Category: Blog Posts

The LinkedIn How and Why

As many of you who are reading this and/or who know me, know am a huge Linkedin advocate. As a social media platform, I find it the absolute best place by a country mile to help build a business and brand. In fact probably close to 95% of all the work of The Exhibition Guy comes directly from LinkedIn. Is it hard work? Yes sometimes it is and if your looking for a platform to dip in and out of and expect loads of business to come from it then you are wasting your time. It takes time and consistency of effort to get results.

This short article is about the 5 best things about Linkedin and some tips on what you should do within each to build relationships and business.

PROFILE

Your profile is effectively your shop window which sells your business and more importantly yourself. If you don’t sell yourself well on your profile then it makes it less likely people will want to buy into you. Simple things like having a good(not necessarily professional) profile pic. Not using the default Linkedin background image are just the start. For me the key is the headline, this is where people start to be a real feel for who you are and what you do. It could be what you do for your clients or who you do it for. Using a headline like Sales Manager, Business owner, consultant or director are all great business titles but they are purely titles. It’s important to focus on what it is you actually do or who you do it for. The headline has a limited number of characters so it needs to be short and sweet….you can use the summary section underneath for a more detailed explanation.

For me I work with Exhibitors, Organisers & Contractors and each is important for my business so I focus on this and use my summary for a more detailed explanation of the benefit to them. I also work a lot abroad so try and use the word global so people know I travel anywhere to deliver training.

It’s really worth putting time into this as it will pay off and make your profile really stand out.

CONTENT

The content you share is critical to how people view you. As it’s a business platform, relevant content is really important. This is not difficult, it’s just about sharing things you know really well. It could be changes in the industry, interesting new ways of doing things, experiences you have had or tips for success or indeed things to avoid. Essentially views on things that are posted to help other people. Your content will not resonate with every single connection you have but it’s not meant to. It’s meant to help some people. That’s why varying your content is a good idea. I was in a coffee shop in Dublin some time ago and a guy tapped me on the shoulder and said…oh your that guy whose always posting on LinkedIn. Smiling I said yes that’s me…kinda chuffed…when he said…I don’t like your stuff….I go..oh ok…not really sure what’s coming next. So I asked him why do you follow me then? He said, well I like some of your posts. Ha ha, not sure if I should laugh or cry! The point is it’s all about sharing content that people can get something from. I always say it people when it comes to content, mix it up between standard posts, videos, graphics, comments, articles and whatever works for your network. By mixing it up you keep it interesting and more people will believe in you and see you as an expert in your field. This is the real value…creating “you” brand value.

CONNECTIONS

Having lots of connections is “nice and fluffy” but without doing anything with them that’s all it is. I have almost 16,000 connections and whilst that’s a big number it’s nowhere close to some other people on LinkedIn but it’s also not relevant…the bigger number gives you the bigger reach but what’s far more important is who these connections are. In my case, I work globally so need to have lots of connections in different countries but if your business is all in Ireland then international connections aren’t as relevant. When I started my business I would connect with absolutely anyone and then realized there wasn’t much point in connecting with people who I couldn’t help and connecting with them was pretty much a waste of time for both of us. The real key is to connect with people in your industry or allied industry as this is where the real value can be shared. Ironically when I stopped inviting people, I got more connection requests and these came solely from the content I was and still am sharing. What’s the expression…give and you shall receive! If you are looking to connect with someone…ask yourself what’s in it for them first…

MESSAGES

Messages on LinkedIn are one thing I love and hate in equal measure these days. Every day I get around 10-12 new connection requests. In about 50% of the case, once I accept I get a long email(bulk mail with no personalization) selling me their services within 4 minutes. This irritates me because I’m in sales so do get that we try and sell but not before you find out a bit more about your connection and build a relationship. In most cases I know the person has no clue about what I do(because they invited me without even looking at my profile) so how could they possibly know what I need? Like I say, I’m all for sales but build some kind of relationship first. If we are in the same industry and know something about each other first, by all means introduce yourself but don’t go in for the hard sale kill on the first email. It doesn’t work! The key is to develop a relationship via messaging with the person and then look at what you can do for EACH OTHER! A one way win in business is not a win. My suggestion is always keep your LinkedIn messages short and develop them over time.

GROUPS

Groups are a great way of engaging with people on Linkedin as they are and can be specific to your sector. This is a really good place to get involved and shine as the expert in your field. Members of these groups are in your sector so share your knowledge in these groups. There are thousands of groups on LinkedIn so it’s not hard to find relevant ones. By sharing articles, posts or comments in your relevant groups you are enabling yourself build a strong network of likeminded professionals. I try and not successfully enough at this stage(yet) to build in time each week for “groups engagement”…make it part of your plan each week! Funnily enough, for me I have got a lot more connection requests from members of groups I’m in so it does work. I would encourage you to look to join 3-4 groups in your sector in the next couple of days and start engaging there. I think groups are vastly under utilized on LinkedIn and offer you an even more targeted way of engaging with the right people.

