exhibitor express

FREE Trade Show Training newsletter - helping exhibitors gain more leads & orders from trade exhibitions

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"The Exhibition Association of Southern Africa (EXSA) is conducting research to gain a better understanding of marketers’ perceptions of exhibitions and their reasons for using exhibitions.EXSA has commissioned Research Services to conduct the research on its behalf. Research Services is a member of the South African Market Research Association (SAMRA) and adheres to a strict Code of Conduct. Please note that individual responses will remain confidential.

EXSA recently formed an alliance with the Marketing Federation of Southern Africa (MFSA) and, as part of this collaboration, the MFSA has offered to assist EXSA with the distribution of its research questionnaire.

Sandton Convention Centre and Southern Sun Hotels have donated a fantastic prize for one lucky respondent. All respondents will be entered into the draw for a weekend for two (including breakfast) at the Palazzo Intercontinental Hotel at MonteCasino in Fourways. The prizewinner will be contacted by e-mail.

The questionnaire is user-friendly, with most questions in a multiple-choice format. It should not take longer than five minutes to complete. The research findings will be reported to the MFSA database via e-mail. Please return completed questionnaires by e-mail (hawes@netline.co.za) or fax them to Heather Hawes on (011) 880-7580 within the next 10 days.. If you have any queries contact Heather on (011) 880-7581 or 083 308 5580.

EXSA appreciates your help with this research project and looks forward to receiving your input."

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EXHIBITION SCAM CONTINUES

"received a call on my cellphone for a Botswana citizen this week wanting to meet to discuss business. He apparently got my cellphone no from a Fanus with an African sounding name who assured him I would be interested. I blew him off in no uncertain terms - this sounds like a similar modus operandi

Regards WILLIE SCHULTZ

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QUESTION: My company's primary objective for trade shows is making sales. However, our salespeople complain about how difficult it is to get prospects to commit to buying at a show.

ANSWER: There are several things you can do to improve your chances for closing sales at a show. Do your homework before the show. Know where each prospect is in the buying process. Bring them as far along as possible before the show, so they're ready to close at the show. By the time they get there, you should be finalising details. If you're dependent on someone walking by the stand and saying 'Gee, I think I want to buy', you're in trouble. You want to make sure that you are on your prospect's agenda before the show.

Create the right 'closing' environment in your stand. This will vary depending on the type of show. For example, at a booksellers' show, everybody is elbow to elbow on the show floor; however at a telecommunications show, people don't want others to know they're buying, so they meet in smoked-glass offices for privacy. Check out the selling environment at the shows in which you're participating so that you can create the right mood for closing sales.

Make sure you have the tools you need to close. This includes product, literature, contracts, financing information and key personnel. For example, if you have to dicker with a buyer, someone has to OK any deals you make. So you better have a decision-maker in the stand. You don't want to say to a hot prospect, 'I'd like to close this deal with you right now, but I have to discuss it with my manager and he's not at the show'. Say that, and you just missed a closing opportunity.

Article by Marc Goldberg, Marketech Inc., USA appeared in Exhibitor Magazine

'How to be a successful exhibitionist' - useful pocket-sized booklet for South African exhibitors, that immediately improves the return on your exhibition investment, which means more leads, orders and new business, the next time you exhibit.. Price R79.00 including local postage.

If you would like to find out how to maximise your exhibition results then diarise to attend the 3-hour exhibitor workshops that EXSA Exhibition Association of Southern Africa will be hosting in Johannesburg on :

For more information on attending these workshops, or to reserve your place, click here. The cost is R599.00 plus VAT. To see what delegates to previous workshops thought, please click here. Visit EXSA for complete exhibition calendar at www.exsa.co.za

The purpose of this newsletter is to help you achieve maximum results from trade exhibitions. There will be regular free tips and advice that will pep up your performance and help you gain the best return on your exhibition investment. If you have specific questions on exhibiting, please e-mail them to: joy@donovan.co.za or phone 011-792-9958. More free help and advice is available at www.exhibitor.co.za Please feel free to pass this newsletter onto friends and colleagues, who can arrange their own free subscription at joy@donovan.co.za

The workshops and this e-mail are presented by Joy Donovan M.D. of South Africa’s first Trade Show Training company. Joy’s 30 + years in the exhibition industry, mainly as an exhition organiser, well equipped her to identify the need in the exhibition market and produce training that significantly improves exhibitor's results. Joy is also driving the exhibition industry's skills development initiative, producing qualifications for every sector from organisers to exhibitors. If you require information on in-house exhibitor training, coaching or mentoring, please e-mail joy@donovan.co.za phone 011-792-9958 fax 011-792-7597.