We’ve all been to industry events, and most of us have had success at them. But if you’re like me, you have walked away from at least one trade show and thought to yourself “I wish I would have done X, Y, and Z differently.” During the Spring, there are events approaching left and right. Here are my nine […]
5 ways to get free PR and save money at events
I like people, energy, and hype. I am an ENFP on myers briggs, a yellow on the color chart, and an otter on… that test. I am also a stingy, penny-pinching saver. This is an interesting combo considering I love high energy, large scale events AND I do not like to spend money. Here are […]
New Questions to Ask
Quality and impact: these are the big dogs of modern rising consumerism. Yet not too long ago, the questions were: What do people want or need? What is the going price for these items? How can I produce and sell the most of these items for the lowest price the fastest? Quality took a hit when […]
Is Bigger Better? Hoses, Fly Line, Zucchinis
In this culture, it’s easy to assume bigger is better. More stores, increased territories, bigger catalogs, more staff, bigger buildings. But there is a problem when being the biggest is the end goal (well, there are a lot of problems with this…). One problem with quick growth is how easily it forces you to sacrifice […]
Prepping for NLGS – Make sense of things with Rick Pontz
Let’s make sense of things with Rick Pontz. Every year I am amazed at both the professionalism and poise of some vendors, and also the lack of preparation of others. What is Drop Ship? We only have one line of pricing. What are SKU’s? These are just a few of the things I have heard over […]
Who Cares if it’s Face to Face? Part Three.
We finished last week confronting the difficult reality of anticipating trade-show ROI, and concluded that most business professionals highly value face to face interaction. We also concluded that although booth style, high budget trade-shows can provide some face to face interaction, they can be risky investments. Part three rounds out our series by discussing multiple avenues for […]
Who Cares if it’s Face to Face? Part Two.
Our last post concluded with two truths: 1) Tradeshows are worth it because they provide the opportunity for face-to-face interactions—the thing we as sales professionals and businessmen and women are all looking for at the end of the day. And 2) to get worthwhile face-to-face interaction you need to put a lot of money, time, and […]
Who Cares if it’s Face to Face? What matters at a Lawn and Garden Tradeshow.
Every year Lawn and Garden industry buyers and vendors find themselves going to tradeshows. Buyers attend these shows in pursuit of new products to sell in their stores. Vendors attend in search of buyers who will get their products in front of customers. More than emails, phone calls, and contact forms, buyers and vendors believe that face-to-face interaction with real […]
Homework, Giveaways, & Keeping ’em Hungry: 3 notes to make sure you don’t blow it when it matters most
It is no mystery that in person meetings have a much higher conversion rate to sales than phone, social media, or even direct mail and email marketing. While there is no doubt that prospecting is necessary, many of our marketing efforts still exist purely for the sake of getting a face to face appointment with […]
Lawn & Garden Vendors and Distributors: a Love/Hate Relationship
There are folks who avoid selling to distributors like the plague and there are companies that sell primarily through distribution. In this industry, we see both crowds. Many companies could probably make more money by doing the hard work of selling direct and managing the books on bigger accounts rather than leaving it to their distributors. […]
