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Marketing 101: Trade Show and Conference Strategy

JimRaffel — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:30:48 +0000

Trade shows and conferences are alive and well. Sure they shift and change just as our lives and our businesses do. Attending the correct trade shows and conferences is an excellent strategy to find new prospects and communicate with existing customers.

Arrive with a plan. Sounds simple enough, but by looking around at the typical show or conference it’s pretty clear to me over half the attendees just “show up.” Arriving at a trade show or conference with a strategy for client engagement will put you way ahead of the crowd. Here’s a strategy when your goal for attending is finding new customers and interacting with existing ones.

Let your customers know you will be there. Send a blast email a week or so before the event. The nice thing about this strategy is that many will respond and ask you to set aside some time to meet. Adding a reminder to your email signature a couple weeks before the event is also a good idea. The customers you engage with most should notice you will be at the event, and may ask to meet if they are also going.

Set appointments ahead of time. Try to convert “I hope to see you there” into “Let’s plan to meet for coffee or breakfast.” Set appointments are easy to remember and keep track of. A list of 50 people you want to meet with….not so much.

Check vendors list. Even if you don’t sell to vendors knowing who will be there exhibiting or sponsoring gives good clues about how the attendee demographic base will look. If the vendors are your customers, track down your contact and see if he/she will be there. If not try and get a name of someone who will be, and plan on introducing yourself the first day. Going wide and deep in an organization is always a good plan. Plus if they know you are there they can refer people to you. Which reminds me make sure to provide the new contact with a business card that has your cell phone number on it.

Review the attendees list. Normally this list is only available to sponsors and exhibitors at events. If the list is available, look for your customers on the list. If you don’t recognize the names of those attending reach out to someone you do know within the organization and determine the attendee’s roll in the organization. Again, for the reasons of going wide and deep in the organization track these folks down and introduce yourself.

Perhaps some of this advice sounds more sales 101 than marketing 101, but in a small business I think the two overlap more often than not. How about you, any trade show and conference marketing tips?

Audience Engagement: It’s All About Them

JimRaffel — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 10:30:22 +0000

When preparing to speak, choose talking points that focus the dialog around the audience point of view and will resonate with them. Here is how I prepared for the opportunity to speak for the Milwaukee Likemind group about using your blog as a homebase for all on-line activity.

Topic selection. When Jeff Larch contacted me with only two weeks until the meeting date I knew we would need to work together to pick a topic I was currently focused on. I’m currently putting lots of effort into improving my company and personal web-sites(blogs) as homebases for the ColorMetrix and Jim Raffel brands. Blogs as a homebase also gets lots of play as a topic on the A-list blogs these days so it seemed to Jeff and I the topic would result in audience engagement.

It really is all about them. I can talk in front of a mirror or video camera anytime. Doing this will actually improve your delivery skills if that is the kind of thing you want to work on improving. When I get in front of an audience, however, it all changes. Now, it’s time to share knowledge and shorten learning curves for the attendees if you can. You’ll know if you achieved audience engagement by the liveliness of the question and answer session that follows most presentations. Seems to me lots of good questions means you achieved the it’s all about them goal.

Q & A time is the payoff. If you’ve really done your job well, you will learn as much as the audience from the questions and answer session. The questions will tell you two things for sure. First, what topic areas did you get the group thinking about. Second, perhaps you’ll want to cover that area in more depth next time you get to speak. I’ve watched the Q&A section of the video a few times and am planning to watch it more. I’ve pulled some topic ideas from it and learned a few things myself.

If you’ve got a spare 45 minutes… The video above is the entire Linkmind presentation. Even if you only get the chance to watch a short portion your feedback in the comments for this post would be greatly appreciated.

Blogging 101: Face Time at Social Media Conferences

JimRaffel — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:53:57 +0000

Do you wonder what it’s like to spend a few days face to face spending time with other bloggers and social medial devotees? In my experience, it’s some serious fun and that is why I am headed back to BlogWorld this October. At the end of this post you’ll have an opportunity to sign up for BlogWorld Expo with with a great discount offer that ends today.

