means to make something run smoother, more efficient. When you grease up a chain on a bike, it’s to allow the chain work smoother. When you put WD-40 on a squeaking door, the door opens and closes easier, any resistance is eliminated. This same idea can be applied to the sales process. The easier you can make the sales process for the client/customer, the more willing they’ll be to do business with you. If, however, the transaction is full of hassles, hang-ups and run-arounds then the client will have serious regrets about dealing with you or your company. It’s simple: The easier, smoother and, well, better you can make this process for them, the more they’re going to want to do business with you.

Here are some easy ways to grease your sales wheels:

• Do Your Homework: know your product, know your company, and know your client
• Be Accommodating and Accessible: put your clients’ needs as a priority and always try to be available if the client needs to reach you
• Learn From Mistakes: analyze positive sales processes and negative ones as well and apply the things you learn to future transactions

The last thing a client wants is a painful sales process and the more you can do to facilitate their needs, the more business the client will want to do with you. Greasing your wheels may be a strange analogy, but a smooth ride for your clients is a key to great business!

A few days ago, I pointed out that promotional products greater name recognition.  Now I want to talk about how that’s beneficial beyond the obvious. Here are a few reasons: 

1)     They’re tangible Most promotional products are products you can hold, you can touch, you can use.  They aren’t tucked away in a magazine or available in sight and sound for a quick 30 second shot on TV. 

2)     They’re useful (give quick examples)Oh, yes.  They’re not pet rocks or couch potatoes.  They provide a purpose, solve a problem, or make you feel good.  That makes them INHERENTLY valuable.  A lot less likely to be tossed in the bottom of the drawer – or in the trash.  Since they are useful and valuable, they’re more likely to stick around for a while. 

3)     They’re personal The reason you get a promotional item is because they want you to HAVE it.  You take it because you want to USE it.  Once you have it and start using it, it becomes…yours.  It’s not long a promotional item or a giveaway, its your customers personal property.  One that THEY use.  One that has YOUR name on it. 

4)     They’re long lasting Most corporate gifts are something that the recipient can use for a long time.  Be it a pen (until the ink runs dry), a calendar (for 12 or 16 months), or a golf umbrella at a tournament (a lifetime). 

5)     They’re portable If they’re tangible, they’re often portable.  That golf umbrella or golf towel can be seen on the golf course.  The pens goes with you everywhere.  In your pocket, on your desk, in you hand.  If you lose it, someone else is being advertised to.  The custom made sunglasses, the shirt or hat with the logo, the picnic set.   

6)     They’re memorable A story.  I grew up in a small village in Rhode Island called
Oak Lawn.  This was the late 1960’s. We had three gas stations nearby, one of which was a Shell station.  Back in the summer of 1969, I was in the second year of following my first love.  The
Boston Red Sox.  Now the local Shell station was giving away pictures of several players, along with a mug.  Every time we got in the car I wanted us to get gas.  I convinced both parents to exclusively go to that station to get gas – and the latest autographed picture.    

By the time I was old enough to drive – about eight years later, I, for some reason, preferred that Shell.  Always did.  And now I can remember why. 

Here it is, 38 years later.  I  still got those autograph pictures.  Pictures of relatively obscure players long retired.  And when my son asks me for a glass of milk before he goes to bed, he gets it in that glass mug that my mom brought home so long ago. 

Message:  promotional products can build AFFINITY.

Let’s face it, no matter how good, how amazing, or even how BRILLIANT your company’s product is, no one will buy it if they don’t know it’s out there. It seems as though creating a dynamite product is only half the battle these days. You need to know how to inform your buying audience that this product is available and, more importantly that they can’t live without it. I know this sounds simple enough, but it’s a step that many businesses don’t take seriously.

As a company you need to separate yourselves from your competitors, stand out from the back and find ways to uniquely advertise your product to put it firmly into the minds of the audience. This is where promotional items can really help. Key chains, pens, any logo merchandise can help; while it may not seem that these items are advertising your product necessarily, they’re advertising your company and your IMAGE!

You know, and I know, in any industry, Image, is Everything.

 

 The $100,000 Question [4:16:07m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

• Not everybody can make $5,000 to $10,000 a month doing affiliate marketing. There is too much competition.
• There is no easy money that will fall into your lap without you doing anything. And in case there was any easy money I would keep that information to myself and not write it in an article read by thousands of people.
• You will find the best working affiliate opportunities only by finding them yourself, either through testing and research or networking and business development.

1. Google and Overture rock!
2. Do Mail Outs!
3. Consider your own affiliate program!

So whats the bottom line?

• Spend limited amounts of money to test offers and see how they return your investment.
• When you find something that works - scale it. And then repeat.
• Test your success!