Dos and Don’ts for Your Staffing Firm Tradeshow
Tradeshow! A great opportunity to promote your services, outpace competition and win more business. Since no battle can be won without a strategy, you need to have a plan of action in order to collect the fruits of your tradeshow effort. Attending a staffing firm tradeshow is not only about booking a booth space and setting up a dazzling booth. This is what most exhibitors do, but this is definitely not the way to realize maximum potential. Below we talk about some factors to take into account that will help you get the most out of your tradeshow attendance.
Prepare Your Team
Your booth staff is your A-Team. They are the ones to initially get involved in discussions with attendees, promote your services and talk to the value your company brings to table. To ensure that your team accomplishes their mission, you need to train them on how to be engaging and deliver your message every time they have the opportunity to do so. Sit down with them and talk about your value proposition and how they can address your points of differentiation at the staffing firm tradeshow. Remember that if your booth staff don’t know where you excel, than they won’t be able to communicate your advantage to attendees.
Don’t Forget the Collateral
When we say don’t forget the collateral we don’t mean just to remember to bring them with you. What we mean is to make your tradeshow collateral work for your staffing firm. What you need to keep in mind is that people who stop by your booth need to leave with the necessary information that is both accurate and relevant. Passing them a pack of brochures with pretty images and long paragraphs is not going to do it. The material you provide needs to tell your story and speak to the needs of the audience that attends the tradeshow where you exhibit.
Collect Information
As mentioned before, attending a staffing firm tradeshow is a great opportunity to promote services and win new business. Companies devote many resources to that goal and they have to realize the maximum return on investment (ROI). Leaving the event without the information of potential prospects is a tragic mistake. Put it high on your priority list to have a customer relationship management (CRM) platform at your booth that allows you to collect visitors’ info in real time and even sort them by the level of their interest in what you offer. You need to know who to go after and who to put in the backburner.
Don’t Lose Your Chance
Believe it or not, the most important phase of the tradeshow takes place after you leave the venue. Before you start shaking your head, remember that the higher the number of leads that you turn into business, the more successful your attendance is. To achieve this, you need to make sure that you have a solid lead nurturing strategy in place that your sales and recruiting teams follow to the letter. The number of companies that fail to capitalize on their tradeshow leads is just disappointing. Don’t let your investment, in both time and effort, go in vain.
Measure the Results
The only safe way to know if the staffing firm tradeshow you attended was a success or not is by evaluating the results of your efforts. Does the ROI justify your decision to be there? Did your booth grab the attention of the attendees or is it time to update it? Did your team follow the lead nurturing plan, or is there room for improvement? Is your tradeshow collateral working for your staffing firm? Use every tradeshow as an opportunity to improve your marketing strategy and achieve more the next time you are on the exhibition floor.
Key Takeaways for Dos and Don’ts for Your Staffing Firm Tradeshow:
- Train your booth staff on how to promote your services
- Make sure that your tradeshow collateral work for your staffing firm
- Use a CRM that allows you to collect and prioritize leads
- Have in place a solid lead nurturing strategy
- Evaluate the results of your efforts to be more effective
About S.J.Hemley Marketing
S.J.Hemley Marketing is a marketing and sales consulting firm focused on driving tangible results for professional services firms. Brand matters, but not without ROI. With over 20 years of sales and marketing experience within staffing and recruiting, we have helped to drive successful branding, sales training, lead generation activities as well as defining marketing strategy for top organizations.