The “why” behind the “no”
Got this email today from a prospect.
“I am sorry to inform you that we will not be exhibiting at the inaugural Portable Media Expo. I wish you and the show tremendous success. Good Luck!!!!”
I hate getting those emails - but it’s better than no reply at all. It gives me an opportunity to engage them in a conversation about why they did not find value in the show. I always attempt to find out where we fell short - and we did fall short. The reply could be that there is a scheduling conflict, lack of personnel, etc - but that’s never the real answer. Why not? Because if we showed the company enough value and they believed what we told them, they would make it happen. I firmly believe that. Somewhere along the line, we didn’t provide enough of a compelling reason to participate.
Sony, so far, has given me the most honest answer. It was early on that they turned me down (just after the first of the year) and we only had 4 companies on board. When I had my contact on the phone, she told me, “Tim, we just don’t want to take a risk on your first show. We don’t want to end up being the only company there.” Ouch. That’s tough to hear.
But I appreciated the honesty and it motivated me like crazy to work even harder to make this first show a success.
The “why” behind the “no” is critical information for me - it is the only way I as a tradeshow organizer know what changes to make in order to turn it into a “yes” at future events. Some companies will not exhibit at first time events at all as a matter of policy - and that’s OK - I can still try to sell the value of participating. But it also tells me that if the show works at launch, I have an opportunity to pick up another participant in year two.
August 26th, 2005 at 2:07 pm |
What’s the “story” you’re telling them about the show? It may be a first-time event, but with something as relatively new as podcasting, there aren’t too many old-time events for them to fall back on, I wouldn’t think. There has to be something you can do to show the value of a first-time event that will overcome their objections.
For our first-time event this spring, we ended up selling out. Our story was that this was the only time and place to get in front of a customer base everyone in our space is trying to crack–and it was, and they recognized that. It probably helped that we already know most of the people who exhibited and sponsored from our magazines. They wanted face time with this audience, and knew we would deliver. And we did, which bodes well for next year’s event, even though someone else is now starting up a competing show.
I’m no marketer, but with the right story to tell, those who shy away from first-time shows ought to see the value in what you’re doing.
August 26th, 2005 at 3:03 pm |
Thanks for the comment Sue - I don’t want to give you the impression that I can’t get a yes from anyone - it’s actually coming along nicely. Companies do see the value in participating and although their will be no risk of getting lost in the exhibit hall, we’re on track to meet our goals.
Exhibitors who decline have their reasons and I just want to make sure I understand them fully so that I can make changes in the future.
Tim