5 easy steps to exhibit enlightenment and sponsorship nirvana
John Tatusko

Your Booth Is Dead, and So Is Your Sponsorship
That’s right, your booth is dead. So is your sponsorship. They
always have been. Has your booth ever closed a deal? Has your
sponsorship ever qualified a lead? I’m guessing they haven’t.
That’s because they can’t. They’re dead. Passive. Inanimate.
They’re just tools.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

The bad news is, if you don’t do anything with your booth or sponsorship,
if you don’t ACTIVATE them, they’re certainly not going to do anything
for you. Inanimate objects can be very selfish that way.
The good news is, it’s easy to activate them and bring them to life. In
fact, if you’re like most marketers you’re probably already doing most
of the hard parts.
“Activating your booth
Enlightenment is easy! And, to top it all off, activating your booth and
or sponsorship is all
sponsorship is as simple as following 5 easy steps!
about attracting and
Intrigued? Keep reading.
engaging the right
people with the right
message.”
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Define Your Objectives...p.3
Attract the Right Audience...p.5
Deliver the Right Message...p.8
Ask for an Action...p.13
Measure Your Results...p.15
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Step 1: Define Your Objectives
You’ve heard it before, and deep down you know it’s true. If you don’t
start out with clearly defined objectives, it’s difficult, or even impossible,
DEFINE
to measure your success.
REFINE
At the end of the day, your objective – or at least one of your objectives
– is to sell more stuff. (If it’s not, I’d love to come work with you because
if there’s one thing I am better at than selling stuff, it’s NOT selling SIMPLIFY
stuff.) Sure, you’ll hear people say they exhibit in and sponsor events
for leads, for branding, for PR…or they’re interested in establishing QUANTIFY
thought leadership, or to “get on XYZ’s radar.” But ultimately, the
primary objective is to SELL MORE STUFF!
Sit down and come up with a list of objectives (you probably already have
one somewhere). Once you have your list of objectives it’s time to:
• Refine them. Ask yourself: Are these narrow enough? Is this realistic?
Are the people I work with actually capable of pulling this off? Are
they measurable?
• Keep them simple. Will you be able to tell whether or not you
succeeded without a massive spread sheet and bunch of fancy math? Do
they make sense to people other than you? Are they measurable?
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

• Make them quantifiable. Have I mentioned they need to be
measurable1?
Whatever your objectives are, the most important thing is that they
clearly define what you intend to accomplish. For example, one of
your objectives might be to sell 200 G.I. Joes (with the Kung Fu Grip)
…or book 5 appointments…schedule 2 executive briefings…collect
50 qualified leads…have 3 articles written…land 2 new partners…
you get the picture.
G.I. Joe with Kung Fu Grip
You can and should have multiple objectives, and they don’t all need circa 1960
to be measurable on the day you pack up your booth and load out.
Objectives can be long range. If your product has an extended sales
cycle, it’s even more important to have long-term objectives. And it’s
absolutely critical to continue quantifying your objectives 6, 8 and 12
months down the road in order to prove that spending money in April
results in making money in November.
_______________________________________________________
Great FREE measurement tools: http://www.exhibitoronline.com/topics/eventmeasurement.asp
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Step 2: Attract the Right Audience
Now that you’ve defined your objectives, it’s time to target an audience.
Who do you want to attract? And how are you going to get their
attention? We have to assume you know where your sweet spots are
as far as who your sales teams like to talk to most, and, again, we have
to assume the event you are participating in actually features enough
of those types of people to justify being there in the first place. Right?
RIGHT? (clears throat, links to www.careerbuilder.com).
Finding the right people, and helping them find you can seem difficult,
but often there are free tools available. Most sponsorships are designed
with activation built in, but many companies don’t take advantage of
them. Leveraging the tools that come with your participation, such as
logo attribution on web sites and in pre-event email and print campaigns,
is a great way to start. What else can you do?
• Take advantage of every marketing opportunity included in your
exhibit or sponsorship package and most importantly, TIE THEM
TOGETHER. They should all be aimed in the same direction.
• Leverage in-house lists. There is no excuse for neglecting to notify
the people who know your organization that you’ll be in town.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

