Over my 12 years as president of KNIPEX Tools in the U.S., I was fortunate to attend about 45 automotive major and warehouse distributor (WD) trade shows. At those 45 shows I have seen it all, including attendees who show up with a plan, questions from their customers, and a list of questions they have themselves. I see attendees who really work the show and get the most out of every moment. I also see attendees who work a little, but also spend much of their time chit chatting and seeing the local attractions. Then there are the attendees who walk through the show briefly and waste the remainder of their valuable time just having fun.
Sure, you want to have some fun and renew old acquaintances at events like trade shows, but your primary reason for being there is work. It is my opinion that there are four reasons to attend these events, and in descending order of importance they are: education, more education, deals, and fun.
Manufacturers and company product managers put a lot of work into organizing and getting ready for these shows. They are 100 percent ready to answer every question you may have. They are also ready to teach you the best ways to demonstrate their products and handle objections.
What products are on your mobile store that are not selling as well as you think they should? What products are selling off other trucks and not yours? What products do you just not understand very well? These questions are important to consider – especially if you were not a technician before becoming a dealer. If such is the case, you may not know as much about working on vehicles as a former technician would, but that is absolutely no reason not to succeed as a mobile tool dealer.
So what are some good ways to prepare for your next major trade show?
- Let your customers know that the show is coming up and that you will ask any questions they have of the manufacturers who are attending. This would be a good email blast topic once or twice before the show. It will also give your customers a heads-up that you will be gone for a few days and paying in advance would be appreciated.
- Make a list of the products you want to learn more about and what your selling challenges are. If you are consistently getting objections that are hard to handle, this is the place to speak to the manufacturers and learn the answers.
- There are products that are on special every year with excellent deals: screwdrivers, consumables, toolsets, etc. Do your best to run your inventories down on those products before the show. Have your own promo to unload them. Use them as a BOGO and create some fun. It would be a shame to get to the show and be overloaded with product X just when the show has some super-duper special and you can’t take advantage of it.
- Every show I have attended has had several schoolroom product training sessions. Some are hosted by important manufacturers and some are hosted by the company whose show you are attending. Attend them. Yes, you might have been selling that product well, but there is always something new to learn ... and maybe there is a new product they are introducing that you know nothing about. If you attend a training session that does not offer a great feature, advantage, benefit demonstration, stay late and ask for one. The best companies have their demos in writing.
- Many of the booths will have someone demonstrating their products – particularly their new items. Get them to train you on how to do the demos yourself.
Allow me to interject some advice: Don’t be the lug-nut who has to be so cool that you know everything and don’t watch the demos. I hate to say it, but you don’t know it all, and looking cool to your friends won’t get you any more sales.
- Some of the better shows have software to help their jobbers continuously tabulate their spending so you don’t go over budget. If you attend a show that doesn’t offer this helpful aid, take a break once or twice a day to reconcile where your spending is. If you take a few moments during the day you won’t have to use your evening time doing it.
- I have had jobbers call a customer of theirs right from my booth to tell the customer about something they just learned. Many times, they sold the product before they ordered it.
- Seek out your company’s top salespeople or the salespeople with the lowest no-pay customers. Don’t be timid – ask them how they do it. You might learn a new trick or two and make a helpful friend at the same time.
- Stop by the Professional Distributor and PTEN booth, meet the editors, and let them know what you would like to see in this magazine. If you do not like my columns you can skip this step.
- Finally, take some time and introduce yourself or reintroduce yourself to the company product managers and other executives. They really do want to know who you are, and you never know when knowing the big shots will come in handy.
A trade show story
I was working a trade show at major company X. An odd fellow stopped in the booth and asked about our specials. When I explained our show specials he said “Oh, no one has asked me for that, so I don’t want any.” I asked if I could teach him the demonstration, since these were all very good selling items. His response just floored me. “I don’t do demonstrations, and I don’t just carry items into my sale calls. I just go into the technicians’ shop and ask them if they want anything today. They are professionals and already know what they want.” At this point my brain was about to explode, so I changed the subject and asked him, “How’s business”? His response was “Not very good, I’m thinking of getting out.” Inside my head I screamed, “Really… what a surprise.”
Soon after, his district manager (DM) stopped by. I asked about this guy and told this story. The DM told me he was being let go just after the show.
The moral of the story is: It pays to be open to new ideas, even if they don't seem right to you at first. With all of the knowledge and expertise from tool manufacturers and fellow jobbers present at trade shows, it's the perfect place to learn a new trick – even if you're an old dog.
Now, go sell something.
