Sean Riley:
So with all the fancy introductions out of the way, welcome to the podcast, Leisa.
Leisa Pickles:
Thank you very much for having me. It's a pleasure to be here.
Sean Riley:
Oh, the pleasure is all ours. So we're talking about how to wrap up or how to handle the post-trade
show experience. So the show is complete and you're back home. I guess to start things off from my
perspective, how do you keep from being overwhelmed by all the information you just took in?
Leisa Pickles:
Well, I think being overwhelmed is actually a good thing because that would indicate that you've
generated lots of interest at the show.
Sean Riley:
Good point.
Leisa Pickles:
So perceive overwhelm as a good thing because that means you've done your job properly by
generating lots of interest and driving lots of traffic to your stand at the show. But I would say the best
thing to do when you get back to base following an expo is to allocate or assign a member of the team
to take full ownership of the intel that you've gathered at the show. So that person then becomes the
person in-house responsible for doing the follow-up and they have full accountability for doing it.
Because otherwise having lots of people or looking at the same information, all doing a little bit of
follow up here and a little bit follow up there, that's when it becomes a little bit fragmented. And that's
when it can cause the team to become a little bit overwhelmed, because they lose a handle on who is
doing what and what stage of the follow-up process they are at.
Sean Riley:
Okay. So we want to have a point person. So if I'm that point person, again, how am I taking in all this...
I've taken in all this information. How do I separate it and aggregate it out to make it readable so that
we know what kind of insights we have about what kind of show we have?
Leisa Pickles:
Okay. So first things first, you need to get it all into one place. So if your leads have come from a number
of sources as a result of the show, so you zapped a few people with the scanner, you've used the online
lead capture form, maybe you've collected some business cards, maybe you've written some
information down, get it all into one place and one format that is a workable format that that person
taking accountability and ownership is happy to work through.
So make sure everything is together in one place. Identify any gaps. So are there any gaps in the
information? And if so, go back to the person who has captured it to ask what the information is that
you need to fill. And also just check for errors as well. Just have a quick glance through. It's not always
100% accurate, so just check that everything that's on there makes sense.
Sean Riley:
Okay. How do I take this then and sort of prioritize how I'm going to do my [inaudible 00:03:02]? How do
I know who to hit first?
Leisa Pickles:
I like to apply a system that is called the traffic light system, so red, amber and green.
Sean Riley:
Okay.
Leisa Pickles:
So the reason being, so if you think about this in the context of these azillion leads that you've
generated the show, if you've been working hard and done your job properly, you need to categorize
them into red opportunities, amber opportunities and green opportunities, or gold even. And then you
need to decide what level of follow-up you're going to allocate to each of those opportunities depending
on the size. And the rating that you give needs to be the attractiveness of that lead to you as a business.
So does it make you excited? Would winning that business make a significant difference to your
business? What is the size of the opportunity? So is this a big business and would it contribute
significantly to your turnover as a business? And what are the likelihoods of that person actually
converting? So are they going to convert or are they just a browser, so passing through?
So once you've thought about your total lead list in that context, apply some red, amber, green ratings
so that you can really hone in on the green opportunities and prioritize them first. Because this is no
doubt going to be an add-on to 101 other things you have on your to-do list.
Sean Riley:
Right, right.
Leisa Pickles:
So if all else fails, you have to prioritize the green opportunities because they're the ones that excite you
the most as a business and present the biggest opportunity.
Sean Riley:
That's fair. I like that. And simplifying it with the cutoff and using the traffic light. I like that. So now
we've prioritized. We have our red, we have our green, we have our yellow. Let's talk follow-up strategy.
When is the best time to kind of create your post-show follow-up strategy?
Leisa Pickles:
Well, ideally, before you've even gone to the show.
Sean Riley:
I had a feeling you were going to say that.
Leisa Pickles:
Yeah. I know, I know, I know. So before you've even gone to the show. And the reason being, if you
know how you're going to follow up, that will drive how you capture the information at the show. So if
you know that you are going to follow up with them by telephone, for example, you need to make sure
you capture a telephone number.
Sean Riley:
Sure.
Leisa Pickles:
If you're going to follow up via email, same thing. So your post-show follow-up strategy ideally should be
created before you've even hit the show because that will help drive the behaviors on the stand as well.
It will make sure that all of your team who are on the stand are all capturing the same information in the
same way, and it just makes it so much easier for the person doing the follow-up.
