L'ultime liste de contrôle pré-salon pour les startups et les agences
Trade shows and conferences are an effective way to meet new customers and professional connections – surprisingly enough, according to InsideSales, 72% of sales and marketing leaders say a trade show is an effective method to generate quality leads.
And while trade shows can sometimes seem overwhelming and, let’s be honest, expensive, they can be a goldmine for startups trying to make a name for themselves in any industry – especially if you plan ahead! 🗓
That’s why we’ve put together this ultimate checklist packed with tips and tricks to help you go from trade show rookie to trade show pro – whether you’re exhibiting or just attending the event.
Bonus: We’ve put together a downloadable checklist for you to get all of this valuable info in one handy, digestible document. 🚀
Let’s jump right in! 👊
Getting started – metrics and more
Avant de commencer à planifier un salon ou une conférence, réfléchissez à vos objectifs pour participer à un événement.
Are you trying to win new business? Do you want to promote an exciting new feature you just launched? Maybe you want to try to connect with some investors? 💸
Try to frame your planning around your intentions – and make measurable goals that you can track and reference for future events so that your company can decide if a particular trade show is successful and worth the ROI.
Quelques indicateurs à prendre en compte et des éléments à suivre lors de l'événement :
- Budget – it’s important to determine how much money your company is willing to spend on a particular event and to plan from there. Try to give as many details as possible and account for unexpected expenses as well. Pro tip: if it’s your first time exhibiting at a particular trade show, ask the coordinator if they offer first-time discounts.
- Pistes – how many leads did you generate during the event? It’s also important to try and track how many “hot” leads you generated so you can determine if the event’s audience is right for your company. Conseil de pro: Vous pouvez ajouter des prospects rapidement et sur place dans l'application mobile de Salesflare. 🔥
- Démonstrations, suivis et réunions – keep track of how many demos and meetings you conducted during the trade show, as well as how many follow-ups you scheduled for afterwards. Pro tip: Be sure to schedule as many meetings as possible well in advance of the event – people’s calendars fill up very quickly at trade shows and conferences! More on planning this later.
- Affaires conclues – how many sales did you generate during the event itself? Conseil de pro: Suivez vos prospects et les affaires gagnées dans votre pipeline de vente sur Salesflare (you can even do this on the mobile app so that you don’t need to carry your laptop around). 📱
- Médias sociaux – Measure the engagement you receive during the event (and be sure to post all about your company’s presence at the event before, during and after!) – this means likes, RTs, comments, etc. Start conversations and encourage people to come chat with you IRL. Pro tip: Make a plan ahead of time for your social media posts. Decide who will manage the accounts during the event, what messages you want to send out and don’t forget to take lots of photos at the event and post them! #teamwork #conferencelife
Once these things are taken into consideration, it’s time to decide how much time, money and resources you want to invest in attending the trade show. Which brings me to my next point…
Exposer ou participer
Is your company planning on attending the event and walking around to each booth and networking? 🤝
Ou souhaitez-vous investir dans votre propre espace pour exposer vos produits ou services ?
This decision greatly depends on your company’s budget, of course, because trade shows and conferences can get expensive.
Mais si vous avez l'argent et les ressources nécessaires pour investir dans un stand lors d'un événement, cela peut être un excellent moyen de gagner en visibilité et de disposer d'un espace dédié aux réunions.
If not, no worries! Trade shows and conferences can still be incredibly valuable opportunities to meet new business connections without a booth. 👍
However, the plans, time, budget and logistics involved can greatly differ, as exhibiting takes a considerably larger investment of these things, so let’s break it down.
Le calendrier de participation à un salon ou à une conférence
9-12 months before the event…
Decide on a budget and the size of your booth. Start to think about what you want to promote and the messages you’d like to get across within the space. 🤔
Si possible, essayez de réserver votre emplacement sur le sol de la salle d'exposition et soyez stratégique : près des portes d'entrée ou dans des zones très fréquentées sont des endroits idéaux pour installer un stand.
