LINDA MUSGROVE- The Trade Show Teacher

Linda Musgrove is the founder and president of TradeShow Teacher, Inc., a full-service, award-winning trade show management firm. The company is a culmination of my many years of extensive experience in marketing, advertising, graphic design and it’s all derived from Ms. Musgrove’s passion for all things trade shows. In the last few years, they have assembled a very talented group of marketing, IT, design and creative people that have really bonded together to form a great team.

Hill & Partners asked Linda to share with us some wisdom about some basics of trade show exhibiting and ROO:

1.) How did you become a Trade Show Teacher?

After attending my first show I started to express my desire to be involved in Trade Show exhibiting. It wasn’t long after that for the company I worked for to start exhibiting at shows and as it is often the case in small growing companies; the volunteers were chosen to lead the effort.

After receiving trade show, public relations and corporate event training at my former employer, key departmental managers were impressed with the results delivered, all the way up to the CEO. In later years the company created a Channel Program. Once watching several partners exhibit at trade shows, I realized they often knew even less about exhibiting than when I went to my first trade show, they desperately needed training to improve results. I proposed and was supported to initiate the availability of a trade show training program for the Channel Program partners.

Really enjoying helping companies improve their trade show skills and see them so greatly improve their return on investment made me want to do this full-time. So, having an entrepreneurial spirit learned from my dad I started my own business and became the TradeShow Teacher.

In 2009 I authored “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Trade Shows” published by Alpha Penguin Group. Since that book was published, I’m constantly being contacted for trade show advice, and I love it!

2.) What do you see as the most common issue or question that arises from new exhibitors?

Sometimes after all the years I’ve spent in this industry, I think I’ve heard every question there is, but that never seems the case. Planning and executing a trade show program is an intricate process that doesn’t leave much room for error. I’d say the most common issue that I see is that people tend to get overwhelmed by the whole process. The truth is that trade show exhibiting is typically covered in less than 2 hours during the average MBA marketing course, which means that people tend to just get thrown into the trade show ring before they realize how much there is to it. I find most clients just need my help sorting through the details!

3.) What advice would you give newbie exhibitors for beginning the process, organizing, and implementing exhibiting goals?

It’s funny. Most trade show managers do not go to a trade show university to learn the required schools to successfully exhibit. Most folks end up in their jobs simply because they are part of a marketing team, or in some companies, they are the marketing team. What often happens is that a company decides to start exhibiting at trade shows, and someone suddenly gets tasked with running the trade show program. This is not an easy task for anyone thrown into such a detail-oriented role. The best advice I could give a newbie is to try and find a mentor, someone who’s been in the business a while, to give them a bit of a road map. There’s too much at stake for trial and error. Of course, it also wouldn’t hurt if they read my book!

4.) What do you see as a common rookie exhibitor mistake?

I can often pick out the trade show newbies by simply looking to see who’s collecting the most leads.  Yup, you read that right. It’s awfully tempting to want to bring back massive amounts of leads from a trade show, and a lot of rookies bend over backwards to do just that. They’ll do a raffle for a great prize that everyone and their brother wants to win, or they’ll just put out a fishbowl to collect as many business cards as possible.

This big pile of leads will only look impressive until the sales team starts complaining about the quality of the leads. If you and your booth staff aren’t qualifying leads at the booth, it’s going to make for a whole lot of wasted hours and energy for the sales team back home. There are lots of tricks for collecting the most qualified leads, but a lot of that comes from trial and error and experience.

5.) What do you think is an opportunity that exhibitors most often fail to take advantage of at trade shows?

There are so many opportunities at any given trade show that it’s hard to narrow this question down to one answer. One quick suggestion would be to always submit for a best-of-show award. Many companies don’t bother to do this and they could be losing out on a great opportunity. The good news is that this lack of competition obviously increases your odds of winning an award at that show. It’s always worth a shot!

6.) In the trade show industry, explain the difference between ROI and ROO.

These terms are common in the overall business world; but when it comes to trade show exhibiting, this is how I define them:  Return on Investment (ROI) is quantified by simply comparing the total show investment against the sales generated from the event. Return on Objectives (ROO) is an analysis of the return gained from show objectives that are not necessarily sales related, such as meetings with reporters, awards won, etc. Sometimes it’s hard to realize ROI immediately after a show due to long sales cycles. ROO is usually a good way to measure your success right away.

7.) How can exhibitors use technology to enhance their exhibiting experience and contribute to a higher ROO and ROI?

Technology plays a huge part in everyone’s life these days, and the trade show floor is no exception. There are a million ways to utilize technology for any trade show. From utilizing specialized trade show communication portals pre-show, to using lead capture systems at the show, to employing social media after the show, there’s a veritable plethora of ways to use technology to improve your ROO and your ROI.

8.) How can staff training better contribute to ROO and ROI?

Staff training is of the utmost importance when it comes to the success of any trade show. There is no such thing as too much booth training, nor is there any employee who knows it all. I always suggest that my clients offer a complete training program pre-show. They can do it themselves or bring in an outside consultant, but the truth is that the success of the show (and therefore the ROO and the ROI) is directly related to what goes on when people visit your booth.

Learn more from Linda Musgrove at  www.tradeshowteacher.com

 Want to learn more about how to maximize your branding experience?