Acronym

My road warrior tally so far is:

-490 miles
-2 cheeseburgers
-1 Snickers bar
-1 rain storm

Road Warriors:

-Me
-Sales Manager of our outsourced national publication

Meeting 1: Meeting with a very large, diverse company that has exhibited for years at our annual show, with a small 10x10 booth only

Good Things: Met the marketing manager for a key division. Got some great face time with 3 key contacts, and helped them learn more about our association, magazine, and programs.

Things Learned: We did not establish a clear goal for this meeting, and accordingly the meeting was not very focused. It was informational-based, I did not learn anything about how they feel about key industry issues. How could I have broken through the wall?

We rushed the pitch, as the feeling from the clients was reactive, they were waiting for us to provide information and guidance. This placed us in control, but we did not know where we wanted to steer the ship. Our sponsorship/advertising packages, which add savings between advertising with the magazine and sponsoring with the association, may really help us salvage.

Meeting 2: Meeting with a major sponsor from the last 2 years, who is cutting back due to budgets/cost issues.

Good Things: The meeting was very relaxed and friendly. The two individuals were comfortable with us, and we learned about a number of frustrations and challenges they face.

Things Learned: Learned that they are going back to their core business model, as over the past two years they have expanded outside their core business. Learned that a key influencer/decision-maker does not like print ads, and is more interested in driving targeted contacts to a specialized website. Learned that they have several large-dollar pieces of equipment that they want to sell.

Meeting 3: Meeting with a major manufacturer. Unfortunately, 2 key decision-makers did not participate as planned, forcing us to deliver our message to an influencer. We are aware that this client is not happy with some charges from our trade show through the decorating company, leading them to significantly reduce booth space next year.

Things Learned: Working hard to resolve the decorator situation put us in a decent position, if not strong. However, very disappointing that decision-makers are not in attendance, having trouble figuring it out, don’t want to over-interpret it, but it is a rejection to some degree. After some probing questions, confirmed my suspicion that the key decision maker does not see the value in both a booth and sponsorship at the show. Having trouble finding my ground in terms of next steps with this client; I know that reducing their booth size will impact them ultimately more than us (although I regret the loss in revenue and need to create a plan to replace it), but not sure putting the full court press at this time would be adding value for them or the relationship long-term.

Please share your sales stories, successes and failures, here!