Start to design the booth concept (it might be ideal to hire professionals for this part – there are several event and logistics agencies out there that cater specifically to trade shows).
Think about any exciting launches or news you’d like to announce before or during the event and start to put together a plan for generating buzz and interest.
Do you have someone in your company who is a thought leader on a relevant topic? Be sure to check out opportunities for speaking engagements during the event! Apply early – these slots fill in very quickly. 🗣
6 months before the event…
Make sure your booth design is in the works at this point – even better if it’s already good to go!
If you’re having multiple people from your company joining the event, make sure they are registered (tickets are usually much cheaper if you purchase them well in advance).
3 months before the event…
Assurez-vous que tous les membres de votre entreprise qui participent à l'événement sont inscrits et comprennent leur rôle lors de l'événement. Qui s'adressera aux investisseurs ? Qui fera des démonstrations ? Qui tweetera sur votre présence à l'événement et enverra des courriels promotionnels ? Qui enregistrera et suivra les pistes générées par l'événement ?
Of course, many of these roles can (and most likely will) overlap, but it’s best to have a plan of attack moving forward. 💪
Put in an order for any additional supplies you may need – such as promotional banners, giveaways, collateral (promotional brochures and the like), pens, etc. ✍️
Vérifiez que tout est prêt pour votre stand. Tous les meubles/matériels doivent être commandés à ce stade. Coordonnez-vous avec la personne chargée de la construction du stand et assurez-vous que tout est prêt à être livré à temps.
It’s better to get these things taken care of early than to wait until the last minute! ⏳
1 month before the event…
Does the event offer an app or matchmaking platform? Take advantage of this to set up meetings as soon as possible. This also gives you the chance to scope out any business connections or customers who may be attending as well. 📲
Research competitors who are attending – see if they have a booth and try to get an idea of how many employees they are sending to the event.
Confirm travel logistics at this point – flights, hotels, etc. and have a game plan for how you and your colleagues will track expenses. ✈️
The few weeks before the event…
Si vous souhaitez créer une certaine effervescence autour de la participation de votre entreprise à un salon ou à une conférence, l'envoi d'une annonce par courrier électronique est un excellent moyen d'obtenir un engagement plus important avant l'événement.
Some conferences offer mailing lists of attendees if you’re an exhibitor, but this isn’t always the case – and you should always use these lists responsibly!
But if you do not have access to this, and there are certain people or companies you’d like to chat with, check out this guide to finding anyone’s email.
Demandez à d'autres entreprises si elles ont un stand que vous pouvez visiter, ou voyez s'il existe des possibilités de collaboration/partenariat dont vous pouvez discuter. Mailchimp est un excellent outil pour organiser ces annonces et ces listes de diffusion.
Finally, as you’re reaching the eleventh hour, be sure to fill in those last-minute meeting slots, double check everything is good to go for the booth delivery and setup and scope out the side events you want to attend.
Boom! You’re ready and prepared for a productive trade show!
Don’t forget! These are some must-have items that you should have handy because, well, you never know…
- Stylos, Sharpies et surligneurs
- Tape – duct, masking, whatever you might need
- des rallonges pour les écrans ou les appareils à brancher et des chargeurs supplémentaires
- Fournitures générales de bureau : post-it, élastiques, agrafeuse, trombones, ciseaux.
- A basic toolkit: screwdriver, hammer, wrench, pliers, zip ties, etc. 🛠
- Une trousse de premiers secours : médicaments contre les maux de tête et le rhume, bandages, etc.
- Cartes de visite supplémentaires, matériel promotionnel et démonstrations éventuelles
Tips for your booth design…
In terms of what your booth should look like, that’s completely up to you! But here are some things to consider:
- Try to avoid having any chairs in the booth space – they take up a lot of space and when they’re not used, it makes the booth seem empty and as if you don’t have any customers – not a good look. 🤷♀️
- Have an open and inviting floor plan – you want people to come talk to you, so make the design as approachable as possible!
