After The Show - Self Analysis A Critical Component to Improve Performance
After The Show - Self Analysis A Critical Component to Improve Performance
To continually improve, you have to have a very clear and concrete idea of where you are right now. An objective measurement of performance is the only way to plan for and achieve an improved result at subsequent shows. It serves as your baseline.
How do you get this baseline measurement? It’s a two part process, incorporating both measurable and intangible criteria. The combination of these two criteria gives you the most comprehensive picture possible of your performance.
Let’s start with the measurable criteria. These are your goals and objectives, spelled out in black and white. If you say that you want to do $X in sales or collect Y number of leads, then you can compare your results against your goal. It’s simple. You met your goal, you exceeded your goal, or you fell short.
However, there are other factors in tradeshow performance to consider. These are the intangible, hard to measure things that affect your show: staff performance, booth design, general ambiance, and a host of other criteria. You need to know how you’re performing before you can improve that performance.
Where can you get information on these intangible criteria? After all, there’s no magic ball where you can look and see how you did. Tradeshow exhibiting is not like Monday Night Football, with cameras tracking every move and instant replay only a moment away.
This is where a mystery shopper’s services can be critical. By providing an objective, focused analysis of your exhibit, a mystery shopper can pinpoint weaknesses, identify strengths and on occasion, offer suggestions for improvement.
It’s important to take the mystery shopper’s report into account. However, it is not the only point of view you’ll want to consider. Often, valuable information can come from your booth staffers themselves. During your end-of-day debriefing session, go over what worked, what didn’t, and what challenges arose during the day. Take time to meet with your staffers a short time after the show as well -- giving them time to reflect upon the event and gain some perspective may yield up new insights.
Another source of information might be your customers. Offer your best accounts -- and some new clients that you want to reinforce your relationship with -- an opportunity to critique your team’s performance. This can be done as a simple e-mail survey or during a follow up phone call. Often, an attractive incentive item can persuade people to share their opinions with you when they would
otherwise keep quiet.
You may wish to offer an anonymous comment area on your organization website as well. Some people may very well have commentary to make, but fear to say anything as they feel it may jeopardize a profitable business or professional relationship. If you do this, be prepared for commentary that’s markedly harsher than you’d otherwise get -- people will say things behind the cloak of anonymity that they’d never dare voice otherwise. If you offer an anonymous option, though, you have to be fair about it -- no sneaky tracking of IP addresses to later ferret out who said what!
Combining the mystery shopper’s report the information garnered from your staffers and customers will give you the most comprehensive picture of the intangible factors that influence show performance. Coupled with the measurable criteria, you’ve got your baseline measurement.
Collecting this information is only the first step. You have to consider what the information is saying and decide how it will influence your future actions. For example, if you find that you’ve fallen short on the number of leads that you want to collect and your intangible criteria indicates that you had surly booth staffers reluctant to engage with the public, you’ve got a clear cause and effect relationship spelled out for you --and an obvious point indicating where training is needed. Additionally, these reports have historical value: comparing this year’s reports with previous years will show you in black and white how the team’s performance has evolved over the years and the clear value of your training efforts.
Data in isolation is useless. If you’re going to compile for reports just for the sake of compiling reports, don’t bother. However, if you’re going to use this information to identify problem areas and take actions to improve performance, you’ll find your efforts well rewarded.
After The Show Self Analysis A Critical Component to Improve Performance - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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Continual improvement is a goal for many exhibitors. Knowing that tradeshows can play an integral role in a company’s marketing campaign, they’re committed to doing the best job they can this year -- and a better one next year.
To continually improve, you have to have a very clear and concrete idea of where you are right now. An objective measurement of performance is the only way to plan for and achieve an improved result at subsequent shows. It serves as your baseline.
How do you get this baseline measurement? It’s a two part process, incorporating both measurable and intangible criteria. The combination of these two criteria gives you the most comprehensive picture possible of your performance.
