4 tips to get new PR clients at trade shows

Networking for prospective new clients comes with the territory when growing your PR agency.

Are trade shows worth your time?

Trade shows and industry conferences seem like great feeding grounds for prospects. After all, where else are you going to find so many relevant organizations all in one place? Plus, you know they at least have some budget to attend; perhaps they’ll have some for a PR campaign, too.

However, trade shows can also be overwhelming and chaotic. Everyone has a different agenda, operates on different schedules and tries to meet different people. Can your agency’s representatives really break through the noise of it all?

Here are four tips for making trade shows work for PR prospecting and business development:

1. Plan and pitch in advance.

Do your research!

Looking at the list of companies exhibiting on the conference website is the first step. Find companies in your sweet spot (industry, revenue, geography, etc.) so you can narrow your efforts in advance and on site. Otherwise, it can feel like you’re searching for a needle in a haystack.

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From a narrowed list, you will be able to research your best point of contact and reach out in advance of the event to see if they may be open to a meeting. (Don’t forget to research a floor plan when scheduling any confirmed meetings.)

However, don’t be discouraged if you don’t hear back. Trade shows are a busy time and there are still ways to make them work for you on site.

2. Don’t waste your time.

Just because you didn’t get the meeting in advance doesn’t mean all that prep work was for naught. Put that research to work and find companies that were of interest on the show floor.

However, this is also where you can waste a lot of time. Most booths are staffed by sales team members wanting to scan your badge or show you a demo. Don’t get sucked in!

Your first step should be to ask, “Is there someone from the marketing department here?” (Bonus points if you can name them from your earlier research.) This ensures you’ll be able to skip unnecessary chit chat person and instead connect with someone who speaks your language.

3. Tailor the conversation.

When you get to speak to a marketing contact—whether pre-planned or spontaneously—then you’re in the zone. You’re interacting with someone who knows the ins and outs of the day-to-day job and the challenges their organization faces. These are the conversations that can go deep, get into the specifics and be meaningful.

However, sometimes you don’t get to speak to the marketing contact, and that’s okay too. Don’t leave if the answer to tip number two is “no.” Instead, rework your talking points.

If the only available contact is in sales, that’s fine. Speak to their agenda. They want leads. They want proof points to show prospects. They want buzz, so that when they call a prospect, their name is already a known entity. Ask associated questions about whether their company’s PR and marketing efforts are helping them generate leads, or at least helping them become a known entity so they can avoid having to educate prospects before closing deals.

If you get the chance to speak to a top-level executive, the conversation changes again and will likely be tied to goals targeting investors, growth, expansion and competitive market share. So, perhaps your questions turn to investor relations, international support, share of voice (SOV) analysis and message penetration.

Sometimes, you’ll find yourself talking to a developer or an engineer. This one is trickier, as they are more removed from communications goals. Still, they could still be good internal advocates, or make the right introductions for you after the show. Talk to them about what pain points their latest product developments are addressing, or how they prioritize updates and new functionality. Ask whether they have a way to collect community feedback, competitor developments or industry trends to feed into their development cycle.

Whoever you’re talking to, try to discern their agenda and then fit your experience and expertise to it, instead of pushing your own agenda.

4. Follow up.

After the conference is over, your job isn’t. The follow up that comes next is often the most important part, as your conversation is now finally able to be separated from the frenzy of the trade show itself.

Be prepared to be patient.

The longest follow up I’ve ever sustained was several years long. It was around five years and three new marketing contacts later that I took a trade show conversation from prospect through to new client acquisition.

The most important thing is to just be present. Create regular touch points on email, social media and in person wherever possible, to keep you top of mind for whenever they’re ready to engage.

Meredith L. Eaton is the director of North America at Red Lorry Yellow Lorry. A version of this article originally appeared on Muck Rack, a service that enables you to find journalists to pitch, build media lists, get press alerts and create coverage reports with social media data.

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