- Some kind of engaging activity or activation – from giveaways to touchscreens with more information about your company, try to think of some interactive elements you can add to the booth. Budget permitting, of course.
- Follow the instructions in the exhibitors’ manual – I can’t stress this one enough. Be sure that you and the people you’ve hired to put together your booth follow all of the instructions and protocols laid out in the manual provided by the event coordinators. Not following the rules can cost you money, time and a lot of stress.
If you’re attending the trade show without a booth…
La plupart de ces points sont toujours d'actualité, mais vous pouvez bien sûr sauter les étapes qui concernent la logistique autour du stand.
Veillez simplement à contacter les participants à l'avance pour planifier ces réunions (et apportez si possible du matériel promotionnel pour présenter votre produit ou service aux personnes auxquelles vous vous adressez).
When it comes to attending the actual speaking sessions and keynotes, try to do this sparingly. 🙅♀️
There are so many great TED Talks and recorded speaking sessions from conferences online – don’t get sucked into this stuff when you could be networking with potential customers or investors during the event!
Organisez votre équipe !
Tirez parti d'outils tels que Airtable, Trello, Dropbox ou Notion pour collaborer et s'assurer que tout le monde est sur la même longueur d'onde en ce qui concerne le but et les objectifs de la participation à l'événement.
Have a Plan B (and C, and D…)
J'ai compris : des choses se produisent. Surtout dans des situations aussi chaotiques et occupées que les salons et les conférences.
Sometimes it seems as if Murphy’s law was created just for events like this – things can go wrong, and chances are, they will go wrong.
I’ve had my fair share of mishaps at events – I once had my phone accidentally packed into a shipping container after a trade show.
And at a separate event, I had to argue with the builders to let me into the storage area because they didn’t properly unpack everything and didn’t believe me when I said there was more to unpack. 🤦♀️
Comme je l'ai dit : Des choses. arrivent.
No need to panic, though! This is why it’s good to have backup plans to keep everything running smoothly.
Prévoyez toujours des fournitures supplémentaires et établissez des listes de colisage détaillées lorsque vous vous préparez pour le salon. Coordonnez avec votre équipe qui apporte quoi et attribuez des responsabilités spécifiques à chacun.
Another good thing to have is the exhibitors’ manual printed out in a binder. These usually have the forms needed for post-event cleanup and logistics, so it’s good to have them ready to go at a moment’s notice. 📄
Derniers conseils
I know I’ve thrown a lot of info at you here, but no need to panic if your company doesn’t follow this timeline exactly. Different event types have different requirements and lead times, so just do your research and make sure you follow the deadlines.
Quelques ressources supplémentaires pour permettre à votre équipe de se démarquer lors du salon :
- Un guide de réseautage sans prétention pour permettre à votre équipe d'établir des contacts significatifs et productifs pendant l'événement.
- A list of the top conferences for startups in 2020 to give you inspiration and point you in the right direction to the most relevant conferences out there.
- Modèles d'e-mails de suivi pour envoyer des e-mails à tous les clients potentiels que vous avez rencontrés lors de l'événement.
- Des outils puissants pour vous aider à vous organiser et à collaborer le plus efficacement possible.
There you have it – if you follow these tips before attending a conference or trade show, you’ll be ready to make more sales and meet some new, exciting, interesting people in your industry!
Be prepared and always follow the guidelines laid out by the trade show organizers – with that said, you’ll be a pro in no time.
And don’t forget: you can download our free handy checklist to access a condensed version of everything mentioned in this post!
Now, get planning (and don’t forget to have a little bit of fun)! 🎉
Nous espérons que cet article vous a plu. Si c'est le cas, passez le mot !
Pour en savoir plus sur les startups, le marketing de croissance et les ventes :
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