Winning the Name Game

Build and maintain great exhibitor prospect lists

By Joan Hough

A good exhibitor prospect list is the foundation upon which a successfulbooth sales operation is built. Masterful brochures, talented telemarketersand outstanding attendance audits will serve no purpose at all if they'redirected to the wrong prospects. In fact, the size and quality of your exhibitorbase can be directly attributed to the caliber of your prospect list.

Unfortunately, show managers are too often caught up in other activitiesto devote sufficient time and resources to proper list development and maintenance.Putting out fires and resolving conflicts take precedence over tedious tasks.And even those lucky enough to have full-time list management staffs aresometimes overlooking the ancillary benefits a good list can produce.

As many show managers have already discovered, the more time you spenddeveloping, maintaining and reviewing your exhibitor prospect list, themore cost-efficient your sales efforts will become.

List development
When building the basic prospect list, most show managers start with exhibitorsat competing events. Staff members with Practice Management Associates,Ltd., a Newton, MA firm which produces events for architects, engineersand contractors, visit several shows a year, obtaining show directories,collecting business cards and qualifying exhibitors. "We walk the floorto get business cards," says Susan LeComte, PMA List Manager. "Ifthe person who gives us a card isn't the decision-maker, we find out whois. That way, we have a qualified contact name for our database."

Although some show producers find this practice offensive, most willagree that it is simply "part of the business." Exhibitors, onthe other hand, may not be receptive to sales pitches while they are "workingthe floor." Often, the sales rep in the booth is not the decision-makeranyway, so gathering cards and making notes for future follow-up is generallythe best procedure.

If the shows you visit are in direct competition with your event, alltheir exhibitors are prime targets for your sales efforts. But, warn industryveterans, don't overlook shows in related industries. The National Associationof Hispanic Publications, for instance, may have many exhibitors who wouldqualify for space at the Magazine Publishers Association show.

Judging your show's position in the industry is also crucial. If youproduce a vertical event, there may be a horizontal show with which potentialexhibitors identify. Statewide shows can often find exhibitors at nationalexpositions. And regional events can find support among state show participants.

Combing industry trade magazines is also a popular method of uncoveringpotential exhibitors. An ad in a trade publication immediately indicatesthat the company is interested in the field and willing to spend money toattract buyers. Both of these criteria are important qualifiers for prospectiveexhibitors.

Trade journal ads can be particularly important if you are developingthe first trade show for your industry. That was the case when the InternationalExhibitors Association launched TS2 -- The Trade Show About Trade Shows.In addition to their own allied members, the association relied heavilyon trade advertisements to build its exhibitor prospect list.

There is a drawback to this method, however. "There's no contactname in a trade advertisement," says Liz Tardiff, Director of DirectMarketing Services for The Interface Group, producers of COMDEX and severalother expositions. "Some people try to build databases in a hurry,and do so without a contact name. That's not always wise considering therising costs for brochures and postage. It leaves a lot to the mail roomperson."

When tracking the proper contact person, the place to start is with themarketing manager, says William Denhard, Account Executive with McGraw-HillList Management Center, and President of the Direct Marketing Club of NewYork. The marketing manager can identify their target markets, tell youwhether or not the company exhibits, and who is responsible for making theexhibiting decision.

Other traditional methods of list development -- association membershiplists, rented lists, industry guides and catalog services -- are all usedto some extent by most show managers. Attendee surveys are also becomingpopular for identifying new supplier segments. Asking attendees about productsor services which they need but did not see at the show may reveal trendswith which you are unaware.

Also be prepared to investigate lists and directories from unrelatedorganizations. For instance, in preliminary planning for TS2, IEA consultedmuseum directories, since they were primarily interested in finding companiesin the design and construction fields. For local shows, don't overlook theyellow pages as a starting point for exhibitor prospects. The key is toinvestigate every avenue, keep an open mind and see what works best.

Qualifying names
Once a basic list is under way, the task is then to qualify the names onthat list. The process for qualification is the same as for maintenance:constant contact, mailings and updating of the information. Often, the jobof finding "good" names isn't up to the list manager, but to salesrepresentatives or telemarketers. Both The Interface Group and PMA makelist maintenance the responsibility of the telemarketers. These people areresponsible for keeping names updated, addresses current and other informationrevised.

Both companies do frequent mailings, evaluating the quality of the listby the type of responses received, and the ultimate conversion of leadsinto exhibit space. When you're dealing with databases ranging from 800names to 20,000 or more, the only way to keep it constantly qualified isto mail, mail and mail.