• Explore joint promotion ventures with your key partners. Their list +
your list = one much bigger list.
• If you’re active with social media, use it! Make sure you’re promoting
on your company’s website, blogs, Facebook page, etc. Make sure
your people are talking about it on Twitter2.
• Get sales involved. Give them the tools and information they need
to attract your current customers and prospects. Show them why it
makes sense for them to bring prospects and clients to the event.
They’re not going to do it if you can’t show them they’re going to sell
more stuff as a result of it. Sales people are kind of funny that way.
• Use discount or free registration codes provided by the event
organizers in your email auto signatures and marketing campaigns.
Event organizers often award the exhibitor or sponsor with the highest
code usage with discounts and free opportunities at future events.
• Don’t be afraid to barter with the organizers. It doesn’t cost anything
to ask if they want to swap lists, ads or links.
_______________________________________________________
For weekly tips on all things marketing, subscribe to: http://www.marketingovercoffee.com
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

• Additional opportunities:
> Exhibit hall bingo/golf/treasure hunts3. Hokie? Absolutely.
Annoying if not executed well? You bet. Effective? Possibly the
most cost effective activation program offered by virtually every
event organizer. That is, if you have your qualifying questions
down (see Step 3). With the right qualifying questions and a
“Don’t rely solely on
plan, this hokie, low-to-no-cost bingo program can be a ballet
the event to generate of open ended questions and introductions. A venerable Swan
Lake of sales if you will (and you will).
traffic for you. Take
> Create your own bingo/golf/treasure hunt and bring your
steps to attract
partners into it. This is a great way to share lists with your
your own qualified
partners without actually sharing the lists. Be creative. This type
audience of prospects of program will work in any environment – trade show, county
fair, parties. If you have a designated spot to be in, this will fly.
in advance.”
OK – You know who your target audience is, and you have a few
methods of communicating with them identified. How do you attract
them to your booth? And once they show up, what do you say? Funny
you should ask; take a look at Step 3.
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Exhibit Hall bingo type games – Attendees are issued a punch card, walk to participating vendor’s
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booths/stands/tents, receive stamps, and win prizes.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Step 3: Deliver the Right Message
Objectives, check
Right Audience, check
Right Message, hmmmm….
Let’s talk about messaging in three categories: before the event, during
the event, and after the event.
Before the Event – The Short List
“What does your
Make it your mission to be on every target attendee’s “short list.” Why?
When you plan to buy a new car, you don’t seriously consider EVERY prospect want
possible car currently available. No – based on your NEEDS you
and need? How
develop a short list of cars that might make sense to investigate further.
do you solve their
Event attendees do the same thing because they have a limited amount
of time to visit exhibitors. It’s imperative to get on their “short list.” (The problems?”
“short list” principle also applies to brunch buffets, FYI.)
How? Start with the blurb you post to your web site that describes the
event and why your company is participating in it. Most importantly,
make sure you describe WHY IT MAKES SENSE FOR YOUR TARGET
AUDIENCE TO GO SEE YOU THERE. Your target audience doesn’t
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

care why the event makes sense for YOU; they need to know why it SPECIAL BONUS
makes sense for THEM. Talk about how you solve their problems. Be
SECTION ON
honest. Seriously, it works.
GIVEAWAYS
Next, consider what you’ll be offering, launching, displaying, selling The best giveaways appeal
and announcing at the event. Which of these things do your target almost exclusively to your
attendees care about? Which of their problems are you solving? Why real targets. If you have
a drawing for a Harley or
should they care? Focus on crafting your message around these key
offer free beer, you will
items. Remember, your message should be about them – not you. almost certainly have a full
booth…full of people who
During the Event – Say What You Do
would love a free Harley
Say what you do. Ever walked by an exhibit or a sponsor tent and said: and free beer. If you give
”Wow, that’s a pretty cool set up. They must have spent a fortune. I away a 30-day trial of your
wonder what those guys are selling?” Yeah, don’t be those guys. Say product, you might have a
what you do. Use plain English and graphics to convey a message that less full booth…of people
who might actually buy your
is concise and target-oriented – especially if you’re at a large event
product! I know, it’s tough
where signs, lights, and dog and pony shows are competing for your to get past the Harley/
target’s attention. beer cool-factor, and if
you happen to sell Harleys
or beer, or your targets’
interests line up with Harleys
______________________________________________________ and beer4, by all means, go
for it (no extra charge for
Note: Free beer almost always works with me. Well, OK, always.
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that bit of advice).
p.9
©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Less is More
Your signs and graphics should explain what you do – and how what
you do benefits your target – in simple, bold text in a quick-to-grasp
format. Your signs are not the place to bullet point every feature of
your newest product. To do this effectively, you don’t even need to
name the product – just the problem it solves. Less is more5.
Qualify Visitors
You’ve attracted the right audience to your booth. Now comes the fun
part – qualifying them. You’re targeting the right audience, but no
amount of attracting the right audience is going to completely qualify
them in a manner that your sales teams will appreciate. You’re only
halfway there. This is where you separate the real prospects from the
unwashed masses.
“This is where you separate
Nail down your qualifying questions to identify real prospects as they
come to your booth. Your booth staffers should be focused on determining the real prospects from the
who is and isn’t qualified in every new conversation. Offering demos
unwashed masses.”
to everyone who stops by the booth is not an effective sales strategy.
______________________________________________________
Ten quick and spot on tips on common messaging and graphics mistakes:
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http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitormagazine/jan09/graphics.asp
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

