The Pros And Cons Of MLM Trade Shows
April 19, 2008 | By Monika Mundell | 2 Comments »
Admittedly MLM trade shows can be a great tool to drum up more sales and a bigger down line organization. But it isn’t all sugar coated goodness either. While pursuing my own MLM I participated in quite a few trade shows and while the over result was very satisfying, I did make a few mistakes that could be avoided.
The good
Let’s start with the good. Trade shows are a huge machinery that activate the wheels of your business if you act fast enough and get organized as soon as you hear them announced.
While not all trade shows are good, some can be a direct goldmine and can potentially bring you a lot of new business.
What to avoid. Try to avoid the big commercial trade shows in the bigger cities. I have spoken to many of my former business colleagues and non have experienced good results while attending the big city trade shows. The first problem they pose is the sheer amount of people who attend. While some of you might see this as a bonus, it really isn’t as people in the city seem to be more rushed and focus on the bigger corporation displays.
The little man (you) with the small stand will therefore often come out second.
Target trade shows in your village or small town. These are virtual goldmine’s since many people know each other and you can place more effort onto customer service and sampling.
Cheaper. Local trade shows are way cheaper than buying a stand in the big smoke. Often you can get away with a really cheap setup while yet being quite effective.
The more you sample, the more sales you will make so be prepared to give away some of your products for people to try.
Insurance. Make sure you are covered by insurance against all possible claims. Here in Australia, you aren’t even allowed to have a stand at a trade show unless you are covered by insurance and this will only become more and more common everywhere we go.
The bad
While sampling is good for business, it can also be very bad since it can cost quite a bit of money. If you try to get organized early on, you can come up with an affordable way to showcase your products while looking attractive enough for people to want to stop.
Time consuming. Preparing for trade shows is very time consuming. Especially if you are planning to do it properly. You’ll need to find ideas on how to attract the crowd. For example you could:
- do surveys
- do competitions
- hold product demonstrations
- hold fun events with mini prizes
- hold raffles (check with your local council)
You’ll also need plenty of brochures, price lists, product information and maybe even power to do Powerpoint demonstrations or slide shows from your laptop.
The ugly
There really isn’t much ugly about doing a local trade show. It can be tons of fun and most likely you will make a decent amount of sales. One thing you should always do is follow up with any leads you’ll get on the day, no matter how good you think they are.
The longer you wait, the less responsive your leads will be.
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Thank you for this posting. You covered many important facts in trade show selling. One of the benefits of a trade show is the residual effects of the show. The first time I got into an MLM target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://gobala.linktrackr.com/buildingonabudget-mlmrkeywords">MLM, I was able to attend a show for free. Even with my “partner” trying to steal every lead that I had, I was making money off of the people at that show for months down the road! Times have changed, however, and not all shows are the same. Keep in mind the time of year, theme of the show, show promotions (is it being advertised on the radio/tv?), and the prospects needs. Be clear on your goal, and make every minute count!
where do i find mlm target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://gobala.linktrackr.com/attractionmarketing-mlmrkeywords">mlm tradeshows?