At a conference last week I had a few conversations with representatives of companies that were eager to sell their solutions to SlideMagic. For these sales people, these events are hard work: targeting and scheduling quick discussions with hundreds of attendees. Their progress is probably monitored by software that tells them their scores in each stage of the conversion funnel: approached: tick, responded: tick, scheduled: tick, etc.
The experience from someone who was on the receiving end of all of this:
If someone responds to your message with "we are not ready yet for your product”, it is likely to be true. A quick visit to slidemagic.com, will show that I do not yet employee 50 people and need a solution to scale up operations.
In most cases, initially it was not clear what people wanted (a cooperation, sell something, advice)
A no-show with an apology 12 hours later, does not leave a good impression, now and in the future
“So what does your company do”. I start explaining, but am greeted with a constant flow of “yes, yes, yes” and a blank stare. Nothing registers. If the detail about my company is not important for your pitch, you can simply move with “Great, a presentation design solution. Now, I have something that might really interest you”.
Someone advice for pitching products at a conference:
Qualify your leads (it will save both you and your prospect time)
Be upfront with what it is you.
Keep your promises (show up, send material)
Be human
Photo by Milo Miloezger on Unsplash