[EXHIBITOR EDITION] Winning the Trade Show Game at PACK EXPO International

[music] You're listening to Unpacked with PMMI, where we share [singing] the latest packaging and processing industry insights, research, and innovations [music] to help you advance your business. Hi, and welcome to Unpacked with PMMI. I'm your host, [music] Sean Riley. In this special exhibitor edition of Unpacked, we welcome trade show expert and president of Competitive Edge, Jefferson Davis. Jefferson joins the podcast to share what separates winning exhibitors from struggling ones at Pack Expo, starting with a simple framework for identifying the right people to target. He also covers practical tactics for pre-show outreach and boost strategy, including why authentic conversation and hands-on experiences matter most when trying to attract attendees. Let's have a listen. So, with all the fancy introductions out of the way, welcome to the podcast, Jefferson. >> Thank you so much. Just super excited to be here. >> You have tons of experience in the trade show world. From your experience, what is the most important aspect of a trade show that exhibitors need to pay attention to? >> There is so much that goes in. You've got the logistical operation side. Get the space, get the booth, get the people, get the products in, up, down, out, on time, on budget. And then you've got the strategic side, right? And there's a lot that goes into that. But if there were one thing that every exhibitor has got to accomplish if they're going to win the exhibiting game at P, especially at Pack Expo, a large show like this, are you going to be able to identify, attract, and meaningfully interact with enough of the right people. Do that and you win the game. Don't do that and you struggle. You mentioned a bunch of different elements in there though. Could you unpack some of that for us so that we kind of have a little clearer of an idea for our exhibitors on what to do there. >> So it really starts with identifying. So I think for each exhibitor it comes down to the question is who are the right people for us, right? And you think about the different types of audiences. is it really comes down to three what I would call primary audiences that every exhibitor should be targeting and it's almost like a triangle to me right the base of the triangle is your customers this would be people you are now or have done business with there's a lot of exhibitors that tell me they say hey um I don't want to invite my customers to a show and I'm like why not because all of our competition is going to be there and I always tell them today buyers are using trade shows to revalidate existing buying relationships. Are you still the best overall source? Quality, service, price, value, everything. So you start with your customers and then the the overlooked group. So the base of the pyramid is the customers. Then the overlooked group on the right side of the pyramid, which is by the way where the quick cash flow and return on investment is hiding, is prospects that are already in your sales pipeline. These are people that you're actively engaged with. You know them, they know you. And so you're going to try to use the energy and the excitement and your product displays and the technical experts and just everything, the magic that Pack Expo brings to move them one step closer. So you've got customers, circle the wagons around your customers, relationship management, right? Meeting different influencers, ears to the ground for change, right? new opportunities within the customer account. Prospects, you got one real objective. How can we move them one step forward, one step closer, and that's where the quick cash flow, I've helped my clients, we've been combined, pulled over $800 million out of trade shows. A lot of it comes really from moving that prospect who's in the sales cycle to that next step. And then the third group would be new opportunities. These would be companies that based on what they produce, what they package, what they manufacture, that you know are a potential good fit for your company, but you have no meaningful engagement with them. And you're going to try to use the days and the weeks and the months leading up to Pack Expo to get in their mind on their agenda and then put a face with a face at the show, you know, open that door, get a meeting of the mind. So what's cool about that approach, Sean, is that the value stack of customers, prospects, and new opportunities that really makes sure that you have a booth full of what I call hi, high value interactions. There are other audiences that I don't want to overlook because some exhibitors, they don't sell direct. They sell through dealer distributor networks. So that would be an audience if you sell through a channel to support your distribution channel. of course the media including today with the explosion of social media influencers right so who are really influencers in the space and and recruiting what a place to find hires and employees and and investors many companies are out there they've got great products they're looking for venture capital they're looking for mergers acquisitions so CPS customer prospect suspect to me is a starting point and then the other legs are unique to each individual exhibitor Interesting. There's thousands and thousands of people to show. How do we make sure that we're getting the right people into our booth that we're getting those those prospects, those potential leads? How are some companies exploring these opportunities? And are there tools out there to assist with it? There are tools, but I think what precedes the tools is when you look at these different value groups that you're going to target, understanding that the competition for their time and attention is fierce. Right. It's absolutely fierce. And every decision that a trade show attendee makes is a valuesbased choice. They're going to look, should I go to this booth? Should I go to that booth? Should I go to this session? Should I go to that session? So once you know who you're targeting, then you've got to really find your value proposition, your reason why. Out of over I think what do we have 2600 exhibitors at Expo? Why come see us, right? If you've been to Pack Expo and ever tried to walk it, it about killed me. You're talking about some serious mileage. So, the value proposition is that that crystalclear clear statement. It's focused on them and it's benefit or outcome focus as to why they should put you on their must-see list. Right? And the problem that I see with a lot of companies, especially in the the industrial, the manufacturing, even the packaging industry, is they're really close to their products. They know what they're producing, but they're not stepping back and trying to look at it through the eyes of the target customer, right? What situations are they grappling with that would force them to think about you? That would make you instantly relevant and instantly important and how can you provide a solution? >> What can exhibitors do to make sure that they're able to then connect with them at the show that they're in their daily plan? >> Yeah, that's that has to happen. The goal here was in the mind on the agenda enough of the right people. Okay. So, what you're looking for, what you're trying to get in your pre-show communications is you're trying to get