But if you haven't been able to do that, that's okay. Just think about it now in terms of what you have in
front of you and how you're going to apply this traffic light system to drive this follow-up. And then next
time, use the process that you've taken post-show and apply it pre-show.
Sean Riley:
Let me go this way first. What should be some of the things that I want to then prioritize? You said
ahead of time, but we weren't able to do it ahead of time, so now I'm coming out of the show. What
should be the things I should prioritize? Am I just going off my color system? Is there some other things I
should be doing from a follow-up priority standpoint?
Leisa Pickles:
So shows typically span multiple days, and each day presents its own opportunities in terms of people
who stop by your stand. If there is somebody that stops by the stand on a particular day, that is really
important in terms of this is a big one, getting them on board would be a big deal. Don't wait until the
show has finished to follow up with them. Drop them a quick email or a text or a voice note or whatever
the method of follow-up is going to be just to say, "Hey, great to meet you today. Can't wait to continue
the conversation post the show."
And the reason why that is important is because you are just one of many exhibitors that they
potentially have visited on that day. So it all goes into a bit of a blur by the time you get to the end of the
day. And what you want to be is the exhibitor that stands out as being the one who has valued the
interaction, remembers the conversation, and actually you are already setting the scene. I am going to
be following up with you and I cannot wait to do that. So it's about making sure that you stand out as
best in class gold standard from all the other exhibitors that they visited on that day.
Sean Riley:
I really like that. That's a good one that I hadn't really thought of. Are there other things that may get
overlooked during the show that you can do or is most of it, beyond what you just described, should
most of the stuff happen after the show?
Leisa Pickles:
No, no. So I think as well, it's important... Once you've got them on the stand, you want to be keeping
them there for as long as possible. And the way that you keep them there is through conversation. And
the conversation should be very much seen as a fact-finding exercise. So it's not a list of 10 questions
that you go through, but it's a examine with curiosity. So find out about them and their business. What
type of business is it? What equipment or machinery do they currently use? That will give you a read of
who you're up against from a competitor point of view. And also take note of or lean particularly into
any item of your product range that they express a particular interest in.
So is there something that they want to know more about? Are they asking lots of questions about one
thing in particular? And the reason why it's important to capture that is because that becomes your
conversation starter or conversation continuous post-show. Because you can say to them, "Hey, you
stopped by our stand. You were particularly interested in... Can we set up a call to talk about that in
more detail? Can we send you a brochure that gives you more technical information about that
particular piece of kit?" So I think it's about demonstrating that you've been listening and you've been
actively interested in the conversation that you've had with them. Because that's sort of to be expected
if they've taken the time to stop by your stand and hung around to engage in conversation with you, at
least be able to demonstrate with them that you've listened and you remember the interaction.
Sean Riley:
Okay. I really understand and I really like that. Is that where you... Because you've been on the other
side of the table. For our listeners, you've worked for Mars, you've been a sales consultant. Is that what
resonated with you when exhibitors came back to you after the show? Was there things that you would
recommend that really stuck out with you, maybe a certain timeline, things like that?
Leisa Pickles:
So I think the follow-up is not one dimensional. Follow up spans multiple touch points. And that's part of
the reason why I said it's important to make sure that you have a complete picture in terms of contact
information, because you are not going to just be following up with them on email or just be following
up with them via the telephone. There are multiple ways in which you can do your follow-up. So again,
this is back to showing an interest and recognizing the interest and the time they've taken to stop by.
So also use your social platforms to connect with them, either person to person. So you as the business
owner or a representative from the business who has had that interaction, can you find them on the
relevant social media platform and connect with them? Another way to get you more up in their brain.
Or can you follow them on, I don't know, let's say on Instagram or YouTube, whatever that looks-
Sean Riley:
LinkedIn, mm-hmm.
Leisa Pickles:
Exactly. LinkedIn. So it's about piecing the puzzles together. And my experience of running my own sales
consultancy and for working for Mars for a long time, it's about relationship-led sales. It's about finding
the right people, having the right conversations, showing interest, examining with curiosity. Actually,
each interaction you have with a person is a build on the previous. It's a full conversation fragmented
into different touch points. But all of that information helps you build up a picture so that when you do
start to get close to doing business with them, you're really able to relay back to them a lot of the
observations that you've already made about their business and how your business can help them grow
their business. Fact finding, questioning, all those sort of things are so important.