I hope you got some valuable tips and thoughts from this article and as someone who has generated in the region of €200k of business through Linkedin I can absolutely attest that this is an amazing platform that really works for those who put in the effort. In fact if you need any help as an individual or business getting your LinkedIn profile working for you, get in touch as we run short courses on how to use the platform even better and see real results.

Have a great day – The Exhibition Guy, Dublin, Ireland,

VIRTUAL v LIVE EVENTS

A REAL-LIFE CONVERSATION

The world has changed, business has changed and nowhere is this more obvious than in the world of Exhibitions. As Social Distancing becomes the new norm and the fear that we will never get F2F again looms a lot of people are looking to the virtual world of Exhibitions. The burning question remains will they work?

As someone who has spent over 25 years in this industry and someone who was vehemently against virtual all along, I have modified my thoughts on it. I have not changed as virtual can never replace the face to face value of meeting people at live events. I have seen 20-30 attempts at virtual shows over the last 20 years plus and none of them have worked and if I am honest have not seen a massive amount recently that will change my mind, however I am open to seeing what value it can create.

For me, the worlds of digital and live are going on the same path and have many of the same goals but up to now have simply been on different roads albeit going the same direction. If CV19 has taught us anything in the Exhibition world, it`s that we need to work closer together in the future for the better good of the important person in this equation…The visitor. And I think we will. However, if people suggest that live exhibitions won`t come back or that virtual will replace them, they are living in cloud cuckoo land. The real strategy is to look at what both can offer each other and to work together for the greater good of the industry. There is not an exclusive but rather a way we can co-exist.

In brief, Digital offers a great opportunity to do something different and potentially open shows to a far greater audience in one respect whereas live has the personal touch that digital just cant offer. For me I see virtual as the icebreaker and live as the close in sales. We need to embrace digital to develop stronger relationships that will then ultimately be taken offline onto the show floor. This is the real power of these 2 industries coming together.

So, what are the pros and cons of each medium?

Food for Thought? Stephan Murtagh, The Exhibition Guy

I was recently asked to do an article for a major association in Ireland on 4 key questions that business ask in these challenging times…Hope you enjoy it…Stephan

“We asked The Exhibition Guy to share his top tips, advice and key questions you need to ask when it comes to sales and marketing in these challenging times and here is just a little re-run of what he said…“ Sales & Marketing Today”.

Challenging Times 

“What can you do for your clients right now that will help them?”

Covid19, is undoubtedly a challenge for all businesses and nowhere is this more obvious than in sales. The reality is less people are buying and decisions are being pushed out. As salespeople we have to look to doing things differently, and consider how to build those relationships now that will lead to business in the future.

We can do this by working with and helping our clients with good content, staying in touch with them and supporting them with their challenges without looking for something in return. I am not saying we don’t sell, but rather we continue to approach our clients with a fresh reality and focussing on them not us. Sales has always been about helping people, in todays reality its about helping and giving because the ones that do will be remembered and will benefit in the longer term.

The Ideal Client

“Who is your IDEAL client?”…Take Some Time to Work it Out

The best salespeople in the world don’t have lots of clients, they have the right clients. The key to this is finding the ideal client. Right now, we can do this by investing time into defining who exactly the right client is. Whilst this will take time (which many of us have now) it will save us time in the long run and is a far more strategic approach.

Look to the criterion for your ideal client…Who is he/she? What company? What industry? Where are they specifically located? Age profile? Gender (if applicable)? What role in the company? Any others?

By doing this you are setting yourself up for success as you can spend more time targeting your message to the right people. Just using the “Spray & Pray” approach of “everyone is a client” does not work and you end up wasting time on a market segment that are not your real clients.

Prospecting

“What channels are working and not working for you to find new prospects?”

When it comes to finding new prospects, many salespeople wait until the well runs dry and they are desperate for new prospects. This is absolutely the worst time to prospect for business as desperation comes across.

It’s important that we prospect a small amount but consistently. Adding small amounts of prospects to your database regularly is the best way to go. Look at all the online and offline channels you are currently using and decide which ones are working and which aren’t.

Try at least 2 new prospecting methods each week. By doing this you can build a prospecting strategy that works and one that is not going to put you under pressure.

Getting Ready for Success

“How can you make yourself and your offer better for when we come out the other side?”

We will come out of Covid19 and business is and will go on. We need to be ready for it…

The companies and people who are investing and using this time wisely are the ones who will be ready when we come out the other side. It’s important to be excited about what you do as if you are not how can you expect your clients to be?