BlogWorld is worth the time and expense. I have attended BlogWorld in the past. I learned a great deal by attending educational sessions and walking the show floor talking to the exhibitors face to face. This alone made attendance worth the price of admission. A few years ago I attended Matt Mullenweg’s keynote and learned enough that I decided to stay with WordPress when I had been looking at other blogging platforms. I’m glad I’ve stuck with the platform and might not have without attending that keynote.

unGeeked converted me. Earlier this year I attended the unGeeked conference in Milwaukee. Spending time with the who’s who of social media for three days was amazing. Most of the big names in this game are still down to earth approachable people. I met Scott Stratten at unGeeked and he will be keynoting Thursday’s B2B sessions at BlogWorld. He’s as real as they come and was willing to talk to anyone during the conference and at the after parties. I found this with both the regional and international stars of social media. It is, after all, a social industry. If we can’t all talk to each other, something is seriously wrong.

Chance meetings are priceless. How can you put a value on lunch, dinner or even just sharing a beverage break with an A-List blogger? That’s the kind of thing that happens at these conferences. The A-List social media types I’ve been honored to spend time with love to share their knowledge and help others grow and succeed. Know why? In addition to being nice people they know you are a blogger and will blog about meeting them and how nice they are. It grows their social proof and it could help your site traffic too.

My Ask. First, I will be at BlogWorld Expo (affiliate link) and have already signed up with the exact same offer I’m presenting here. The early bird registration ends TODAY and with the code “EBIRD” you can save an additional 20% off the already low early bird prices. As far as I know this is the best deal that will be offered to attend BlogWorld. If you’re serious about blogging and are thinking about going please sign up today. The pesos you save can go towards your hotel room, airfare or even just fun money in Vegas.

Any other social media “must attend” conferences you want to let me and the readers know about. Feel free to use the comments to create a list.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrants

Public Speaking 101: It’s Not Your Slides

JimRaffel — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 12:19:17 +0000

Presentation slides are OK if they are well done. Just remember it’s not the slides the audience came to see…..it’s you.

More speaking this year with fewer and simpler slides. It’s interesting that I have done more speaking this year and prepared fewer and simpler slides. It’s not an accident. I have colleagues who have spoken frequently for many years. They all tell me pretty much the same thing. Keep your slides simple with few words or better yet land gigs with no slides. It’s working.

No coincidences. I also find it interesting that one of the few blog posts I found time to read yesterday was Seth Godin’s – The 200 slide solution Here I am focusing this blog on public speaking for the week and Seth jumps right in and offers us all some sage advice. If you do any presenting please take the time to go read the post.

Tried and true. I read Guy Kawasaki’s – The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint years ago. It’s still great advice. I mean you may now use Apple’s Keynote or Google Docs for your software but the concepts still apply.

Chris Brogan – Presentation or Conversation a very interesting read and perspective from Chris before he became a hugely successful keynote speaker.

The point of the links above. I have written once or twice about modeling the success of those around you. Not copying them but instead looking at what they do and applying it to the unique you. That’s why I devour the blogs of people I admire and aspire to be like.

The power of search. I “re-found” the second two links in about 30 seconds with Google. So, if you too want to learn more about public speaking try Googling the name of a public speaker you respect and add “public speaking” or “powerpoint” after their name.

Posts like this don’t generate the comment traffic a blogger likes but they have helped me land two nice speaking gigs. How do you feel about posts asking at the end to contact me if you are interested in having me speak, consult, etc.?

Public Speaking 101: One Person At a Time

JimRaffel — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:26:26 +0000

Note from Jim: This week all my posts are themed around public speaking. That’s because late last week and early this week my focus has been growing my public speaking presence. Why not write about something that is near and dear to my heart at the moment and that I am immersed in – right? There are at least two more posts in the series and then next week I’ll be moving on to Small Business 101. It’s occurred to me that I’ve learned a great deal over the last 16 years running a business that may be of value to you.

Speak to one person at a time. That’s it. That’s my public speaking 101 tip for the day. As you approach the podium begin looking around for one person in the audience you know. Begin your presentation as if you are speaking only to them. Suddenly you will not be presenting but instead will be speaking. Do you see how that is different?

Shift your focus. As the session continues, keep scanning the audience for people you know or want to get to know. Speak to one person in that audience at a time. Everyone in that audience will connect with you on a different level. They will feel the difference.

I can read your speech. If you only brought a speech, please leave a copy and I’ll read it later. Let’s just move onto the next speaker please. Reading prepared remarks is for politicians or awards presenters. You are so much better than that. A few notes to keep you on track – fantastic. Just please don’t read word for word, that’s no way to connect with me in the audience.

