What’s Working in Exhibit and Sponsorship Sales?

Sam Lippman, Founder and President, Lippman Connects

Wendy Loew, Group Show Director, Questex Media

Jason Stookey, Vice President Sales, National Association of Broadcasters

• Explore how to integrate exhibit and sponsorship sales

• Examine ways to find and retain talented sales staff

• Develop techniques for building a culture of exceptional customer service

Learner Outcomes:

• Self-Introductions

• Audience demographics polling

• Exhibition trends

• Find, train, and retain star salespeople

• Selling exhibits and sponsorships

Agenda

• 35 years producing exhibitions, conferences, forums, and roundtables

• Produced International CES, GRAPH EXPO, and PRINT

• Consults in strategic planning, management, and marketing

• Facilitates board meetings; user groups; and attendee and exhibitor focus groups

• Produce by-invitation events for the exhibition and convention industry

Sam Lippman Founder and President Lippman Connects

Show Name Attendance Purpose200 industry executives annually

• Exclusively for independent and association executives

• Focuses on increasing revenue and the relevance of events

16 attendees 3 times a year

• Show managers with at least 125,000 net square feet of exhibit space

• Exchanges best practices for large shows

18 attendees 3 times a year

• Event marketers focus on ways to find, attract, and retain quality attendees

• Tracks lifecycle of attendees• Identifies new prospects and rebuilds lists• Boosts conversion rates

18 attendees 3 times a year

• Exhibit sales and service managers share sales technique

• Benchmarks exhibit pricing, space assignment, and sponsorships

Lippman Connects Events

• Manages Questex Technology Events portfolio - trade shows, conferences, hosted buyer summits, and media properties

• 25+ years sales management at 1105 Media, Advanstar, and CES

• Track record of building strong external and internal relationships

• Enjoy creating, launching, and selling integrated programs and new sponsorship opportunities

Wendy LoewGroup Show DirectorQuestex Media

• 18 year Tradeshow Industry Veteran

• Joined NAB in October 2011

• Previously worked at TNT Productions, CES, and Hanley Wood Exhibitions

• Suggests “Rhinoceros Success” by Scott Robert Alexander as a must read for any sales professional

Jason StookeyVice President SalesNational Association of Broadcasters

Audience Demographic Polling

Exhibition Trends

Trends: Technology

• Matchmaking/Scheduling being used by 47% of organizers

• Effectiveness of these programs (ECEF 2012 Pulse)

Not very effective

Undecided

Somewhat effective

Very effective

23%

23%

35%

19%

18%

31%

35%

16%

Exhibitors Attendees

Trends: Technology

• 27% of organizers are extending their physical event online (ECEF 2012 Pulse)

• Objectives in extending online:– Strengthen your event’s brand– Increase the number of attendees at future physical events– Offer content to prospects that can’t attend your physical event– New revenue from virtual booths and sponsorships– Increase booth sales at future physical events

Trends: New Event Models

• Challenges and Opportunities – Hosted buyer programs– Sponsored conferences– Exhibitors hosting private events– Finding the “ROI ratio” for each company

Trends: Exhibit Space Pricing

• 56% of organizers open to the following new exhibit space pricing (ECEF 2012 Pulse):– 18% Charge based on different sections of the floor– 15% Offer multi-year contracts– 10% Change based on when the space is paid for– 10% Reduce net square foot charge the more space purchased– 2% Charge based on performance– 45% Other

Trends: Year-long Engagement

• Create reasons to engage throughout the year

• Connect with multiple decision makers

• Build communities with exhibitors and prospects

• Constantly re-book

• Use survey data to craft sales message

• 80/20 rule: Generate majority of revenue from 20% of clients

Find, Train, and Retain Star Salespeople

Star Salespeople

None

Senior level communications people

Social media experts

Conference session development experts

Senior level marketing people

Individuals with recognized industry experience and knowledge

Senior level sales people

0% 5% 10%15%20%25%30%35%40%45%50%

41%

14%

14%

24%

28%

28%

41%

30%

8%

23%

17%

24%

24%

26%

ECEF 2012 Pulse: Adding Expert Staff

20122011

Star Salespeople

Five of top six threats are exhibitor-related (ECEF 2012 Pulse):

1. M&A reducing exhibitor base

2. Exhibitors downsizing exhibit space

3. Exhibitors downsizing sponsorships

4. International exhibitors unable to get in the U.S.

5. Exhibitors cancelling booths

Star Salespeople

31% of exhibition producers increased their exhibit space and sponsorship sales budget in the past year (ECEF 2012 Pulse)

Star Salespeople: Motivation

• Compensation

• Contests and spifs

• Managing a non-performer

Selling Exhibits and Sponsorships

ECEF 2012 On-site Polling Results

• Which of the following is top of mind for exhibitors?

Cost shifing from show man-agement to exhibitors

Cost of exhibiting continually increasing

Show management providing measurement tools/data

Creating compelling experiences for attendees

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

2%

21%

31%

46%

Exhibit Space and Sponsorship Sales

• Create customized sponsorships, media opportunities, and digital offerings

• Work with exhibitors to develop powerful sponsorships

• Create bundled, integrated proposals

• Sell marketing solutions, not concrete or ad space

Thank you

For more information, please contact:

Sam Lippman Sam@LippmanConnects.com

www.LippmanConnects.com

Wendy Loew wloew@questex.com

Jason Stookey jstookey@nab.org