Getting Clients at Trade Shows

Thus far, it’s been a month of trade shows. First as attendee, at the Fancy Food Show in NYC and then as an exhibitor at the Atlanta Gift Mart. I’ve met great people, created opportunities and seen some interesting behavior. I’ll post first on some observations from my perspective as a show attendee and write later about the view from the other side.

Exhibitors at the Fancy Food Show are companies with all kinds of food and beverage, as well as suppliers to the food industry. They’re selling to restaurants, caterers, gourmet markets, gift basket companies, catalogs, manufacturers, pretty much anyone with a connection to the food industry. (# of vendors) take up two full floors at the Javits Center for three days.

There were swarms of people walking the aisles, tasting samples at each booth. It’s pretty costly to exhibit, so you’d think that the people working the booths would be proactive in talking to potential customers and collecting contact information so they can follow up. Unfortunately, some of those companies are going to conclude that the show wasn’t worthwhile because their people committed the most deadly trade show sins.

At some booths, the rep was sitting in the corner reading or standing around talking to a co-worker. C’mon now, at the very least, you need to acknowledge people passing by, engage them in conversation, get them to stop. (I didn’t say accost, I said engage!) More than once, I approached a booth, looking to talk with someone and was totally ignored. One woman was clearly on the phone with a friend and handed me a business card and waved me away, perhaps so I would call her later? I threw it out.

Some of the people I did talk with never asked to scan my badge, which would give them all my contact info, or requested a business card. Follow up is key for trade show success. What are they thinking? I hope they’re not counting on attendees to contact them, even if they did hand out a pound of promotional material.

What kind of experience have you had recently as a trade show attendee?

Some Customers Are More Equal Than Others

A friend recommended I speak with his college roommate, Sam*, about how Sam’s company handles customer appreciation. By all outside perceptions, Sam’s company fell exactly within the demographics of an ideal Zen Rabbit client.

But after just a couple of minutes on the phone, it was clear that Sam is currently working in contraction and fear mode, you know, because of the economy. Futhermore, Sam didn’t seem to understand the lifetime value of his clients.

I pointed out to him that even though he said he has thousands of clients, he’s likely getting 80% of his business from 20% of them. He agreed. Then I mentioned that he should be focusing his efforts on keeping those 20% really happy. That’s where he got a little fuzzy. Even though he “knows that,” he still wants to keep ALL his clients happy and not play favorites.

Hey, I can understand wanting to keep everyone happy, but like in the classic book “Animal Farm,” some customers are more equal than others. That’s just how it is. Some clients are more valuable than others. And you would do well to focus on and cater more to those 20% who bring you the most valuable business.

Sam admitted that he does not have a plan for consistently showing appreciation for his best customers. But he doesn’t quite believe that it would be worth the effort. I got the impression that he prefers to “fly by the seat of his pants” in that regard. It depends on whether there is money left over for it at the end of the month. It’s an afterthought.

But what if Sam DID believe in the power of saying thank you to his clients? What could his business look like then? I know for sure that his company would be a lot stronger, that he wouldn’t be so afraid of what’s going on in “the economy.” That he wouldn’t have to compete on price. Too bad Sam’s not ready for that message yet. Are you?

*names have been changed to protect friendships.

You Never Know Who’s Listening

Last week on my trip back from California to Florida, I ran into a colleague from my Execs’ Association in the Atlanta airport. He was returning from Austin and we were on the same flight to West Palm. It was funny because last year a similar thing happened in Dallas with another Execs’ colleague. And on my flight out to LA two weeks ago, I sat next to someone who ended up being at the same workshop I was attending. And then at lunch one day, I was talking about Nikki Incandela with my lunch partner, only to turn around and see Nikki sitting at the table behind me. She said she hadn’t heard me, but no matter because I was saying good things about her!

I find it fascinating how the universe arranges things. You never know who’s around you and who’s listening to your conversations. Which is exactly why it’s so important to make sure you wouldn’t mind being overheard or having the person you might be talking about hear whatever you’re saying. Goes back to that quote your grandmother may have said about “if you don’t have something nice to say…”

This whole idea fits right in with what my friend and mentor Bob Burg promotes all the time. And it’s no wonder that in return, I’ve only heard raving praise for Bob from others.

