Top 11 SMB Trade Show Do's and 10 Don'ts

Trade Shows are a great way to market your product. Trade shows help increase company visibility by putting your audience in a place that you can directly connect with them. You also are able to direct contact your manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and value-added resellers.

A trade show though can be expensive with costs including plane tickets, shipping your supplies, equipment costs, and booth cost. With costs being so high return of investment is crucial. If done right a trade show can be the perfect opportunity to catch the attention of a wide audience of customers and can prove to be less expensive at reaching your customers than other alternatives like billboards, television, and newspaper advertising.

To help you here is a check list of 11 do’s and 10 don’ts:

Do List

1. Pick a good spot for your booth around the front or center to get better traffic.
2. Invite clients to stop by your booth via blogs, email, postcards etc…
3. Be alert and inviting. Stand near the front of your booth and be friendly.
4. Survey your prospect. Ask what do they want and or need.
5. Be able to state what your unique selling proposition is within 10-20 seconds. Focus on what your product or service can do for the prospect.
6. Booth Layout is Key! You have about five seconds to capture the trade show attendee's attention before they are gone. Have a featured discussion display or plasma flat screen with a presentation in an easily accessible area where several people can hear and see what you are presenting.
7. Lead Follow-up: Work out a system for capturing, qualifying and following up on leads.
8. Properly Staff your Booth. Have sufficient staffing to allow for rest and eating breaks.
9. Make a Lasting Impression: Make prospects glad that they stopped by and met you and your company.
10. Dress appropriately for your company and the target of the show.
11. Get Trade Show Internet for $299

Don't List

1. Don't sit at your booth when prospects are present. Stand, be ready to engage all potential customers.
2. Don't eat, read or otherwise be distracted at your booth.
3. Don’t engage in conversation with your fellow workers when attendees are present.
4. Stand in a friendly manner that is welcoming to attendees.
5. Do not use the phrase "Can I help you?" -- The nearly automatic response to this question is "No thanks, just looking."
6. Do not hand out brochures to everyone. Until you have qualified the lead and they have expressed an interest, keep the marketing material in your own hands. Handing out brochures at initial contact may inhibit a deeper conversation.
7. Do not fail to assess the client's needs before providing a solution.
8. Do not fail to be impeccably dressed and groomed. You only have one chance to make a first impression.
9. Do not leave the booth unattended and do not take your stand down before the exhibit ends.
10. Do not fail to follow up on requests for information. It is imperative that you do what you commit to in the booth.

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New Cisco Products for SMB

Cisco Systems recently launched a line of new products and services for small businesses. The company says these new products and services will help Sisco fit the needs of smaller companies and increase profitability. This comes after the networking company put $100 million into SMB initiatives, rebranded its Linksys products as "Cisco Small Business," and wrapped its Linksys small business partners into the Cisco channel.

According to Andrew Sage, vice president of worldwide small business sales for Cisco, "Fiscal Year 2010 is the year of execution for sales and the channel, the product suite and services for the SMB. Last year we were as committed, but now it's more concrete."

At the Cisco Partner Summit, the company unveiled several new services for the SMB market, including ESW 500 Series Switches, switches that integrate with other Small Business Pro portfolio products to build solutions for small businesses. The product comes in 24 and 48 port models, has optional PoE, and a five year warranty and is available starting at $659 to $3,299. For transitioning SMB clients to VoIP, Cisco has launched the SPA8800 IP Telephony Gateway. The box allows small businesses to connect their open-source IP PBX to their current analog phones and fax machines. This product will cost around $600.

Cisco also launched the PVC300 IP Camera, an IP surveillance video camera that captures live video that can viewed anywhere, including on mobile phones. The camera includes software with the ability to manage up to sixteen cameras at once, has pan, tilt, and zoom capabilities, and sends alerts when any motion is detected, integrating with alarms, doors sensors, and security systems. The camera is available for $794.

Version 1.5 of the Cisco Smart Business Communications System was also debuted at the summit. The new version has WebEx Phone Connect for getting to an online meetings in one click, Cisco TimeCard View, and single-number reach and third party networking monitoring and management applications. This system starts at about $450 per user.

In addition to the products, Cisco added several new services as well, including the Small Business Pro Service - a three year technical support coverage plan with next-day hardware replacement and extended support center access. The company also offers community-based support via a virtual community. Rebates for Select certified partners that participate in the global Partner Development Funds program will offer up to $15,000 until July 25. Partners can also leverage extended channel financing for 90 days or six months. Cisco will also be adding a "Buy Now" button on their website for certain SMB products, new smart designs for small business. They are also offering more customer incentives including migration strategies from Linksys gear, discounts of five to seven percent and price reductions of up to 25 percent on the SBCS system.

Partners are encouraged about Cisco's focus on SMB. "It's going to make it easier for us to sell products," Robert Betzel, president and CEO of Infinity Network Solutions told CRN.

CodeRED Emergency Communication Service

The CodeRED emergency system is keeping the country safe, one phone number at a time, through its high-speed notification process. CodeRED utilizes unique internet mapping together with a rapid telephone system capable of delivering millions of phone calls per day. The system calls businesses and residents in the effected geographical areas, leaving recorded emergency messages with either the person who answers the phone or an answering machine or voicemail. If there is no answer, the service will attempt to call the number up to three times.

CodeRED subscribers can broadcast emergency messages from anywhere in the world via a secure website. The website allows users to monitor progress of their placed calls in real time, noting the disposition of each call and allowing users to initiate another round of calls to those that were not answered, either by a live human or an answering service. Also, once a calling job is complete, the user who initiated the call may received a summary at any email account, cell phone, or blackberry. If for some reason, the user cannot access a computer or internet service, calls may be executed from any phone with proper access codes. There is also 24/7 emergency technical support available to all CodeRED clients.

CodeRED offers their service with the highest levels of security, robustness, performance, and makes it easy to use for government agencies, communities and businesses who need to deliver emergency messages to large numbers of residents in record time. Unlike other telephone notification services, messages do not have to be truncated or looped, allowing full messages with complete instructions to be delivered to their recipients and subscribers do not need to purchase any type of equipment.

CodeRED is a part of Emergency Communications Network Inc. (ECN) based out of Florida. Originating in 1998, ECN specializes in high-speed communication services to government agencies, businesses, and the private sector.