Any of you guys done a show when there were more than one competitor also exhibiting? How did it turn out?
Can’t wait to try out one of these shows. We missed the first one due to being in Houston for UAMCC convention
Jeff,
A small home show would have more people at it then the *** show in Houston. I think these guys are talking about home shows not round tables.
A lot of the home shows we have attended in the last 2 years there are more customers then you could count. I know of one that they say 10k people a day come thru. I don’t know if that’s a true number or not but I wont miss that show. Its exhausting trying to educate home owners on what we do. And then of course like the last show there was a lady who asked pricing. When I gave her a ballpark figure she said she had a professional do it last year for 138$…lol. And then there are the people who think (I mean they know) you have to use hot water on their siding.
If you are willing to take the time or if you have the time it can be beneficial but you will work for it. Don’t think they will just come up and sign on.
For years we really had no competitors in our market doing home shows. Every now and then we’ll get one or two but they really don’t make a dent. It’s all in how you work the show and the vast majority don’t put forth the effort needed to draw out the cream from the crop. Painters have really been our biggest thorn in the side. We primarily market wood care at the shows. I keep saying I’m going to setup a booth tied exclusively to pressure washing but never do it. I really need too though!
We did not have good roi on the home shows in Jacksonville. Surprised to hear some of you have found them beneficial. I am interested as to your sales strategy for booking leads at them. We found most people were just there for the fun of it. It is hard to measure your exposure benefit, but our direct sales did not break even from the overall cost.
And I’m interested in trying to figure out who you are.
Howzabout a signature?
I understood they were talking about home shows not round tables. Just the Augusta Home show was the same weekend as the UAMCC convention so going to it was unrealistic.
Should be on there now
I do not think of it as that difficult to educate a customer.
Sell points are:
Protect your #1 Investment
Give your home exterior a new home look without expensive renovations
If Softwash is your niche, then “Our Cleaning process gently cleans your home without the use of high pressure”
You don’t have to give a customer a lecture, if your display has nice before and after pictures and headlines that standout it will draw people in to either schedule an appointment or to ask more questions.
Even if they are not in the market at least they get your business card which can pay off later down the road when they need your services.
Look at it this way, if someone goes to the home show to look at vinyl siding replacement to replace their dirty vinyl siding and sees your display with attractive before and after pictures, I would personally be more inclined to spend $300-$400 to at least try what you have to offer vs. the cost of total vinyl siding replacement. Even if you could not get me steller results, if it came clean enough to buy me a few more years of use I would be very happy.
My op manager and myself just finished out 2 home shows this past weekend. Here are some results for ya…
His show was in a very nice convention center and drew in 9,400 attendees over Thursday, Friday and Saturday. He pulled in 21 estimates and handed out a ton of literature. He thinks we’ll pull in another 20 or so that were really interested but just did not want to give up their info.
My show, also in a nice expo building drew in 3,100 attendees over Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I pulled in 32 estimates and also handed out a boat load of literature. I had about 15 customers come through that we’ve worked for before and had some great conversations. All were quick to say how happy they were with our work and crews.
I’ve been selling and doing shows for 16 years. Fern (my location manager) is on his 4th or 5th show since last season and he still gives off a vibe of “uncertainty” here and there (jumps around in conversation, is loud and talks too much instead of listening). He did a great job don’t get me wrong but your approach to selling at the show and the effort you put into it makes a big difference.