Let’s start with the measurable criteria. These are your goals and objectives, spelled out in black and white. If you say that you want to do $X in sales or collect Y number of leads, then you can compare your results against your goal. It’s simple. You met your goal, you exceeded your goal, or you fell short.
However, there are other factors in tradeshow performance to consider. These are the intangible, hard to measure things that affect your show: staff performance, booth design, general ambiance, and a host of other criteria. You need to know how you’re performing before you can improve that performance.
Where can you get information on these intangible criteria? After all, there’s no magic ball where you can look and see how you did. Tradeshow exhibiting is not like Monday Night Football, with cameras tracking every move and instant replay only a moment away.
This is where a mystery shopper’s services can be critical. By providing an objective, focused analysis of your exhibit, a mystery shopper can pinpoint weaknesses, identify strengths and on occasion, offer suggestions for improvement.
It’s important to take the mystery shopper’s report into account. However, it is not the only point of view you’ll want to consider. Often, valuable information can come from your booth staffers themselves. During your end-of-day debriefing session, go over what worked, what didn’t, and what challenges arose during the day. Take time to meet with your staffers a short time after the show as well -- giving them time to reflect upon the event and gain some perspective may yield up new insights.
Another source of information might be your customers. Offer your best accounts -- and some new clients that you want to reinforce your relationship with -- an opportunity to critique your team’s performance. This can be done as a simple e-mail survey or during a follow up phone call. Often, an attractive incentive item can persuade people to share their opinions with you when they would
otherwise keep quiet.
You may wish to offer an anonymous comment area on your organization website as well. Some people may very well have commentary to make, but fear to say anything as they feel it may jeopardize a profitable business or professional relationship. If you do this, be prepared for commentary that’s markedly harsher than you’d otherwise get -- people will say things behind the cloak of anonymity that they’d never dare voice otherwise. If you offer an anonymous option, though, you have to be fair about it -- no sneaky tracking of IP addresses to later ferret out who said what!
Combining the mystery shopper’s report the information garnered from your staffers and customers will give you the most comprehensive picture of the intangible factors that influence show performance. Coupled with the measurable criteria, you’ve got your baseline measurement.
Collecting this information is only the first step. You have to consider what the information is saying and decide how it will influence your future actions. For example, if you find that you’ve fallen short on the number of leads that you want to collect and your intangible criteria indicates that you had surly booth staffers reluctant to engage with the public, you’ve got a clear cause and effect relationship spelled out for you --and an obvious point indicating where training is needed. Additionally, these reports have historical value: comparing this year’s reports with previous years will show you in black and white how the team’s performance has evolved over the years and the clear value of your training efforts.
Data in isolation is useless. If you’re going to compile for reports just for the sake of compiling reports, don’t bother. However, if you’re going to use this information to identify problem areas and take actions to improve performance, you’ll find your efforts well rewarded.
After The Show Self Analysis A Critical Component to Improve Performance - To learn more about this author, visit Susan Friedmann's Website.
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George LudwigGeorge Ludwig is a recognized authority on sales strategy and peak performance psychology. An international speaker, trainer, and corporate consultant, he helps clients like Johnson & Johnson, Abbott Laboratories, Northwestern Mutual, CIGNA, and numerous others improve sales force effectiveness and performance. Though it's George's strategies and processes that help corporations increase productivity and performance, it's his tremendous energy and dynamism that spark the transformation. Again and again, clients remark on his amazing ability to unleash human capacity and inspire men and women to break out of their comfort zones. The result is a whole new type of salesperson. His customized presentations teach achievers to make stunning advances in their lives. From helping salespeople realize cherished dreams to helping corporations exponentially accelerate revenue streams, George Ludwig leaves audiences and individuals empowered, emboldened, and clamoring for more. George is the best-selling author of Power Selling: Seven Strategies for Cracking the Sales Code and Wise Moves: 60 Quick Tips to Improve Your Position in Life & Business. - Visit George Ludwig's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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