This article, original published as the cover story in Construction Equipment Distribution Magazine's October 2016 Issue, explains some commonly overlooked trade show marketing tactics that can improve the ROI for construction equipment firms.

1. CEDConstruction Equipment Distribution
Published by AED: Business Fuel for a More Profitable Dealership
October2016
n Tips of the Trade
Where to go, what
to see, where to
eat and more
n Maximizing ROI
Often-overlooked
best practices will
help you get the
most out of a show
n A Closer Look
Excavator authority
KOBELCO driven
by passion
Your Preview of
CONEXPO-CON/AGGEverything you need
to help you make the most of your trade show experience

2. By Brian M. Fraley
Trade show marketing is a double-edged sword for
both dealers and manufacturers in the construc-
tion equipment industry. It’s usually a costly endeavor
with a hard-to-measure return on investment (ROI).
The ROI is concrete for any deals made at the trade
show or shortly thereafter. The gray area comes into play
long after the show, when a customer buys or rents a
machine that can’t be traced back to the show. Diligent
equipment firms measure the trackable ROI and look at
everything else as gravy.
Regardless of how you evaluate ROI, the following are
overlooked best practices that can improve your results.
You will find that the linchpins holding them together
are strategy and planning.
Set the Stage with Pre-Show Outreach
Obtaining a list of attendees and mapping out a strate-
gy to connect with your most important leads before the
conference is critical. Not doing so is like networking
while blindfolded. It has become standard practice to
notify your prospects where you can be found via email,
direct mail, or social media, but it’s less common to
arrange meetings with key prospects in advance.
Make sure to identify a reason for the meeting other
than small talk to set the stage. Perhaps you added a new
model to the line-up, or have a new technology to show-
case. Without this kind of preparation, you are relying
strictly on randomness.
Organize Troops around Common Goals
What is your key objective for the trade show? Is your
team in alignment?
Your team should have a consistent message that
advances you toward a common goal. It’s also a good
idea to brief everyone on the expected rules of conduct,
including the reinforcement of key sales principles.
How many times have you cringed seeing disengaged
people in booths with faces illuminated by the glow of
a mobile device? Set ground rules that establish engage-
ment and professionalism.
A trade show encounter allows you to showcase your
brand in living color. This multisensory experience
exposes the prospect to your logo, colors, products, and
a portion of the team. No sales call can harness that
power.
Understand the Conference Layout
If you don’t understand the traffic flow at the confer-
ence, exhibiting is a waste of money. Gather intelligence
beforehand to make sure you understand who attends
the sessions and when.
How to Maximize Trade
Show Results with
BRIAN M. FRALEY is the owner and chief strategist for Fraley AEC Solutions LLC, a marketing communications consultancy that
builds solutions on a foundation of industry understanding for the construction and design marketplace. He has served this niche
market for more than 20 years. Brian also authored the eBook, “Designing an A/E Brand that Drives Selections.” He can be found
on LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, and regularly contributes to the AEC Marketing InSITE Newsletter, The AEC Straight Talker Blog,
and various industry publications.
48 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | October 2016

3. Where are the breakout sessions? Is there a popular gather-
ing place? Do the decision-makers stay for one day? These are
among the strategic questions to ask.
There is a transportation construction conference in Pennsyl-
vania I have attended since 1993. One of realities of that show is
that many of the contractor executives show up for a board meet-
ing on the first night, stroll through the exhibit hall, and leave
the conference. The window of greatest opportunity is small for
exhibitors. Understanding this allows them to bring out the A
game during that time frame.
Get Stuck in Traffic
Traffic flow comes into play again in the selection of your
booth. It goes without saying that entrances are the most covet-
ed locations. Event organizers do their best to create attractions
throughout the hall to drive traffic, but dead zones often remain.
Make sure you understand the layout and traffic flow in the
exhibit area before locking in a booth.
Understand that you won’t always be able to nail down the
prime locations. If you’re forced to accept a less desirable home,
make sure to have a member of your team working the hall to
direct traffic to your booth. This is a strategy you should deploy
regardless of your exhibit location, but it’s especially critical
when you’re faced with low traffic and visibility.
Always Question the Intent
No one shows their cards when touring exhibits, but most have
a specific intent. Optimistic exhibitors want to believe that ev-
eryone comes in looking to make deals, but that isn’t always the
case. There are many conferences, for example, where construc-
tion executives are prodded by an association to tour the exhibit
hall. In most cases they have no specific needs.
Some visitors drop in to see people they know. Some may be
curious about a brand or company. And yet others may simply
enter the hall with an open mind, prepared to meet new business
partners. Understanding this is critical to attracting attention
within a limited time frame. The goal of your team is to establish
the intent quickly to determine the best follow-up approach.
The Overlooked Benefit of Trade Show Marketing
Many exhibitors walk away from trade shows bitter if they
don’t make a deal. The big problem is that too many start off
with unrealistic expectations. Dishing out a substantial amount
to exhibit often primes exhibitors for disappointment.
In most cases, construction equipment firms can accomplish
more at a trade show than could be accomplished making sales
calls from the home base. The time, travel, and other costs asso-
ciated with dispersing multiple salespeople across your territory
would probably outweigh the cost to exhibit. The trade show
brings your target market together in one place, allowing you to
display your equipment and your team. Not to mention, you may
generate new leads and connect with hard-to-reach prospects.
Shock the Crowd with Experimentation
An entire article could be written on how to stand out at trade
shows. This concept is the Holy Grail in marketing. Sadly, there is no
definitive tactic. One thing is true: If you take the same approach at
the same show year after year you will get the same results.
Experimentation is beneficial when it comes to trade show
marketing. Allow me to illustrate with a story. I toured the ex-
hibit hall at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) national
convention in Philadelphia this year. As I entered the hall, I saw
hundreds of booths. Most aisles were like streets full of brick-
faced rowhouses. It was a sea of monotony.
Do you know what stood out? A Tyrannosaurus rex. A build-
ing material supplier had placed a roughly four-foot-tall repli-
ca of the dinosaur in the booth. When I asked him about the
significance, he told me it was meant to be a conversation starter.
It worked.
Beyond Short-Term, Short-Sighted Follow-Up
Woody Allen once said “80 percent of success is showing up.”
Considering that would leave only 20 percent for follow-up, he
obviously wasn’t referring to trade show marketing.
Following up is critical. Make sure you have a marketing strat-
egy in place that goes beyond phone calls, emails, and a spot in
your database. What valuable content can you offer in the future
to deliver value and keep those leads warm?
We started by discussing the questionable ROI of trade show
marketing. Following these tactics will improve your measurable
results at the show and shortly thereafter. Cultivating and con-
verting those leads long after the conference, however, requires a
more comprehensive approach to your overall marketing pro-
gram. That, of course, is an entirely different discussion for a
future issue of CED.
Note: Special thanks to Equipment Corporation of America, Ea-
gle Power & Equipment, Construction Equipment Guide, Asphalt
Care Equipment & Supplies, and Groff Tractor & Equipment, for
insight.
October 2016 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 49

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