At a conference last week I had a few conversations with representatives of companies that were eager to sell their solutions to SlideMagic. For these sales people, these events are hard work: targeting and scheduling quick discussions with hundreds of attendees. Their progress is probably monitored by software that tells them their scores in each stage of the conversion funnel: approached: tick, responded: tick, scheduled: tick, etc.
The experience from someone who was on the receiving end of all of this:
- If someone responds to your message with "we are not ready yet for your product”, it is likely to be true. A quick visit to slidemagic.com, will show that I do not yet employee 50 people and need a solution to scale up operations.
- In most cases, initially it was not clear what people wanted (a cooperation, sell something, advice)
- A no-show with an apology 12 hours later, does not leave a good impression, now and in the future
- “So what does your company do”. I start explaining, but am greeted with a constant flow of “yes, yes, yes” and a blank stare. Nothing registers. If the detail about my company is not important for your pitch, you can simply move with “Great, a presentation design solution. Now, I have something that might really interest you”.
Someone advice for pitching products at a conference:
- Qualify your leads (it will save both you and your prospect time)
- Be upfront with what it is you.
- Keep your promises (show up, send material)
- Be human
Photo by Milo Miloezger on Unsplash