Three great posts about public speaking. That’s all I’ve got but here are posts by some of my favorite bloggers who are all accomplished public speakers.

Seth Godin – When you are ready to stand up to speak

Mitch Joel – How To Market Yourself As A Speaker

Chris Brogan – How To Start Speaking At Events

I’ve mentioned before the importance of modeling the success of others. That does not mean copying them, but instead looking at what they’ve done and applying it to the unique you.

Interested in having me speak about how social media has transformed my B2B business? Checkout my speaking page and reach out to me via the contact form.

Replace “ums” with Pregnant Pauses when Speaking

JimRaffel — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:59:36 +0000

Your “um” might be an “ah” or some other equally unattractive form of verbal pausing. Try replacing the awkward verbal pause with silence.

Review video of yourself speaking. After watching a video of myself presenting I noticed way too many “ums.” I asked a friend what I should replace the “ums” with. Her answer was so simple it was scary.

Silence. A pregnant pause is in fact silence. Silence that gives you a chance to figure out what to say next. Of course sometimes, and more appropriately so, a pregnant pause is a dramatic tool used to create anticipation of what you will say next.

Successful speakers seldom utter the dreaded um. Since trying to kick my “um habit” I have been listening more closely to the way successful people speak. For example, the most highly rated talk radio host in my town never says um and he frequently has long moments of silence. For me, two things happen during the silence, I think about what he has just said and begin anticipating what he will say next. I become an engaged listener.

Slow down and breathe. Instead of rushing through the presentation try slowing down. Plan pregnant pauses in your presentation by noting where you would like the audience to stop and think. Or, perhaps right before an important point, a moment of silence will grab back any attention that has wandered.

The pregnant pause is your friend. Once you begin to use the pregnant pause you will find yourself speaking more slowly and precisely. When you keep your mouth moving slower your brain has a better chance of keeping up, thus not needing verbal “ums” to give it time to think.

This is a new technique for me and has already reduced my “ums” by at least fifty percent. Do you have any other tips and tricks to help public speakers with verbal garbage like the “um?”

Success is Progress Towards Your Goal

JimRaffel — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 17:55:26 +0000

Too often we view success as achievement of the goal. Isn’t that really succeeded? Success should be defined as measurable progress towards your dream. With this definition you know when to say “I’ve succeeded” and it’s time to set a new goal.

Start with a goal. For example, I set one to speak publicly twelve times in 2010. It’s important with goals to be specific (speak twelve times) and to have a target date (December 31, 2010).

Take some action. Make progress towards your goal ASAP. In my case I added a Speaking page to this blog. As the speaking engagements come in, I add them to the page. When possible I have added video or slide decks for past presentations. Now, those interested in having me speak can see examples of my past success speaking.

As you make progress towards your goal measure success along the way. In six months I have spoken five times so I’m a little behind numerically. On the other hand, I have begun to receive multiple emails each week soliciting speaking proposals. I’ve managed to find my way on to the right mailing lists to help me succeed. To not include this in a measurement of my success would be foolish. By not having to search out the events I have more time to submit proposals and increase my progress towards the desired outcome.

The momentum of success builds upon itself. The more I speak and update my speaking page the more solicitations to submit speaking proposals I get. See how that works? That’s why it’s important to take that first action towards the goal as quickly as you can after having set it.

Interested in having me speak? Please take a look at my Speaking page or use the Contact Me form to start a conversation.

Play Nice With Others

JimRaffel — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:26:28 +0000

This was the title of my third slide for a recent presentation. “Play nice with others” ended up being the one thing I left my audience with.

Play nice with others. In the context of my presentation referred to ColorMetrix software products being interoperable with other “competitive” products. I was sharing the podium with seven other vendors that in days of old I would have called competitors. (I suspect many of them still refer to me that way).

Here’s what has changed. All eight of our products are just tools to the customer. Just as your toolbox at home likely contains more than one kind of screw driver, my audiences’ color toolboxes often contain several of the tools represented by speakers on the podium. While each of the products overlaps others in functionality, the reality is we each have our own strengths in the eyes of the customer.