And remember, you’re in this to SELL MORE STUFF! Once you’ve
determined your qualifying questions, develop a few transition
techniques that your booth staff can use to gracefully (and expediently)
exit conversations with unqualified visitors.
Post Event – Don’t Blow It
Your free t-shirt supply is wiped out. Your feet hurt and you’re tired of
smiling at strangers. Once again you try to reconcile the glamorous jet-
set lifestyle your mother believes you lead with the reality that comes
with flight crews and venue janitorial staff recognizing you. It’s time to
pack up and head home to relax…not so fast!
This is the easiest part to mess up, but it’s probably the most important.
The few days right after the event are crucial. The targets you met?
They still have their post-event glow. They probably have post-show
reports to submit, information to share with their peers, and emails to
weed through. And usually, they still have a glimmer of excitement and
optimism about everything they learned, and everything that COULD
BE! (cue rainbows and unicorns, roll “Waltz of the Flowers”.)
OK, so maybe that last bit’s a little sensational, but particularly in this
economy, they’re coming back from what is most likely the only event
they’ll attend this year. To them, it was probably a reasonably big deal.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

When your team follows up immediately with the information you
promised to send and a hand-written note, or a personal email or phone
call, you are much more likely to make a lasting impression than the
company that sends out a form letter and a brochure 60 days later.
By then, your target has moved on. They may not even have the same
need anymore. In this economy, they may not even have the same job
anymore…
Do yourself a favor and act quickly. Get those leads into the pipeline,
and make it a requirement that your sales team follow up within one
“When you follow
week of the event. Period. Don’t blow it.
up immediately,
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves – we haven’t asked for the right
you’re much more
action yet.
likely to make a
lasting impression.”
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Step 4: Ask for the Right Action
You’ve got the attention of a group of qualified people. Now what?
Ask them to give you something. Ask them to give you something based
on your objectives (insert your own favorite bell ringing sound here).
What will they give you if you ask?
A sale? That’d be pretty cool, that’s ultimately the goal right?
But an appointment, a demo or a test drive would be a huge win.
References, survey information (let them tell you more about
themselves), a registration for a post event webinar or educational
session and introductions are all great too. If your company plays in
social media, new subscribers to your rss feed, new followers on Twitter,
new friends on Facebook or new connections on LinkedIn are all steps
in the process. And they’re all measurable and quantifiable to boot6.
_______________________________________________________
For an incredibly useful eBook on synchronizing your corporate database with Linkedin and
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Facebook, download Marketing Over Coffee’s free “Synchronizing Social Networks” here:
http://www.marketingovercoffee.com/2009/01/14/synchronizing-social-networks-free-ebook
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Clearly, whatever action you are asking for should map back to your
objectives, right? And, the action requested should get them engaged,
or better yet, pull them directly into the sales cycle. “Watch this demo…
try this tool…take this for a test drive...attend this executive briefing
with your team…give us your social security number and a list of your
favorite passwords.” Pull your prospects into the sales process.
“If you don’t ask
Whatever you decide to ask your prospects for, and however you
for what you ask them to provide it, make sure to consider in advance how you’ll
want, you’re not digest and process all the information when you’re back in the office.
going to get it.” Set yourself up for success now (and save yourself some headache) by
thinking through the entire process on the front end.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

