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Making the Most of Symposium+PLUS

Successful Exhibitor Strategies

Our Attendees are Your Buyers

According to the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR):

• 7 of 10 event attendees plan to purchase products and/or • services in the coming year

• 72% of attendees use events to influence their buying decision

• 58% attend only one event per year

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Six Steps to a Successful Show

1. Set Objectives2. Streamline Budget3. Exhibit Booth Design and Floor Strategy4. Booth Staffing and Training5. Marketing Efforts Pre-, During, and Post-Show6. Post-Show Analysis and Results

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Setting Objectives

What is your purpose for exhibiting/sponsoring?

• Branding• Lead Generation• Networking/Partnerships• Competitive Intelligence• Thought Leadership

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Setting Objectives

Make certain your objectives allow for measurable results.Metrics include:• Quality of Leads• Number of Connections Made with Current & Future Clients/Partners• Number of Meetings Scheduled• Number of Product Presentations Conducted

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Streamlining Show Budget

Your budget should include:• Travel• Hotel• Meals/Entertainment• Show Services• Shipping• Marketing

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Designing your Exhibit Booth & Floor Plan

Attendees decide whether to stop within 30 seconds of seeing your exhibit booth.If engaged, the attendee will stay 5-10 minutes per visit.

• Attendees need the ability to see your exhibit from a 180 degree vantage point

• Select your booth positioning based on best possible foot traffic and create additional foot traffic yourself

• Your exhibit must tell who you are and what you do without the attendee having to ask

• Your exhibit must have room for temporary workspace/meeting briefs

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Booth Staffing & Training

• Booth staff should be made up of your A-team• Generally thought to be top sales personnel

• Do more than man your booth - attend education sessions and social events for further networking opportunities

• Determine ways to capture the attendee’s attention within the first 30seconds of them visiting your booth

• Discuss ways to qualify attendees as a lead in less than 2 minutes and determine a strategy for managing leads after the show

• Listen in order to learn what the attendee wants/needs• Present - “Pitch” in less than 5 minutes• Close - Mutually discuss next steps

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Marketing Efforts

• Pre-show: Important for building traffic on the show floor• Send postal and email offers, pre-set meetings and client dinners, as well as

personalized demonstrations and product presentations• During: Important for achieving lead quantity and quality

• Offer giveaways, promote posts and pictures through the event mobile app and social media outlets

• Post-show: Important for converting leads to sales• Create a priority contact method in order to make immediate and direct follow-

up based on your exhibit booth conversations

Please note: When using Twitter, Symposium+PLUS encourages you to use #closym in your tweets

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Marketing Efforts Through Symposium+PLUS

Symposium+PLUS Sponsorship Opportunities

To review options, see our 2017 Exhibitor & Sponsor Prospectus

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Analyzing Show Results

• Gather feedback immediately from booth staff while it’s fresh in their minds

• Generate lead reports and have the sales team follow-up to include tracking back to the show

• Analyze true and total costs for the show• Schedule a meeting time with show organizers for feedback and future

planning

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Please reference the below links for your conference planning needs:

Symposium+PLUS Conference & Resource Café Schedule

See you in Huntington Beach, October 1-3!

Questions

• CONFERENCE LOGISITICS• Trey Smith: tsmith@humancapitalmedia.com

• EXHIBITS AND SPONSORSHIPS• Kevin Fields: kfields@humancapitalmedia.com

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