Trade Show Observations - Coffee, Tea or Sell Something

Once again I'll make an observation on what some vendors are doing to attract prospects. Let's see if this makes sense. This observation was made in April 2008 during the Information Security Europe 2008 Conference.

The latest trend is to have a coffee bar setup in your booth. A nice shiny brass coffee machine or espresso/cappuccino maker fills a corner of the booth. What's great about the venue of this event (for the last time) is the ability to view the entire show floor from the balcony of the Olympia.

It is very easy, from the balcony to see, how the vendors make every mistake in the book when they have coffee in the booth. What you will observe first is every staff member of the booth has a cup in his or her hand. WRONG! Booth workers SHOULD NOT be drinking the coffee during show floor hours. There is one exception will get to in a minute. Eating or drinking anything in the booth with prospects walking by is a huge no-no.

The next scenario which is also pretty obvious shows the booth workers are more interested in how the coffee make works than there own products. In some cases I found they knew more about the coffee maker than their own product. The rule should be no hanging around the coffee pot unless you are preparing a cup for a qualified prospect.

New Rule: If the person you are offering the coffee to is not a qualified prospect then your booth is only function as a coffee shop. Offering a cup of coffee to everyone that walks buy only promotes the java beans (pun intended) not your product or service. Take the cost of your booth including peoples time and your cup of coffee will actually cost more than at Starbucks and that ain't cheap.

If you want to offer a coffee service in your booth do so for all the right reasons. When you greet a prospect ask your initial qualifying questions... remember BANT (go here for a slightly different approach to BANT) from sales training? Budget, Authority, Needs and Time Frame. Once you have qualified the prospect offer them a cup of coffee. Have a small table that a person can stand or sit at with you for a brief overview of their needs and how your product, solution or service can fulfill their needs. Sitting with them will help you make them feel special and not just a coffee shop customer. While at the table it is pretty easy to fill in the your lead book and set a follow-up time with the prospect. It is perfectly OK at this point for you to join the prospect with a cup of coffee.

Let's revue the rules:

1. No eating or drinking by the booth staff at anytime during show floor hours
2. Booth Staff should know more about their product, solution or service than the do the coffee machine.
3. Offer a cup of coffee to pre-qualified prospects. Every person who shows interest in stopping at your booth should pass the BANT criteria.
4. It is OK to have a cup of coffee with a prospect that has the time to sit and discuss their needs and you give them the time to explain how your solution fills their needs.
5. I only drink decaffeinated coffee - think about this when you offer your prospect the next cup.
   

Following the rules gives your booth a professional look, makes the prospect feel special and will provide high quality leads for your sales team to follow-up on.

Andy