A discussion about sales, sales tips and advice, and about those who land the deal

Did I say junk?  I meant crap.  I'm talking about Seth Godin's second to last point in his post, courtesy of Michael Cader, on trade shows. 

There are some good question posed by Cader, but it was the point down towards the bottom that registered with me:

What's the message behind all the stuff you're giving away? And why
have giveaways become the dominant theme of everyone's booth? Are those
giveaways really helping your business, and do they mean anything next
to all the other giveaways that everyone else has? Are they attracting
the people you want to meet at the show? And are there any twists or
alternatives that might work better?

AMEN!  Companies who do giveaways are wasting their money.  Don't get me wrong, if you have money to waste and you want to embroider your logo on a $1.00 teddy bear or imprint your slogan on a pencil to giveaway, have at it.  Far be it from me to stop you from helping the pencil guy send his kids through college.

But honestly...do giveaways lead to business?  No.  Who loves the giveaways?  Mediocre sales people who are asked to man the booth.  Anything to delay or prevent them from having a real, intelligent sales conversation with their prospects.  Hand them the goodie bag instead.

If you're a serious sales pro who finds themselves at a lot of trade shows, worry more about ways to work your butt off getting business.  Leave the slogan-emblazened pencils to the booth next door.