NBAA is two weeks away (technically, it starts Tuesday the 22nd, but for us the biggest trade show of the year pretty much takes up the whole third week in October.) Of course, there are many more than three things to do before NBAA13, and you’ve probably done most of them, but here’s our short list of things to do between now and then.
1) Confirm your appointments! Make sure that you have appointments with your “top ten” most wanted prospective customers and most important vendors and partners. “We’ll catch up with you for a cup of coffee sometime during the show” is probably not going to cut it – it’s always busier than we expect it to be. If you’d like to make an appointment with ABCI, we’d be happy to drop by your booth, talk about marketing, or just shake your hand and put a face together with the name. We’d also be happy to take a picture of you and your booth for our blog (you’re there for publicity, right? )
2) Preflight your literature! Make sure it grabs attention immediately, and is full of customer-centered benefit statements. People receive a lot of information during these few days, so make sure your brochure, product data sheet, or other literature is top-notch. It’s ideal to have a “call to action” – some benefit to contacting you within a certain short time frame after the show, such as a free gift, information package, demo or consultation. If it doesn’t have a deadline, it goes in the “to-do-when-I-have-time” pile, and we know how often that pile gets looked at.
3) Prepare Your Follow Up Program! When you get back, you’ll have a pile of work to catch up on, as well as a number of things to do as a result of the show. Make sure your follow up process is as complete as possible – create a timeline, add information packages and thank you cards, compose the majority of the text for your emails and letters to the appropriate prospect types; set up timers and reminders to make this as automated as possible. Need some help setting up a follow up program? Give us a call at 702-987-1679 and let’s talk.
If you’re attending or exhibiting at the NBAA Annual Convention, you’re investing a lot of time and money. It only makes sense to do everything possible to ensure a great return on that investment.
Note For Those NOT Attending NBAA – If you’re NOT attending NBAA but have a partner, vendor, client or other colleague in a business that doesn’t compete with yours, send him or her a package of referral cards and offer an incentive to send likely prospects your way. You never know – conversations over a coffee or beer often lead to the perfect opportunity to make a referral.
Unfortunately, many potential referrals fall throught the cracks because they don’t have a convenient and memorable way to pass along your contact information. Make sure your potential referral partners are ready and fully equipped if conversation leads them your way.
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