Events make up at least a quarter of the overall marketing budget. It’s easy to understand why – nothing beats the power of face-to-face connection – particularly when it comes to generating new business opportunities. The sales pipeline is of course recognised as the lifeblood of the business – yet marketers and their sales team could unwittingly be cutting off the leads supply even before an event has finished.
Recently, Cvent commissioned independent research amongst 2000 business executives to gauge their views on what sales and marketing tactics impact them most when it comes to engaging with existing and new business contacts during major networking events or trade exhibitions. The results of the study revealed a clear disconnect between sales and marketing teams’ tactics and their overall effectiveness with potential prospects.
Based on these insights, here are some of their top criticisms and what marketers and their sales teams could be doing more effectively to maximise their business opportunities and fuel their pipeline at future events.
1. An expectation the marketing/sales team can organise meetings on the day(s) of the event
According to our research, six in 10 event attendees/prospects will organise appointments before the event. Of course, that’s still four in 10 prospects who could be available, but why miss out on the much larger universe of new business opportunities?
The important issue is not to leave planning to the last minute as it is likely you won’t be the only person vying for their business. Allow as much time as possible in advance to organise meetings – up to a month is a reasonable time frame.
It’s also worth noting that pre-set meetings make for a busy stand which in turn creates genuine buzz and interest from other attendees who may also want to join the conversation.
2. An expectation people will approach the stand regardless of how bland or unimaginative it is
If you don’t get around to organising meetings, or prospects do not want to commit to them ahead of the event, then all is not lost. Our research revealed that a fifth of delegates will make a decision on who to connect with at the event based on the appeal of the stand and its design.
If you’re looking at a tired and uninspiring exhibition stand, then now might be the time to get input from the creative experts to produce a more imaginative and appealing design (and if you want to support a more sustainable future, one that will work for other upcoming events).
The subject of other enticers/props often comes up – such as a bowl brimming with Smarties or other confectionary. The reality, based on the findings of our research, is that at least a fifth will go up to new contacts simply because the people on the stand are friendly and offered a simple ‘hello’.
3. Sales teams who have generic pitches
I think most of us have been on the receiving end of the generic sales pitch and start thinking we could be ‘anyone’ when the sales person starts going through the motions with their rehearsed lines.
Nearly half of all attendees said the best use of time is when they found out how a product or service can help their business, and more than quarter said they wanted to see that the exhibitor understood their business. Make sure all future new business conversations at events are as personalised as possible so it resonates, and a prospect can clearly see how your product or service really will make a difference.
4. The hard-sell means no sales
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the hard-sell was highlighted by respondents as one of their worst experiences during an event.
Of course, building the new business pipeline is rarely without a few challenges and we’ve probably all faced, at some point in our career, the pressure to reach sales targets. What can happen is there is a risk of coming across to prospects as overly pushy, even rude and/or desperate. Make sure you have your best sales teams in place who are able to converse naturally and see the opportunity as a two-way conversation. Or be prepared to invest in training for other members of the team who may need support in this area.
5. Taking ages to get back in touch after the initial meeting
It may seem to be a juxtaposition to the overly keen sales point above, but prospects will want to carry on the conversation within the first few days following the event if they had a good initial meeting. The sales and marketing teams who procrastinate and don’t seize the moment are likely to miss out on valuable new business opportunities.
Nearly a fifth of attendees said they would like to connect within 24 hours, while a further 47% wanted to be contacted again within three or four days. Email is seen as the preferred means of communication these days with a follow up phone call after the initial email exchange.
