Ad-Tech Hangover
By Scott Rewick
What was your
conversion rate at Ad-Tech? Anybody who has
exhibited or attended Ad-Tech knows how
great these shows are, and your odds of
doing some business are high. Thousands of
battle tested Direct Marketers clash with
the latest technologies and companies.
https://www.lynxtrack.com/signup.php
NetBlue
exhibited for the first time at Ad-Tech.
Having done booth duty on multiple occasions,
and having attended virtually every Ad-Tech
ever done, I was re-introduced to what makes
having a booth so interesting. When I drive
to work, my conversion rate is normally about
97%. When I ask my wife to spend a weekend in
Vegas with the guys, the conversion rate
usually dips into the teens. The conversion
rates for people who had a booth at Ad-Tech
usually depend on the following people you are
likely to encounter.
“So……What
Do You Do?”
There are two
types here. One that has a genuine interest
in what you are doing. The other person comes
out of a bad science fiction novel. They have
the 1000 mile stare, ask the question in a
monotone voice, and then usually continue the
1000 mile stare after you’ve spent 5 minutes
explaining in detail what your company does.
Conversion rate: 50%. Next…
“This is
What You Do”
This person
proceeds to tell you all about your own
business, in nauseating inaccurate detail.
They have a self assuredness that they know
just about everything about the Internet; in
fact they probably invented it. “So, what you
guys do is sell CPC to CPM’s, then do a CRM on
the CPA.”. Ummm…right. Conversion rate: 8%.
Next…..
“Can I Get
A Free T-Shirt?”
These people
simply want free stuff. I think they make it
their hobby to attend show like this, feign
interest, then go for the free goods. You can
spot these people a mile away. They generally
won’t make eye contact with you, but stare
just at the free items, and lick their lips.
My advice to you. Give them the free stuff,
and send them along their way. Conversion
rate: .000545% Next….
What Do
You Do, Now Let Me Sell You Something
This person asks
all the right questions. They appear to have
sincere interest. Just when you are finishing
your explanation, they stop you mid-sentence.
“Great, now let me tell you about what I do.”
These people attend Ad-Tech to try to sell you
something stupid. They make you go into an
entire explanation on your company with
absolutely no interest. Conversion rate:
.004913% Next…
“I Want To
Sell Men’s Underwear Hangers Online, Help Me.”
This person you
can’t help no matter what, but they don’t
believe you when you tell it to their face.
Despite repeated admonitions about not being
able to help, they’ve convinced themselves
that you are the company that will make them
the next Ebay. Conversion rate: .2% Next….
Someone I
can Do Business With
Now we are
talking. Finally someone who understands what
we do and how we can help. As you can see, you
need to sift through a lot of turkey’s to get
to someone who you can actually work with.
These people are a pleasure because they
understand what you do, and have a real
business need you can address. Conversion
rate: 90%
So as you can
see, exhibiting at Ad-Tech is all about
conversion rates. Knowing how to identify the
type of people you are likely to encounter
while exhibiting and then assigning them a
likely conversion rate will help you get more
out of what normally is an excellent venue.
Here’s to your conversion rate!
Scott
Rewick
VP
Business Development
The YFDirect Trust Network
