Insurance Sales: Turn Trade Shows into Premium Lead Events

Trade shows for your best prospects are a great way to generate leads if you know how to take advantage of the opportunity. You can reap the benefits without having to rent a booth. The down side to renting a booth in addition to the cost is the fact that you're tied to the booth unless you have enough help to man your booth so that you can be free to roam the event. Most trade shows are recurring and you can know the date of the next one a year in advance, so you have plenty of time to plan your strategy for using this sales technique. When the event is held at a hotel or a convention center connected to a hotel you could rent a room during the event and send post cards to prospects inviting them to visit you to get something they would value. You could also host an after the event cocktail hour in your own private room.

As you walk the trade show make sure you meet and greet as many attendees as possible. You never know when you'll happen to meet Mr. Big scoping out the competition. The best way to make a connection is to have something of value to offer the people you meet. Put together your entire marketing and sales strategy far enough in advance so you can be fully prepared for the big event. The best way to get the most value from this event for your insurance sales success in terms of real leads with real potential is to have and implement a plan.

Make sure you arrive at the event early and work your plan. Know who is running the event and find out if there is an opportunity for you to help with the event that will get you exposure to the right people. You may want to greet arrivers and hand them a bag they can use to collect all their trade show goodies in.

When vendors are setting up and getting everything in place it's usually a pretty stressful and big job. You may want to volunteer to serve as an extra pair of hands for any vendor needing help. This will get you one-on-one exposure and favorable attention at the same time. If you get this special opportunity you want to be prepared to position yourself in a way that garners interest and attention. That requires a great attention getting core marketing message. If you've gotten their interest and attention the next logical step is to have an offer to give them something they would really want. This next step strengthens your connection and opens the door for future communication.

The reason you're attending the event is to get leads and your offer is the key to the whole lead generation process. Your offer must be something your prospects would really want. Because you know and understand your prospects it should be pretty easy for you to come up with a great offer. Your offer doesn't have to be something tangible. Information that isn't readily available, but really helpful or useful will be sought after. And that allows you to make good connections.

The first step to using this sales coaching idea is getting the attention of the people you want to connect with. Don't make the mistake of being pushy. Remember you didn't pay for a booth and booth holders won't appreciate being sold at the event. You plan involves walking the trade show or inviting people to connect with you in a near by meeting room. Your objective is to meet and greet people and make a friend. Only after you've established the other person may be a prospect for you should you then mention your valuable offer that you'd like them to have.

Why do most people waste the leads they get at trade shows? Because they don't follow-up or they don't follow-up fast enough. Remember the leads you got from the trade show don't know you, so you need to have a system to follow-up with those leads in some way within 72 hours or they're wasted. Beyond 72 hours they've moved on from the trade show and their interest and enthusiasm will have waned. So include your follow-up plan of attack in your overall plan. Top producers are top producers because they have a plan for their sales success and use proven sales techniques to work their plan.

About the Author

About the author: Cheryl Clausen can help you get where you want to be. For Sales Techniques get her free ecourse. For Sales Coaching check this out. You are welcome to reprint this article - but get your own unique content version here.

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