Speaker Partnership Offers Trade
Show Value
by Eileen McDargh
Want to gain added exposure at a trade show? Consider sponsoring a
professional speaker at the attendees meeting. But don't just settle
for a banner on the stage with your company name. There's much more
leverage you can get from a top flight professional speaker.
Having been the sponsored keynoter at major
conferences, I am amazed
how many sponsors respond with astonishment when I
suggest ways they
can use me. Consider these additions:
(1) Make sure the speaker is versed in your product
or service. If
possible and appropriate, the speaker might be able
to use your
company as an example during the presentation. For
example, in
addressing the administrators of law firms, I spoke
about the
importance of strategic alliances so the right work
is done by the
right people. The sponsor, Pitney Bowes, handled
printing, mail room
services, etc. in a manner that was be both efficient
and cost-
effective for the firm. Pitney Bowes served as a
great example of a
strategic alliance!
(2) Use the speaker for both a keynote and a break-
out. Many speakers
offer a daily fee which means you can use them for
more then one
session in a day. This strategy ensures that every
attendee, no matter
what their schedule, will have the opportunity to see
the speaker in
action.
(3) Ask the speaker to write an article that can be
reprinted with
your company logo and given away free at the booth.
The speaker can be
in the booth, autographing the article. Print the
article in your
company newsletter or magazine for those who could
not attend.
(4) Ask the speaker to sign books in your booth and
greet people. Give
away the speaker's book at your booth for the first
100 people. You'll
be amazed at how much traffic will instantly show up.
A variation on
this theme is to split the give-away into morning and
afternoon, thus
generating traffic at different times of the day
(5) If possible, work with the speaker to use either
her core message
or the speech title as part of the background in the
booth. This not
only reinforces a learning point, but identified your
company to all
attendees and not just the ones who attended a
session.
(6) Print up a postcard with your company information
AND the speakers
key learning points. Mail it after the trade show to
everyone who
attended the conference. In fact, a really classy
gesture is to write
a cover letter about your company and WHY you
sponsored the speaker.
Mail it in a hand-addressed envelope and enclose a
wallet-size card
with the speaker's main points.
(7) Consider hiring the speaker to follow-up with
attendees by sending
out a regular article or newsletter by e-mail
sponsored by your
organization. This reinforces the speaker's message
for long term
results and provides additional exposure for your
organization.
(8) If the fit is a good one, consider sponsoring the
same speaker
within your organization. So often, rank-and-file
employees do not get
to attend conferences. The prevailing view that
"sales and marketing
have all the fun" can be countered if you bring
what your learned back
to the corporation. And continuing education is one
of the top three
retention factors.
To sponsor a speaker for a one-hour session leaves
value and
opportunity on the table. When you match the
association's needs with
your business objectives and strategically avail
yourself of whatever
services a professional speaker can offer, everyone
becomes a winner!
© Eileen McDargh, McDargh Communications. All rights reserved. You may reprint this article so long as it remains intact with the byline and if all links are made live.
Since 1980, Hall of Fame speaker Eileen McDargh has helped Fortune 100 companies as well as individuals create connections that count and conversations that matter. Her latest book is Gifts from the Mountain-Simple Truths for Life's Complexities. Her other books include Talk Ain't
Cheap...It's Priceless and Work for a Living and Still Be Free to Live, one of the first books to address the notion of balance and authentic work. A 59 year-old grandmother, she recently returned from climbing among the highest mountains in the world. Find out more about this compelling
and effective professional speaker and join her free newsletter by visiting http://www.EileenMcDargh.com.
McDargh
Communications
(949) 496-8640
Eileen@EileenMcDargh.com
www.EileenMcDargh.com
© 2008 McDargh Communications, All rights
reserved
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