In between showings of our beautiful cot covers to attendees, I had time to chat with Ryan and Spencer from Hilltop.net about the nature of trade shows and how to grab the attention of passing funeral directors.

Ryan’s early pitch to passersby was “Do you have a website?” which occasionally yielded a “No,” providing an opening for him to talk about his easy-to-use and inexpensive web service.

Unfornately, everyone who answered “Yes” kept walking, as it was clear, at least to them, that he wasn’t offering anything they needed.

After discussing the “art of the pitch” with Ryan and Spencer, I suggested they look more closely at what their company really does.

Does Hilltop.net make great websites?  Sure.  But if I’ve already got a website, I don’t have a “I need a website” problem.

“But,” Ryan countered, “We make websites a lot easier.  With our software, you can upload obituaries to your site in seconds, without having to know any programming.”

“And you don’t have to resize photos,” Added Spencer.

So the problem that visitors might have isn’t “I need a website.”  It’s “My website is too hard to update and maintain.”

Ryan and Spencer decided to start asking variations of the questions “Do you have an easy-to-update website?” and “How fast can you add an obituary to your current website?” to more accurately focus their visitors on what their company really does.

As for our cot cover business, I learned from several of my new customers and those who chose not to buy that certain features of my covers are more desirable than others.

In fact, I got a lot of upturned noses and dismissive waves when I mentioned that the ULTRA model of our covers features a second pocket.  Turns out no one cares about another pocket.

I also tested my new “don’t contaminate your suit pocket” line on folks and found that it worked better than I had anticipated.  Here’s how the “contaminate” pitch goes:

And the DELUXE cover features this VersaPocket.  It’s got a compartment for paperwork, so you don’t have to shove the paperwork under the deceased’s feet anymore.  And this outside compartment is for gloves.  Now, you don’t want to leave those gloves at a family’s home, but you also don’t want to shove them in your pocket because they’re used gloves.  This pocket is made entirely from our FluidBlocker lining, which is impervious to fluids.  Why contaminate your pocket - I don’t know about you, but I only have this coat drycleaned once a month - when there’s such an easy, sanitary place right here on the cover.

And it worked!  Better than imagined.  And now it’s part of my aresenal.

Why is it so effective?

Because, like my pitch about our CleanEdge binding protecting the lower edge from dirt and my pitch about the soft yet protective features of the FluidBlocker lining, the VersaPocket’s compartments for gloves and paperwork solve a specific problem that many funeral professionals didn’t even realize they had.

To put this into a wider consumer perspective, imagine music before the iPod or other MP3 devices.  No one had a portability problem (the Walkman debuted in 1979) back then.  The iPod solved a problem few knew they had:  storage.  It seems like a huge issue now, but few people could carry all their music with their Walkman.  In fact, people often created mixtapes or carried a box of cassettes to expand their music selection.  Later, CD wallets boosted the number of albums that could be easily transported.

If you had been visiting a consumer electronics show in the late 90’s early 2000’s and been asked “do you have a portable music system” you’d have pointed to your Walkman or transistor radio and kept walking.

Why talk to a guy selling portable music systems when you don’t have a “portable music” problem?

Luckily for their bottom line, Apple and others didn’t sell early iPods or MP3 players as “portable music.”  They asked the question, “can you carry and access all your music instantly?”

Asking the right question translates into real money.

What else worked?  Well, we also got a lot of people into the booth by asking if they’d ever seen one of our new-style covers.  If they had, we asked if they’d seen them in person and then asked permission to show them the two reasons why our covers are so much better.

The most important point for us was getting guests into our booth to look at our covers.  Once we got them to agree to take a look at our product, we generated sales almost 1/3rd of the time.

Knowing the right question, related to a real problem your market experiences, can be the difference between profit and debt.  Choose your questions wisely.

We’re finally back home (after an overnight stop in Chattanooga and a early morning drive to Florida) and it’s time to review the trip and update ya’ll on the final days.

Let’s start with a recap of our in-booth sales figures.  Day 1 saw 6 sales.  Day 2 generated 13.  And day 3 offered 12 more.

And while we didn’t reach our 40 cover goal, we still had 31 convention sales.  Even better, 21 of them went out the door, which means less time spent in the workshop boxing up product and shipping it out.

It also meant that we had less junk to take back to Florida with us!  With less baggage, we were able to see out the back window on the way home.

DAY 3 IMPRESSIONS

Wednesday (last day of the Expo) was actually kinda slow, with many funeral directors arriving later in the session to check out the expo before lunch and the Kentucky Digital Death Certificate explanation that followed.

Luckily, many of the people who promised to come back to order did, while others who had already ordered stopped back to say hello or drag another funeral director over to show off the new cover they’d selected.  A few of these new “converts” actually sold covers for us, just by their persuasive belief in our product.  It’s amazing how they retained most of the important points about features and benefits. 

Because it slacked off, I had the opportunity to visit with other vendors and do a few short interviews.  In the coming days, I’ll post videos with Spencer and Ryan from Hilltop.net, William from Custom Air Trays and Rob from Peaceful Valley Tributes.

CONVENTION WRAP-UP

Because this was our first Kentucky convention, I did not expect a warm welcome.  In fact, I really expected to do a lot of “fancy footwork” to get people interested in our product.  Fortunately, the folks in the Kentucky/Indiana/Ohio area are extremely receptive to new ideas and are very courteous.

