Athletes Don’t Stop When they Have Finished their Event
In my last article, I talked about the importance of preparation, both for athletes and customer events. For both instances it would be easy to think that the end of the event represents a chance to have a well-earned break!
Nothing could be further from the truth. After their events, athletes have to stretch and cool down. They need to replenish their lost energy. They also need to have an event debrief.
It’s very similar if you have just held a customer event.
The End of a Customer Event Marks the Start of Many New Tasks
You want to make sure you achieve the best possible results from your customer event. This means that there is plenty to do when your guests have departed. Here are four jobs you should focus on at this point.
Communicate to Attendees
Remember to keep up the dialogue with everyone who came to the event. Here are some of the messages you should send:
- Thank people for attending
- Remind them of the key topics that were covered at the event
- Send further resources to back up the topics covered at the event
- Send useful case studies
Make sure you include a call to action at the end of each communication. It may be a request to join your mailing list or to contact you for further specific information on the topic.
Once you have this in hand, it’s time to move to the next task.
Debrief the Sales Team
Talk to everyone in your team who was at the event. What was the feedback? Whom did they have conversations with? What sales opportunities are there? Are there any specific actions to undertake with prospects and customers?
After this you should be able to create a sales action list. This leads you naturally into the third task.
Follow Up with Customers and Prospects
Make sure that you contact everyone that you promised to. During the conversations at the event, people may have asked for a meeting, samples, case studies or other specific information. It’s important that you respond to these requests promptly.
The second stage of follow-up involves people to whom you did not promise anything. You should still follow up these people with offers of help. Alternatively you my want to send specific information and resources as a result of a conversation that you had.
There’s one more task you should carry out.
Publicize the Event
Make sure you tell everyone about the event. You want to generate a buzz around it. You may be able to have it featured in industry magazines or local press. You should certainly talk about it on your website and your social media streams.
It will help non-attendees understand the value of your company more. It will also make more people want to attend your next event.
That brings me to the last point for this article.
There is one last, important action point you should make
Start planning you next event. Marketing and selling this way should not be a one-off occasion. You will achieve better results if you have a regular program of events. You will see a growth in attendees, and follow-on opportunities, if you set up an event schedule.
Remember the lesson from the athletes
The end is only the beginning….
*Editor’s Note: This post is part of a larger series on organizing customer events*
- Have you Considered Customer Events to Promote your Business?
- Three Key Issues to Consider Prior to a Customer Event
- How to Maximize the Success of your Customer Event
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PS If you would like to improve your performance in print sales, download this free checklist “Eight Essential Print Sales Activities” right now at http://profitableprintrelationships.com/eight-essential-print-sales-activities/ You’ll also receive my regular “Views from the print buyer” bulletin, full of ideas on how to sell print effectively.