Sean Riley:
Okay. Everybody's not looking to buy right away. So people are coming into the stand or the exhibit that
are thinking about buying down the road. How am I kind of using my data to sort of prove a good return
on investment ROI for the show if I am not necessarily showing actual sales close? Is there other
examples or ways I can do that to kind of prove my ROI?
Leisa Pickles:
Okay. So first of all, what is your objective for being at the show? So believe it or not, not everyone is at
a show to generate sales.
Sean Riley:
Okay.
Leisa Pickles:
For some people, it's about providing a place where their existing customers can come by and have a
chat. We work in a very remote world now, so sometimes it's been a long time since you actually were
face-to-face with your existing customers. So sometimes it's about I'm there because I want to connect
with our existing customers. I'm there because I want to reconnect with lapsed customers or prospects
who I've never quite got over the line. I want to raise brand awareness. So if you are a relatively new
brand or a relatively new player in a particular market, your reason for being at the show is to raise
awareness that you are here and this is what you have to offer. And I think it's important therefore to
have that measure before you go into the show so that you can measure your ROI.
But in terms of if you are at the show to generate leads because you want new business, which
hopefully most people are there to do, you should never let these people out of your sight in terms of
they need to remain within your world. So you've been through the follow-up process, you've decided,
right, green prospects are getting all of it. They're getting connected on LinkedIn, followed on socials,
they're getting called via telephone, they're getting emailed and it just doesn't happen. It's important
that you bring it to a close. And the way that I do my follow-up process is I have a three plus three plus
one.
Sean Riley:
Okay.
Leisa Pickles:
So I have three telephone interactions, three email interactions, and if nothing's happening, the plus one
is that I break up with them. And I break up with them by sending them an email to say, "Hey, I haven't
heard from you. That's such a shame, but I get that we're all busy. Please let's stay in touch. I'm going to
add you to my email." Let's hope, please, please, please everyone have an email list. Have an email list.
"I'm going to add you to my email list or I followed you on social so that we can continue to keep in
touch, stay on top of developments," that type of thing. So never let them drop out the other end. They
need to remain in your system somewhere somehow. Because not everyone is ready to buy at that
moment, as you said, but they might well be at some point in the future. And if they're not interested,
they will tell you so. So don't worry about that.
So there needs to be an end point or an end goal. I've been through the follow-up, I've contacted them,
I've tried multiple times, nothing is coming back. But it doesn't matter, because ultimately they're going
to go into our system somewhere. And it's important at that stage that you track where that prospect
came from. So you need to allocate that prospect to this particular show. Because if they do convert
then in six months, 12 months down the line, there's your return on investment. And unfortunately, it
could take that long. It could take that long.
Sean Riley:
Yeah.
Leisa Pickles:
So I think that's important. It's important to say where that lead has come from because that will give
you a read of how successful the show has been from an ROI perspective.
Sean Riley:
Perfect. Okay. Kind of to put a button on our conversation, I'm sort of thinking future now. What could
you have done better? Are there things you can learn from your leads that could provide opportunities
for how you're going to go about tackling future shows?
Leisa Pickles:
Yeah. I think it's so important to do the categorization piece and to do it as you go. So make sure the
team is fully briefed in terms of, "We are capturing information in this way. When you've captured a
lead, I want you to give it a score out of five, a color," whatever that looks like, "because that helps us do
the follow-up." So make sure you decide what your follow-up process is. Make sure the team are fully
briefed as to how you're going to capture the information and why. Make sure you've identified a lucky
person in-house that's going to be the owner of the follow-up. And then just keep on top of it every day.
Track it, identify, pull out the ones which are the biggest opportunity and just don't be afraid to jump on
the hot, hot leads quick.
You don't have to wait for the show to be over to do that. You know?
Sean Riley:
Right.
Leisa Pickles:
You know what it's like. People have a day out, go to a show, get back to base, and normal business
resumes and they just forget about these interactions. So really view the exhibition process as before,
during, and after. It's a full process. It's not just about rocking up on the day and standing for two, three
days to speak to people. It really is a full process, end to end, if you want to get the right result out the
other end.
Sean Riley:
This is perfect. I love that as a great summation of our talk, Leisa. I want to thank you again for taking
time. We caught you overseas across the pond a bit, so it's different time of day for you. So we thank
you for taking time out of your day to come on here and bring us up to speed on the before, during, and
after of a trade show. So thanks a lot, Leisa.
Leisa Pickles:
You're very welcome. Thanks for having me.
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