◗◗Manos Sifakis: Starting With the Why

A cursory glance at the sales and marketing budget of nearly any B2B organization will show that while some things have changed – line item for a Virtual Reality experience, anyone? – some things never will. Conferences, expos, and trade shows are still a vibrant part of the sales cycle, and for good reason. Despite all our love and even dependence on emerging technologies, at the end of the day, we are humans, and people like to buy from people. We know in our bones that working events works. But is it working as well as it can? These days, simply popping up a few banners and handing out pens will not cut it; not only are your reps on call to engage, they are on the hook to convert. Are you getting the ROI you want, need, and deserve? How do you know? The same old event approach is old! Historically, exhibitors had no way to really obtain quantitative insights into their show performance. Short of counting the number of business cards reps were able to collect during their time on the floor, you often could not tell if any of the connections made were qualified, actionable leads until well after you were home and unpacked. Since then we have seen the advent of lead retrieval technology and the ability for conferences to provide exhibitors with the ability to scan a badge and digitally capture a visitor to their booth as a new lead. Depending on your platform not only can you instantly have your leads added to your CRM, but you can add notes about your conversations, have your new contacts qualified quickly and consistently, or automatically enroll them in a nurture campaign. Advancements? Most certainly. But have they solved the age-old challenge of improving your conference ROI? […]