So this week, think about who might be hearing your offline conversations or seeing your online ones and remember to only say what you wouldn’t mind hearing repeated somewhere.

Grateful for Twitter Connections

Last week I had a great phone conversation with Deanna Collins, creator of The Gratitude Collection. We found each other on Twitter and thought that with The Gratitude Cookie™ and The Gratitude Collection, we must connect.

Deanna’s Gratitude Collection is a collection of bracelets, necklaces and earrings that were created to “help the wearers make a conscious effort to recognize the gifts in their lives.”

She told me that she made the very first Gratitude Bracelet, the one that has now become the essential element of the Signature Collection, for a friend as a gift to comfort her through a difficult time. (see that whole story here.)

Word got around and more and more people began asking her to make the bracelets for them. Next thing you know, she had a business and expanded the jewelry line into necklaces and earrings as well.

Today the solitary bead in her Signature Collection is an authentic hand-sculpted bead from the Mount Kenya region of Africa, hand-crafted by local Kenyan women. Very cool.

Also on the Gratitude Collections web site are some wonderful quotes on gratitude. Check them out here.

With our common connections and philosophies, Deanna and I are discussing how to combine our efforts to share the important message of Gratitude. I’ll keep you posted on the new developments. Or follow us on Twitter (twitter.com/ZenRabbit and twitter.com/GratitudeCircle) to get the continuing updates.

How’d You Get on Rachael Ray?

Ever since I announced that Zen Crunch was chosen to be Snack of the Day on Rachael Ray’s daytime talk show, people have been asking me how I did it. It’s not a big secret and I’m happy to share a bit of the behind the scenes.

Back in January, my fab PR expert Sara Becker got the name of the Snack of the Day segment producer and I sent her a letter along with a box of Gratitude Cookies. I’m good at sending stuff out, and not so good at follow up later. That’s why I’m so grateful to have Sara. She called and emailed the producer to find out if she got the box, if she liked the cookies, if she thought they were a good fit for Snack of the Day, etc.

She did like The Gratitude Cookie™, but felt they’d been giving away too many cookies recently and preferred to diversify.

No worries, Zen Rabbit also has Zen Crunch! So I sent another letter along with a couple bags of Zen Crunch. Once again, Sara was on top of the follow through and two weeks later we got word from the producer that YES! Zen Crunch would be included as a Snack of the Day in taping the following week. Now, she asked, could we overnight 160 bags of Crunch to New York for distribution to one studio audience?

Um, yeah, I think we could do that!!! I did, they taped the show and another two weeks later it aired.

So simple. Like most things in life, it really comes down to follow up and persistence. Okay, and maybe finding the right person to contact.

PS: Did you miss the show? See the local news coverage, which includes the Snack of the Day clip here: http://www.tinyurl.com/wptv324

Satisifed vs. Loyal

In his ezine this week, Jeffrey Gitomer once again addresses the topic of customer satisfaction – one of my favorites! His point is that satisfied customers are worthless. It’s the LOYAL customer you want. Think about the satisfactory grade in school. That’s a C. It’s just about passing. Is that all you want for your business?

He claims most businesses will settle for satisfied customers because making customers loyal is too much work. Measuring loyalty is easy.
1. will they do business with me again? and
2. will they refer others to do business with me?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. In order to create loyalty, you have to build that fence around your customers. And the foundation of that fence is outstanding service. Are you getting unsolicited referrals on a regular basis? Only if you have loyal customers.

Want to see Jeffrey’s entire column? Click here.

The Dessert Experience

The Great American Dessert Experience and my first “big girl” trade show is over. While it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting in terms of overall size and number and quality of attendees, I did meet several other exhibitors with great companies that I would recommend you check out.

Jodi Braun started For Goodness Cakes and mmm, mmm, mmm, they are good! Kind of a cross between a cheesecake and a coffee cake. She gave me a cinnamon one to bring home at the end of the show and we are quickly eating our way through it. Read more about them at www.forgoodnesscakes.com.

My “next door neighbor” at the show was Spice Rack Chocolates, created by Mary and Paul Schellhammer. These are solid chocolates enhanced with a variety of herbs, spices and flavorings. Think lemon with basil, grapefruit with lavender or, from the en fuego collection, crushed Thai chilies (yes, it is HOT!). Check out all the flavors at www.SpiceRackChocolates.com.