The speaker after me said “play nice with others.” He said it word for word. I was flattered, got over in instantly, looked up at the audience, smiled and got lots of smiles back. (I was then distracted by Twitter – Yes, I was that guy tweeting from the podium.) Later at dinner the session moderator commented that three or four of the speakers that followed me also said play nice with others word for word.

The giving economy requires nice play. You can’t be giving away 95% of what you do for free and not be doing it nicely with others. If you bash your competition in your free white paper or ebook, you have drastically diminished the value of your free stuff. How about building each other up and emphasizing the need for a toolbox full of all the best tools.

Do you play nicely with others or am I crazy and doing this alone?

Planning the Social Media Way

JimRaffel — Sat, 22 May 2010 23:48:33 +0000

Planning sales “events” with social media while similar to the traditional sales model is not the same. During the #unGeeked conference last week I got a glimpse of the HubSpot social media sales funnel.

Sales will always be about the funnel. What changes is how the funnel gets filled and in my case how the sales are closed. Writing this post is a struggle because I share so much with you guys. The photo of my Moleskine notebook that accompanies this post give you 95% of the plan to bring back the ColorMetrix User’s Group Meeting in 2010. (We’ll get back to that last 5% in a moment).

A wide funnel at the top is the key to social media and community sales success. In order to fill our meeting with 50 people (my goal) I’ll need to reach about 5,000. I don’t plan to pick the phone up one time. I’ll use blog posts, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, email, and some direct mail tools to get the word out that we are planning a 2010 meeting.

A LinkedIn Group will be the home base of planning and ideation for the meeting. In the past the meeting was planned and conducted by us for the users. This time around I am going to pull volunteers out of the LinkedIn Group to help us plan. I’d tell you more about the meeting but until the LinkedIn group reaches a critical mass I don’t know exactly what the meeting will look like or even where we will hold it.

I have a plan. You can see that by looking at the photograph of my Moleskine notebook. The LinkedIn group has been created and invites sent to key contacts on LinkedIn. This blog post is being written. CMUG 2.0 2010 (#cmug2010) will happen. I just have to do the work at the top of the funnel and attract enough interested people to the process.

Back to that last 5%. If some of my posts like this one seem like I’m leaving a little bit out, I apologize but I am. I give you 95% of what I do for free. Not many people write a blog post almost every day about what they are doing and how they are doing it. The last 5% is my secret sauce. The competitive advantage I have within my own industry and marketplace.

I’m working on providing limited access to the last 5% of my knowledge. Until I figure out what that is going to look like I am available on a very limited basis to do consulting with companies outside my marketplace. Not sure what that means? If you even think we compete in any way shape or form, we probably do and I’ll say no. If you want to know more contact me here.

That’s a glimpse into how I plan for sales success with social media and community tools. Does your strategy looks similar?

Amazing Content Means Taking a Stand

JimRaffel — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:11:01 +0000

During the #unGeeked conference last week I was able to capture Scott Stratten (@unmarketing on Twitter) thoughts on the craziness of book endorsements.

Scott takes a stand. Here we have a man about to have his first book published and he takes on the publishing establishment by having a whole chapter in his book about the foolishness of book endorsements. When I watched the video I thought to myself that’s amazing content because he took a stand.

Rush Limbaugh does not have the most listened to radio show for his middle of the road views. Like him or not Rush has amazing content because he takes a stand. We don’t want wishy washy. I don’t know about you but I do wishy washy well enough myself, often enough, that I don’t want to read about it.

True Passion comes from taking a stand. Watching Scott present at unGeeked I got to see this first hand. What are we doing on Twitter Scott asked? Then, in a very impassioned voice with equally animated body language he said something like – Talking! Do you get that people? We are just talking! He’s successful for a reason, he believes it and he lives it.

Amazing content does not just happen. It takes practice. It takes learning that you must take a stand. You must offend some (not intentionally or in a nasty name calling way) to reach those who care about your message. You don’t come here each day and read, for me to tell you the sky was blue today. You come for my passion about self-improvement and business success. (I know this because those are the posts you comment on most).

My theme is trending towards helping others first. There’s a reason for this. I didn’t do it for ten years. I was a king size self-centered jerk. Not all the time but often enough that I can see now, that was holding me back from getting where I wanted to go. I took a stand with myself and just stopped doing it.

I’m taking a stand to produce only amazing content that is original and authentic me. I’ll be focused on self-improvement and business success. This is who I am, this is what I do.