Saturday, November 10, 2012

The Four Types of Business Prospects You Will Meet In Lead Generation

Is lead generation work difficult to perform? Not really. It all depends on where you generate your B2B leads. In this line of work, your focus here is not about getting results (it is certain that you will get it, negative or positive). Rather, you should be more focused on maximizing the number of positive results. And here is where the challenge lies - how do you do it? The first thing that you need to do is to identify the different business prospects that you will meet in the course of your campaign. Some of them will make your work easier, while there are those that will make it even harder. The bottom line is in your handling of each one. You need to match your sales leads tactics according to the behavior of your prospects. There are four main prospect behaviors that you need to think of:

1.The Rejecters - these are prospects that have become sick and tired of hearing an endless flow of irrelevant or unattractive marketers. Be it in person or through b2b telemarketing, you job here is to make yourself different from the rest. Focus more on your business strengths, like your product or customer service, in order to convince these prospects that you are the real deal and should not be shunned.

2.The Undecided - these are basically the fence-sitters. They see that your offer is good, but they also see no reason to jump ship yet. Your job, should you choose to take this, is to make them decide to do business with you. This is not an easy task, mind you, since they can be a particularly tough bunch to crack. The key here is in understanding the real desires of these prospects. A skilled appointment setting team will be able to spot that in use it.

3.The Jumpers - these are the ones that can be a pleasure for telemarketers. Such prospects have become tired of their current services and are more than willing to jump ships. Of course, this does not make them easy to sell. They are after quality now, so you should put more focus on that. In addition, you need to add a sprinkling of gratitude in your words. This added touch will make them all the more willing to accept your business.

Friday, November 9, 2012

Go Green! Making Your Tradeshow Displays Eco-Friendly

If you're looking for a way to reduce your company's impact on the environment, there are plenty of things that you can do in the office. Things like moving toward becoming a paperless office, implementing a recycling program and utilizing video conferencing instead of flying across the country for a one day meeting are all easy ways to help the Earth. If you want to make this same difference with your tradeshow displays, you're in luck. There are a few easy things that you can do to go green!

Tip #1: Use LED Light Bulbs

If your tradeshow booth includes a lighting system, consider switching to LED light bulbs. For years, compact fluorescent bulbs were the ones to choose if you were trying to go green. However, with technological advances comes a new, better choice. LED lights require half the power of CFLs and about 1/10th of the power that's required to turn on traditional incandescent light bulbs. Additionally, these LED bulbs help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that come from power plants and don't contain mercury, unlike CFLs.

Tip #2: Use QR Codes On Your Tradeshow Displays

Another easy way to go green is to reduce the number of paper handouts you pass out to visitors. One great way to do this is to utilize QR codes throughout your tradeshow booth. Place these codes around your display and direct visitors to scan them with a smart phone or tablet computer. Depending on your industry, some attendees might not have a smart phone. If this is the case, consider having some handouts or put your promotional materials on a CD. If you're planning on using giveaways, you could also consider giving away a USB drive that's pre-loaded with your marketing materials. Although putting information on a USB drive could be slightly time consuming, it can drastically cut down on the paper waste that's generated.

Tip #3: Consider Using A Rental Tradeshow Booth

If you don't attend a lot of marketing events throughout the year, it might be better to consider using a rental tradeshow booth. However, this doesn't mean that you won't be able to use custom displays. Companies that provide custom displays will be able to help your business design personalized graphics so that no one will ever know that you're using a rental tradeshow booth.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

Planning Trade Show Stand Giveaways? Questions To Ask Before You Spend The Cash

Most companies agree -- giveaways are an important part of a display for a trade show. However, these handouts and promotions aren't exactly cheap! Before you shell out thousands of dollars in trade show exhibit giveaways, ask yourself these questions.

Question #1: What Do You Want To Accomplish?

Before you can choose your trade show stand promotional materials, it's important to ask yourself what you want these giveaways to accomplish. If you want your item to be in constant use, giveaways such as personalized pens, post-its or notepads are excellent options. However, these promotional items will have limited space to personalize your message. If you're trying to share information about your company, it's a good idea to pair a small giveaway item with some printed material that tells visitors just what your business does.

Also, consider the shelf life of your giveaway. Some items, such as a candy bar with an imprinted wrapper, are meant to be consumed right away. While guests will likely love your treat (who doesn't like free chocolate?), they'll eat it and then throw the wrapper, with your contact information, away. Instead, look for a product that customers will be able to use over and over, like a coffee mug.

Question #2: What Do You Want To Give Away At Your Trade Show Stand?

Once you know what you want to accomplish with your trade show stand giveaways, it's time to decide what type of item you want to give away. Do you want to give out bigger items such as stainless steel water bottles or gym bags? Or are you looking for smaller things such as pencils or stress balls? If possible, tailor your promotional items to your industry. Knowing your industry and what type of items your customers prefer will definitely help keep them interested in visiting your display for a trade show. It's also important to choose something that you'd like to receive yourself. Before you pull the trigger and purchase your giveaways, ask the employees in your office to rank your top five choices. This can help ensure that you're buying something that clients will be excited to receive.

Question #3: What's Your Budget?

Budget matters! Chances are good that you're already spending a lot of money taking your trade show exhibit to an event. If you're working with limited funds, you're not alone, but that doesn't mean you can't afford to give your visitors a great giveaway. Look for something inexpensive, yet desirable, like a USB drive, a keychain bottle opener, car ice scrapers, clocks or pens. If you have a little extra room in your budget, look for a higher value promotional item, such as T-shirts, stainless steel water bottles or even a tote bag.