The reality is that buying will go on (albeit maybe less) but companies will have more choice of who to use so we need to be the ones that offer the best service. This is a great time to improve all facets of your offer…

Stay Safe, Stay Strong, Stay Motivated,

Stephan Murtagh,

The Exhibition Guy/Your Sales Coach Ltd

P: +353 86 7750420

W: www.theexhibitionguy.com

Having been in Sales world for a long time now, I obviously understand that to do your job you need to get sales. That is the job…how you do it is another matter entirely and not the focus of this short little article.

One of the biggest challenges for many sales people is having a great month then having to start all over again from zero! The real smart sales people are those that look at building clients not sales. Why? Well because when you build clients they come back for more whereas sales is a once off. If you have a strong client base then a couple of things happen.

1. They come back and buy from you again which takes the pressure off.

2. They recommend you to other people because they like and trust you.

Also, if you really understand your clients then you will be able to judge their buying patterns and be able to factor them into your pipeline better so as to see where the real gaps are. Just going out and looking for a sale solves a short term problem but not a longer term one. The whole area of recommendations from clients is an interesting one as 91% of customers would be happy to give recommendations yet only 11% of sales people ask for them.

So I suppose the real question is, how do you build clients not sales?

For me it’s about a couple of things….

1. Trust – really getting your client to trust and believe in you that what you are offering is the right thing for them. Sometimes this involves saying no to them or not just selling the add ones. I had a potential client who travelled from Belfast to Dublin to meet me about doing one of our shows. From our conversation it became clear to me that the show was not a fit for him and it wouldn’t work. He was adamant about doing it but we went back and forth and eventually I told him that it simply is not going to work as it’s not the right show for his business. Was I tempted to take the “business on a plate?” Absolutely but I didn’t because it would not have worked for him and he would have told his friends and colleagues. Did I get a sale…no. Did I get a client?…Yes. He rang me a few days later to thank me for being so honest and also with a recommendation of another company who did become a client. In fact I ended up getting 2-3 more clients as a direct result. I like that honesty in other people and it’s what builds relationships, clients and yes of course sales.

2. Interest – People love to talk about themselves and their business and when you let them, you show real interest in them and this builds their belief in what you have to offer. Think about it, are you more likely to buy from someone who has shown real interest in what you do? Are you also more likely to remember someone who has listened to you and made you feel good? The old cliche “people buy from people” really holds true and this approach sets you aside from the sales people who just want to sign the order. Showing interest by asking questions let’s your potential client talk about him and also gives you the information to give him a solution to his issues.

3. Solutions – if you can help a client solve a problem then you won’t have to sell because he will want to buy. Focussing on solving his problem also shows him that your in it for him and not just yourself. Ask yourself honestly, when you go into a sales call, are you really trying to solve his problem or yours? In order to do this we need to develop a problem solving mentality because if you do then you become a business adviser and not just a sales person. It’s pretty simple, if you solve his problem, he solves yours.

4. Follow Up – One of the biggest reasons clients(sales!) don’t come back is that the sales person doesn’t follow up or follow through and it’s actually the biggest complaint buyers have about sales people. I always recommend the sales people to under promise and over deliver where possible. So if you say you will Follow Up in 48 hours, do it in 24. Impress the client by doing it better than the next guy. One related issue on this, if you don’t know the answer to something, say so and don’t BS the client. Honesty plays a key role in developing clients. You don’t come across as thick saying you don’t know something, you come across as professional if you say you don’t know but will find out. Whatever promises you made to the client..Follow Through!

Hope this short little article was helpful and please do get in touch if we can help you with strategy…it’s what we do.

Have a great day,

The Exhibition Guy +353 86 7750420

POSTING

Ok, like every other social media platform, posting on LinkedIn is obviously critical. There are no hard and fast rules on what or how many times to post. I post a lot because I enjoy it and it works. When the day comes that this changes then I will change with it. If posting once a day or week or even month works for you then keep doing it that way…why listen to anyone who tells you that you are doing it wrong? Posting is about sharing your knowledge and expertise and that’s kinda the whole point. Once your posts are relevant and help your audience then you are doing it the right way.

➡️ Quality over Quantity EVERY TIME

LIKING

Liking on social media turned into such a frenzy as people began posting simply for likes in some vainglorious attempt to feel good. Personally, I get a fair amount of likes per post (not quite at Gary V level) but the numbers really make little difference to me. It’s far more important to get the right people liking your posts and not just lots of people. This vanity element is changing, and some social media channels are now not showing the number of likes to anyone except the poster. This is a great development as it’s not what lots of people think, it’s what the relevant people think. Liking someone’s post is great but it can get to the ridiculous level where people just like for the sake of it. If you see a post and think to yourself it helped you or resonated with you them there’s the like. In my opinion there are too many people hung up with the number.