Profile information
Although show managers display varying degrees of sophistication in categorizingtheir exhibit prospects, there is almost always more than simple name andaddress data. The amount of profile information you attempt to gather willdepend upon your sales methods and the usefulness of the data. List managerswarn however, that the more information you obtain, the longer list developmentand maintenance will take.

For some show managers, it's worth the extra effort. Categorizing prospectsby product type, for instance, allows them to create specialized prospectusesfor different industry segments -- or at the very least, specialized coverletters. For PMA, this type of categorizing also allows telemarketers togive exhibit prospects the name of their competitors already in the show.

Lists categorized by product type can serve a dual purpose by uncoveringemerging segments of the industry ready to be "tapped" for exhibitspace. If, for instance, when reviewing your prospect list, you discoverthat last year there were seven new exhibitors from "Product CategoryX," then a new emphasis can be put on finding more prospects in the"X" category.

Keeping track of the other shows in which their exhibitors participatehas helped many show managers define their competition and note when a semi-relatedhorizontal event is moving into their vertical market. This informationbecomes even more useful when these show managers are looking for new prospectbases themselves.

PMA is typical of show production firms which gather extensive informationon each of their potential exhibitors -- preferred booth location, advertisinghistory and typical booth sizes. Their telemarketers however, keep mostof this information in their card files rather than in the database. TheInterface Group however, doesn't bother with ancillary information, consideringanyone in the field a viable prospect. The determination is never data fordata's sake, but whether or not it will be useful in generating sales.

List organization
Whether they use a "1," "2," "3" or "A,""B," "C" ranking, many show managers organize theirlist so they can easily contact high priority prospects on a relativelyfrequent basis, while those with a lower priority may only get a mailingonce a year. "Some prospects are hotter than others," says AnnCadran, Trade Show Coordinator at IEA. "We consider someone that calledus a hotter prospect than a name we've gotten from a magazine."

Generally, prospects with the top ranking, or "A," are regularexhibitors at each show. A "B" is for those who might only exhibitoccasionally, while "C" is reserved for those who call or writefor information. Companies exhibiting in competing events are labeled "D,"and all other prospects, such as those obtained from rental lists and magazines,achieve the rank of "E." Obviously, every show handles their listdifferently, but all rank their prospects from an order of very high tomoderately low priority.

They also use these rankings in list maintenance. When mail is returnedas not forwardable from a prospect in the top three categories, list managerswill make every effort to find the company and enter the new informationin the database. The same scenario with a prospect in the "E"category will probably result in the deletion of the record.

List maintenance
Hard work is the key to keeping lists clean, according to McGraw-Hill'sDenhard. "It's essential to routinely update files," he says."Have procedures in place to continually enter new data. Be preparedto make phone calls or send out questionnaires and update the files whenthe responses comes back."

Tardiff stresses the importance of keeping lists clean from the beginning."You've got to expect to keep your list clean from the start,"she insists. "What we do is start slow, build a clean database andnot bombard it with information." Taking the time now to get correctphone numbers and addresses will pay rewards during the heaviest sales months."Spend the time to make sure that what goes on the list is good tobegin with," says LeComte. "Qualify the list as it comes in. Don'tjust put garbage in, because then you'll be spending money to take thatgarbage out."

To keep their lists clean, most show managers schedule a routine timefor updates -- once a month, once a quarter, etc. At these times, they willcontact their entire database -- even if that means sending just a postcardwith a brief message. The Interface Group prints "Address CorrectionRequested" on every mailing so that undeliverable mail will be returnedwith updated information whenever possible.

One of the best ways to evaluate your list and its many uses is to rememberthat in addition to being a show manager, you are also a direct marketer.Any time you put something in the mail in an attempt to sell a product orservice, you've entered the direct marketing business. Consider joiningone of the many direct marketing clubs across the country. You can learndirect marketing from the experts while improving your exhibit sales results.A tempting reward for the investment of just a little time.

1. Never cease your efforts. Track phone calls that come into the office,keep combing the trade magazines to find new companies entering the field,and continue to bring business cards and directories back from competitiveshows.

2. Many times, attendees at your show will ask if "such-and-such"company is exhibiting. Be sure that registration and information desk personnelare recording the names of these potential exhibitors.

3. If you don't know something, get in touch with someone who does. Networkwith other show managers or contact good list brokers. There are costs involved,but obtaining good advice is fairly cheap and unquestionably priceless.

4. Make sure that everyone who touches the list -- from show managementto sales people and data entry personnel -- are in agreement with the process,committed to it and anxious to help. Maintaining a clean list is definitelya team project.

5. Mail to your list often -- once a month is best -- and clean it frequently.Daily cleaning will assure that list maintenance never becomes a huge task.

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