some level of commitment from the visitor. Yes, I'm coming to Pack Expo. Yes, I'm coming to see you. And there's two levels of commitment that you can look for. The first level is the confirmed appointment Wednesday at 10:15 a.m. Right. Harder to get, >> but >> yeah, >> golden when you get them, >> especially if you have a good way to remind and secure of the appointment. The second one is the verbal commitment where they go, "Yes, I'm coming to Pack Expo. Definitely want to come see you. I'm not sure I can nail down a specific day and time, but I definitely want to come see you." So, that's your verbal commitment. Something is important for all Pack Expo exhibitors to know is that attendees have the ability to schedule on-site meetings with exhibitors in the My Show planner. So you want to make sure that you are aware that you have this tool and that you're checking this calendar to get watch for these meetings and and put a direct link in your outreach to to everyone. Go, hey, block 10 minutes. Don't ask for a lot of time. Don't ask for 30 minutes. Don't ask for 45. Ask for 10, maybe 15. People will always stay longer when they're engaged, but don't ask for a lot of time upfront. And then from there, there's two sides to the outreach. You have the DIY do-it-yourself. These are things that you can and should be doing like email, social media, pick up the phone, let's get back on the phone, setting up a really cool event landing page that has additional assets and the ability to calendar and shut those appointments. Having your sales team, your dealers, your distributors do personal outreach on top of what the corporate marketing is doing. And Pack Expo has tools like the customer invite program and package upgrades about with these online leads. And some of the stuff's free and then some of the stuff is very low cost. And the PMI media group, they offer a tool to get on attendees radars. It's called game plan. It's a customized walking guide for attendees that get sent both in paper and digital form before the show that highlights the solutions and they self- select during the registration process. So that's a powerful tool. And then you've got the pack expo discovery tours which is helping attendees navigate this needle in the hay stack so to speak right which basically takes them right to your booth and even after the show they can use a pack expo tool called second look which is like game plan but it reaches all those attendees who may have missed your show. So work with and through Pack Expo, >> deliver a clear and compelling value proposition to enough of the right people. Get in their mind on their agenda and chances are that you're going to walk off the Pack Expo floor saying what I want everybody to say. What a difference a well executed trade show can make. >> In your opinion, and again, you have an expertise on this. What does it mean to meaningfully interact with an attendee? like how do we determine what is a meaningful interaction that that is going to generate business? >> One of my favorite quotes was the buyer's perception is the seller's reality. So it's not what we think, right? It's going to be meaning I think comes from the attendees perspective, not ours. And a good starting point is to step back at a higher plane and think about why do packaging professionals attend pack expo, right? And there are many reasons. They come to learn. They come to network. They come to stay current as to where things are. They come to future pace, see where things are going. They come to find solutions to known bottlenecks, problems, frustrations, right? They come for career enhancement. The more of those reasons that you can help on, the more value your value props going to have. So, what can you teach them? They come to see what's new. How do you get them to engage? Networking. And they come to have fun, too, right? So, anytime you can spin a little fun into your visitor experience and you're going to get your fair share of traffic, I do a lot of exhibit staff training where we develop what I call VIP, a visitor interaction process. The rule in our VIP is we don't say much of anything until we know three things. Who we're with, why they're visiting, and what they are trying to accomplish in our time together. Some of these companies have so many things they're going to feature in the booth, they struggle. What do we feature? So, I get a lot of questions around, hey, we're a multi-solution company. All of our product managers want to everything in the booth. What should we have in the booth? Key phrase of a trade show, less is more because their minds are already at complete information overload. The longer in the day, the longer in the show, the more they get it. >> Great points. >> Yeah. Physical and mental fatigue. And if you think you're going to dump a lot of content into a mind that is already at information overload, it's not going to happen. So looking at your products, lead with new. New is a magnet. Which of your solutions are really speaking to a approximate pressing top of the mind industry challenge or concern? They'll come running for that. And then of course your breadand butter or your pillar products reinforcing those. Now, the latest research on the two things that attendees want the most to create meaning for them. So, first, as they're moving about the show and they glance toward a booth, their brain is instantly searching for relevance. If it's important to them, they're going to engage, right? So, the two ways they want to engage in the booth, and this is so important for everybody. Number one is they want a immersive interactive experience with your solution. They want to see it. They want to touch it. They want to interact with it. And number two, big one is that they want subject matter experts in the booth. They want people in there who aren't coming necessarily to from a sales pitch angle, but who's going to understand them, their situation, their needs, their project, their problem, their goals, and be able to have authentic, personalized, focused conversations that are relevant and important to the attendee. >> Okay. So, you need to have stuff that they can actually interact with, they can even touch if possible. Yes. and subject matter experts are the two takeaways that you want to have in your abuse when you're exhibiting. >> Have an authentic conversation with a knowledgeable subject matter expert. That will be a high value visitor interaction, right? That makes a big difference for the attendee. >> I love it. That's a perfect button to put on our little discussion here today. Jefferson, I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to to come on here and give us some information on exhibiting at the show. take the ideas that resonated with you and put them to work and have a great show, man. I'm looking forward to it. >> Thanks for listening [music] to this episode of Unpacked with PMI. If you liked what you heard, be sure to follow or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, [music] Spotify, or wherever you listen. That way, you won't miss any of the industry insights coming your way. While you're there, [music] we'd really appreciate a rating or review. Want more? Visit pmmi.org/ >> [music] >> /mpodcasts for all of our past episodes and additional resources. Thanks again for [music] tuning in. I'll see you next time.