Trade Shows

I always loved doing trade shows just because of all the people I get to meet. But once I started speaking at trade shows, it was a whole new game. When you are the one in the lime light, you are the one who gets all of the attention. And the attention comes in the framework of new clients.

So a part of this author program is to encourage my authors to become speakers at trade show events, have a display table and use the other vendors as a resource to sell their books in bulk. It is one of the greatest resources there is for an author generating mass amounts of income.

Getting the first trade show as a speaker is the most difficult. Once you’ve secured your position as a speaker and insist on having a table to display your books and CDs. People love to come by and talk with you after you have been the speaker. It is a great way to build rapport.

The ideal is to have a trade show booked at least six times a year. You’ll be able to get an average of two to four new clients, two to three new speaking engagements, sell an average of 200-300 books and sell four to six new bulk sponsors. All in all, the average income will be about $20-30,000 on each trade show.

You will find an unlimited list of potential trade shows just by searching Google.

Trade Shows

I stumbled into speaking at trade shows when I was asked to participate in a trade show for a franchisors. Various Franchises had exhibit tables and those who were thinking of buying a franchise were the attendees. I was asked to do a breakout session for sales skills. It was right after I had developed my Street Smart Sales Training program. I prepared a 60 minute presentation and the handouts to go with it. Fortunately I was scheduled for the second day. That gave me the whole first day and the morning of the second day to talk with the attendees and gain more of an audience. My goal was to get enough people to attend so that I would be able to get enough leads to gain at least one client for private training. The fee for the breakout session was $5,000. I decided to give away one of my business books and that was how I was able to collect business cards from everyone in the audience who wanted to participate. From the 35 who attended, I was able to pick up three new clients and charged $7,500 for a four hour training plus a 2-hour follow up session. Trade Shows are very lucrative! I found a resource a couple of years after that where Trade Shows are listed for as much as two years ahead. It’s TSNN.

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