Prophets of doom and gloom abound, but that doesn’t mean you have to listen to them.
Here are three kinds of doomsayers that may try to sabotage your event plans.
1. People within your sales or stand team
Having spent many years in sales myself and many of those as a manager of sales teams, I have met many chain-dragging salespeople.
And when I talk about chain-dragging, I mean that I felt like I was dragging them around.
They were a drag to the goals and ambitions of the whole team.
You know the type.
They are the people who in sales meetings throw out reasons why things won’t work.
Outside of meetings, they talk negatively about objectives agreed or about you as a manager.
Often, they are behind on their targets, or they just about make them, never exerting more effort than required to stay safe in their role.
It’s a strange phenomenon because if you want to succeed in sales, a negative outlook is a hindrance and it can be terminal for the person concerned.
Turning salespeople around is sometimes possible, but often you can’t because they won’t listen to reason or accept criticism.
If you are in the reasoning stage with a salesperson, don’t bring them with you to a show to work on your stand unless you have to.
When you exhibit, you want and need everyone pulling together and working their socks off to make the most of the sales opportunity a show presents.
For some excellent stand management advice from a seasoned sales and marketing professional read this https://exhibitorsonly.biz/just-how-important-is-the-coffee-machine/
2. Your boss
Bosses don’t always realise the negative effect comments they make can have on the people who work for them.
Think Henry II and Thomas à Beckett as an extreme example.
It’s a massive subject, so I’ll stick to trade show participation.
When a boss expresses doubt about a particular show or even events as a valid form of marketing altogether, don’t deal with generalisations, deal with facts.
Bosses look at top-line numbers, especially if they work in large organisations.
So knowing your numbers inside out and at a granular level is VIP if you are seeking to win not just an argument about marketing spend, but the admiration of your boss at the same time.
Bosses don’t like vagueness.
They can’t afford it because it can come back to bite them if they are under scrutiny for the performance of their team or division.
Getting to know your numbers inside and out has a significant benefit for you; you learn what’s working and what’s not in a variety of different areas.
From events that perform best based on spend to products or services that have received the most interest or sales growth as a result of exhibition participation.
Get your boss off your back with the facts.
Don't use reasons like "we've always done this event."
Or "we have to be there because our competitor has booked."
3. Doubt and the fear of trying new things
Doubt and the fear of trying new things are two other monkeys you need to get off your back.
Uncertainty breeds doubt, and although nothing is ever one hundred per cent certain in this life, thorough research and preparation go a long way towards reassurance in any situation.
The fear of trying new things comes from a fear of being seen to fail.
Ridicule from co-workers and wrath from a boss can stop us from being positive.
If this fear is getting in your way, start with small experiments.
Don’t propose massive overnight changes to established plans or tried and tested methods of doing things.
Take action like that, and you put yourself at great risk.
See making small, incremental changes like science experiments.
With an experiment, you state how things were before the trial took place and then record the changes that occurred afterwards.
Measure the differences and move forward with stealth where this is required.
Now if you are looking for some positive support in your trade show life, and some cracking modular stand designs, visit:
https://exhibitorsonly.biz/exhibition_services/exhibition-stands/
Everyone working within this energetic design and build team are a positive force for the good of their clients.
They are precisely the sort of team you want working on your behalf.
Very best,
David
David O'Beirne