Maybe a bit controversial but there should be a don’t like option as a business networking site should be encouraging debate so people can share ideas and new ideas come far quicker and better by having these debates.

➡️ Share content to help people not to get “likes” and you will get far better results.

SHARING

There seems to be varying opinions on “sharing” other people content. Not sure how the algorithm works but an insider tells me that “shared” content gets less traction. I am not sure if this is true or not but if you’re not sharing for likes, why should this matter? I share other people’s content regularly and do it because I believe in the other person but also because the content, they posted will be of help to my audience too. Upfront I will also share other people’s content as it may help their business and that’s the whole point of networking. I train a lot of small companies who tell me they think networking is all about standing in a room with lots of strangers with business cards. It can be if that’s your way but it’s also about networking and helping people online.

I wouldn’t be a fan of sharing absolutely everything as think this dilutes the value but sharing means everyone gets the benefit…The sharer and the poster.

➡️ Crunchie didn’t come up with the concept of sharing for no reason…. There’s comfort and enjoyment in sharing.

COMMENTING

For me the whole value of LinkedIn is being able to comment on other people’s post to engage with people and learn. Personally, I love a good feed of comments back and forth on posts and this is where the real value and engagement comes from. I do however think there are way too many “Yes Men” on LinkedIn who comment with solely positive opinions on the topic. If you agree then great but if you have a different opinion, then why not voice it? We are all adults here!! When you are in a sales situation, your client does not always agree with you and will tell you so…does this mean he won’t do business with you? No, you discuss it and look to areas you agree on and (hopefully!) come up with a solution.

➡️ Encourage debate and disagreement on your posts…It’s good AND it works!

VIDEOING

Video continues to play such an important role in the whole area of social media. The real value is that you can show your personality and people buy into you far quicker. It’s no great surprise that video gets such a high traction level. It’s like that old thing where you send a text message to someone and how you meant it and how they read/take it can be very different. When you use video, your message is far less open to confusion. I do a lot of video and sometimes I’m in my car or wearing a hoodie and other times I am more formal in suit etc. It shouldn’t matter…it’s about the real you and your message…your passion for what you are talking about. Personally, I am far more interested in the message than what the other person is wearing or where they are.

Video can be quite daunting to begin with and I totally get that. However, you need to start somewhere as it offers such unique value. As Nike say…Just Do It…Just be you. For me, people who are only interested in what I am wearing or where I’m doing the video from are not the people, I want to work with anyway…

➡️ Just Do It! Start small…short video on something you are passionate about.

LinkedIn is great when you use it wisely…Hope these tips help and if you would like some training on how to be even better at it…Just get in touch!

Stephan #TheExhibitionGuy +353 86 7750420 or stephan@theexhibitionguy.com

People often ask me are business exhibitions worthwhile. It’s a bit of a loaded question as I’m rather biased having spent the last 25 years in exhibitions.

Business Exhibitions are great but….

Obviously I am programmed to say yes “Business exhibitions are great”. However, sometimes this is not the issue at hand. I believe that businesses need to ask “Am I doing the exhibition for the right reason?”.

Don’t just book a stand at a show and assume it’s “just going to work”. If you do this then I would honestly say you should spend your hard earned money on something else. Business exhibitions are like everything else you do in your business and need planning.

Remember to chase up your leads after the exhibition

Interestingly, about 70-80% of leads from a show are not chased up or chased up properly. This is similar to taking an inbound call and not calling them back. It is bad for business so try to make your business exhibition work for you. I am passionate about the business exhibition industry. It can be frustrating to see companies spend money on shows and get no results!

About 83% of leads not followed up within 7 days of a show are dead! Ironically and you may not want to hear it, that’s not because the show didn’t work(because the companies got actual leads…) it’s because these companies never followed up…

Over the next couple of weeks I am going to post some little things you can do or things to simply consider about exhibiting that hopefully will help you and if you have any comments I would love to hear them(good or bad!)

67% of all attendees represent a new prospect and potential customer for exhibiting companies

It takes an average of 4.5 sales calls to close a sale without an exhibition lead, and only 3.5 sales calls to close a sale with a lead from a business exhibition.

99% of exhibitors find unique value delivered by Business-to-Business exhibitions which is not provided by other marketing channels

So maybe don’t dismiss all exhibitions as a waste of time because the industry and demand for exhibitions continues to grow and so too does the opportunity to gain real business from them if you do them right. I will leave you with a little image of what a good business exhibition looks like….and if you have any comments just get in touch…we love to chat…particularly over coffee!