Step 5: Measure the Results
We made it to the last step! Our exhibit is almost totally enlightened
and our sponsorship is…totally…um, nirvana’d7?
So far, you’ve defined your objectives, attracted an audience, told your
new prospects what they need to hear (and hopefully you meant it,
that’s kind of a big deal), and you asked them for something that will
help you meet your objectives. Now it’s time to talk about measuring
results8. How can you sing your praises to management without proof
of what’s been accomplished?
You’ll have lots of data after the event. Make sure all of that data
is getting captured somewhere where it can be acted upon – and
analyzed.
Work with sales to figure out which leads actually led to closed deals
(most CRM systems will do this for you). Proving which events worked
______________________________________________________
Note to self – next eBook write first, create title second
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Please don’t tell David Meerman Scott about all this measuring we’re doing (http://www.
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worldwiderave.com). Actually, I think he’d be cool with it – the activities we’re talking about
here are clearly all about generating leads. If he’s not cool with it, show him the free beer…
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

best will help justify the spend, give you a road map for next year and,
on the programs that perform really well – get your sales, marketing
and management teams more excited about working with you in the
future. After all, you’re making them money, right?
That’d be cool, huh? To be perceived as “the dude who makes me
money?” As opposed to being “that dude who made me spend 3-nights
in (insert your least favorite city) during (insert most unpleasant time of
year to be in that least favorite city)?” Very cool indeed.
Eventually someone at the home office, most likely someone who has
the ability to fire you, is going to ask “so, how’d it go? Was it worth it?” “This year, more
And they’re not asking about your hotel or your ride on the airplane.
so than others, it’s
It’s a smart idea to send them a report BEFORE they ask you about it.
going to be critical
Make sure you package your data in a simple-to-digest format. The
to justify the money
more you justify your expenditures by showing real results, the more
likely your events budget will stay intact. This year it’s going to be you’re spending.”
critical to justify the money you’re spending. You want to be able to
tie specific deals and specific sales to specific activities you managed.
But even if you can’t be that precise, you can use data you have (like
average close ratio, average sale, length of sales cycle, etc.) to put a
value on the leads in terms of projected sales.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

If you made it this far I’m impressed! My mom didn’t get past page 3.
That was a lot of detail to absorb, and my style is kind of all over the
place, so here’s a quick review of the five steps to exhibit activation:
Step 1 – Define your objectives and make them measurable
Step 2 – Attract the right audience: take advantage of tools at your
disposal, and tie all your efforts together
Step 3 – Deliver the right message, before, during and after the event:
get on the short list, clearly say what you do, and don’t blow it
Step 4 – Ask for the right action: engage your prospects in the sales
cycle, and ask them for something that furthers your objectives (and
sells more stuff!)
Step 5 – Measure the results and tie it all together – and measure again
3, 6, 9 and 12 months down the road
A successful activation program can be pretty easy to execute. It’s really
about thinking it through in advance, telling your audience what they
need to hear (and being honest about it), tying everything together,
and most importantly – using the booth and sponsorship to achieve
your objectives; not treating them as the objective.
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©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.

John has a proven success
record of over 15 years
of effective event and
Please feel free to forward this eBook on to anyone you think may find
sponsorship development
and sales. With the it useful. Post it to your blog, tweet about it, print it out and distribute
objective of long term
it as you see fit. And if you have any questions, I’m here to help – my
client revenue growth, he
contact info is below.
works directly with clients
to develop value-driven
Watch for future titles:
sponsorship and exhibition
programs that work for the
client and their customers. • Save money for beer: travel tips for your next event
John is especially interested
in integrating elements of • Booth babes are great, but only if they can close – bad ideas that
social media into event sales,
cost you money and don’t work
marketing and sponsorship
activation programs. He has
• I’m not on Twitter either, so I guess that makes the two of us – social
held strategic roles with the
media and promoting your event
largest B2B trade shows and
events as well as boutique
conferences. • The right people at your booth – sometimes sales people aren’t the
best choice
Little Known Fact: John
was “the guy in the front”
• Just because it’s in Vegas doesn’t mean you should go – selecting the
on a three man team that
once finished in the top 10 right show to reach your audience
of the Toboggan National
Championships in Camden,
Maine9. His life’s dream is to
______________________________________
compete in the 24 Hours of
LeMons10.
http://www.camdensnowbowl.com
9
http://www.24hoursoflemons.com
10
John Tatusko, Space & Sponsorship Strategist
Nth Degree Events
www.nthdegreeevents.com
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contact: Jtatusko AT nthdegree dot com
©2009 Nth Degree, Inc.