Winners in the “Small Bite, Big Taste” competition, 3 Sisters Creative Specialty Foods makes confectionary covered popcorn. We’re talking mini popcorn balls drenched in strawberry or key lime or chocolate coating. Sweet and crunchy. See what I’m talking about at www.popon-line.com.

Other cool products include Wine Cellar Sorbet (www.winecellarsorbet.com) which is exactly what you think – sorbet made from wine and PhotoFrost which is a system for printing pictures on cakes, cookies, cupcakes or anything else edible using a regular inkjet printer (!) (www.photofrost.com)

If you need bakery equipment, I now recommend calling my new friend John Stricker at www.bakery.com. And in case you want to certify your kitchen and products as kosher, contact Steve Sichel at Star-K Kosher (www.starkosher.com).

Next trade show is World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, May 30-June 1, 2008.

Don’t insult your customer

My car is a 1997 Hyundai Tiburon that has been and continues to be a fantastic vehicle. Of course having a great mechanic to keep it that way helps a lot. The other day I stopped at a Hyundai dealership to get a new oil cap. As I was pulling into the parking area, I saw a salesman practically running for the door. He was in the lot as I got out of my car.“Looks like you got here just in time,” he says. Is he insulting my car by implying it’s old and needs replacement?

“Just in time for what?” I demanded; he’s already annoyed me.

“We’ve got all these new models and blah, blah, blah,” he went on.

I’m thinking, who taught this guy how to interact with people? I replied, “I’m not here to buy a new car. I love my car.” And I turned away and went inside to the parts department, where they could not have been nicer.

I thought about that original greeting the rest of the day and the more I thought about it, the more annoyed I was. He was my first interaction at that dealership that day and he was insulting. He was the classic car salesman. I thought the industry was moving away from that stereotype. The perfect example of why car dealerships desperately need the Zen Rabbit Gratitude Program. I would call the general manager if I thought he would care.

Lesson number one in making sales and keeping clients – in any industry, don’t insult a probable purchaser/potential customer.

The Grammy’s or the Granny’s?

Once again the media is making your job of standing out, being distinctive and impressing your clients easier. I watched the Grammy’s last night and was totally unimpressed. Earlier in the day, I had said how much I was looking forward to watching the 50^th anniversary show of the original music awards. I even said that it was one of my goals to one day attend a Grammy Awards show because I love music so much.

Midway through the show my husband had abandoned the couch because he was bored. I stuck it out, ever the optimist, hoping it would get better. THAT was the 50^th anniversary show? What a mess! This is an industry of flash and celebration and excess. Where was that kind of spectacular exhibition? I fear the Grammy’s are now more the Granny’s, as in plain as granny panties.

The good news is that people’s standards of excellence are slowly being pulled lower and lower. So as a business person who wants to stand out in the crowd, you need only make a slightly greater impression than your competition. You no longer need to try that hard, just make some kind of effort. And then imagine if you were really creative, what kind of fantastic experience would that create for your clients?

Beware of How you Treat Small Companies

Debbi Fields wrote a book several years ago about her journey through the start up and development of Mrs. Fields Cookies. In it she recalls her challenges in finding a chocolate supplier. The sales rep of one large, well known chocolate company doesn’t want to give her the time of day when she calls him to ask for 25 pounds of chocolate because the order size is too small. He tells her to give him a call when she wants to buy 10,000 pounds.

So she opens the phone book and calls another company. That sales rep tells her the order is too small for his company’s trucks to deliver, but he could put it in the trunk of his car and bring it right over. And at the time she was writing this story, that sales rep Bob, was selling Mrs. Fields in excess of 25 million pounds of chocolate a year. She never reveals the name of either company. But she does finish the story by saying that the first gentleman would end up calling her continuously to ask for her business and she refused to work with him because of how he treated her that day.

There are many days when I think of this story because of the business people who disregard me, and I’m sure lots of others, with the thought that my business is too small to matter. This month I’m working on finding retail packaging for gourmet food stores. There is a list of who has been supportive and who has not. And when Zen Rabbit is the multi-million dollar company that it is destined to be, we’ll see who’s benefiting from believing in a small company.