My goal of 40 covers sold was based upon an expected attendance of 1200 funeral directors.  And while we spoke to many, many funeral directors, there’s no way we had interactions with even 600 of them.  In the business center of our Wingate by Wyndham hotel (where they let me use the copier for free!) I printed our convention special onto 300 of our brochures.  We’ve still got a handful of those left.

So a realistic assessment is that we had some interaction with no more than 300 funeral homes at the show.  Of those, we sold 31 covers, giving us about a 10% sell-through rate.

Is that good? 

Absolutely, considering that other forms of unsolicited sales, like direct mail or door-to-door, yield less than 2% on average.

Our average cover, with a 10% convention discount, goes for $202.50.  That means we generated over $6000 in sales during a 3-day show.  Here’s a breakdown of our expenses:

Of course, the sign and new display will be re-used at our next conventions, but I’ve included them here to create a more accurate picture of the full amount I had to pay to make this convention a success.

We generated $6000 in immediate sales, making this convention profitable, as I generally want ot make at least twice as much as we spend.  Do we have a 50% margin on our product?  Hardly, but I know that getting this product into funeral directors’ hands will mean more sales in the future, when their competitors and colleagues see our covers in person.

Interestingly, we’re one of the few companies that actually set such important goals and restrictions for our advertising.  I was surprised to learn that some other vendors don’t even track how many sales they get from each ad they run or don’t care how many direct orders they get at a convention.

But I run our little company on the idea that it has to make money to survive, which means I’m not going to tap my own savings or my partner’s savings to make it work. 

Our expenses for the NFDA Convention in Las Vegas last year were just over $4000 and we made $8000+ in sales.

For this year’s NFDA, we’ll save some money,  since the show is in our own backyard.  That means no rental car, hotel visits or entertainment expenses.  Absorbing the cost of the new display and a better sign means we’ve got more money to spend on other items.

I’ve already selected and paid for our booth at the 2008 NFDA Convention in Orlando this October.  Yes, it was expensive:  $2700 for a penninsula booth.  But the exposure and location are worth the price.

I’m setting a tentative goal of 100 in-booth sales for the 2008 NFDA Convention. 

Ambitious?  I certainly hope so.

Doable?  Just wait ’til you hear my amazing sales pitch!

Funny story:  our neighbor across the aisle at the KFDA show was William from Custom Air Trays.  He doesn’t own a funeral home or work for one, but by the end of the show he knew our speil word-for-word.  Heck, I think I might have been able to sell him one!

I’ve convinced my friend, Michael Manley (publisher of Funeral Business Advisor), to host a “mort dinner” for exhibitors at the Kentucky Funeral Directors Assocation Convention.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Thomas R. Stegelmann

We’ll gather at a local restaurant on the 2nd day of the show, Tuesday, June 24th.  The show ends at 4:00 pm that day, so there should be plenty of time to close up shop and get to dinner.

At the dinner, we’ll discuss all kinds of topics relating to vendors and I’ll talk about the early planning we’ve already done for our big vendor-only training classes at the NFDA Convention in October.

Want to join us in Kentucky?  Final Embrace is buying dinner for the first five folks who RSVP.  Not a vendor?  No problem!  We want some funeral director input, so you’re also invited.

You can call me at 321-287-0628 or email finalembraceonline@gmail.com.

In response to the post, 2008 IFDF Convention a Success!, Robin Richter shared:

ROBIN:  Congratulations on another successful convention! The booth looks great and I’m sure it did draw people over.

Thanks for the kind words.  I think we’ve finally hit upon the right look for our booth.

ROBIN:  Do you think the smaller attendence is related to our economy? I know people continue to die, but do funeral directors end up cutting back to accommodate what people are willing/able to pay?

The funeral industry has been seeing a recession, in terms of what people are willing to spend, for the past several years, so any current economic trend is probably not a huge issue.  As for fuel costs, I think few directors figure that into their plans for a once-a-year trip.

On a positive note for our business, we saw more orders for our products, which means either directors see our cot covers as a necessity (therefore, relatively recession-proof) or a weakened economy isn’t having as much effect on the funeral industry as expected.

ROBIN:  Did you have enough or the properly trained salespeople to give you the freedom to mingle and make other contacts to further your business?

I made a conscious effort to be front and center in my booth this year.  In fact, I’m hoping to find someone who can do interviews and some mingling on behalf of the blog at both of the next conventions.

As for NFDA Convention staffing, I don’t think I’ll be able to fit more than two or three people in the booth and be comfortable, so I’ve begun choosing my crew.  I’ve hired a lovely young professional spokesmodel to anchor one day of the event (not cheap, but she’s very attractive and should draw attention).  She’s practiced at talking about products at conventions and is married to a funeral director friend of mine. 

Truth be told, I felt very comfortable in my booth at IFDF.  And while I also like interviewing people and making contacts, I think I belong more in the booth than outside. 

We’ll see if I can’t find a suitable interviewer for the future.

ROBIN:  Did you feel you were able to mingle with the other exhibitors as much as you did during the convention in October?

I got to chat with the exhibitors who were stationed around us.  I also walked the floor before the show and offered assistance.

And now that I know how we’ll set up our booth at the next two conventions, I’m going to get all our stuff into the booth and send my assistant onto the floor while I assemble the display.  My assistant will carry a bag with frequently-needed items (scissors, tape, needle/thread, etc.) and offer assistance.  I’ll also have him/her drop off a “Final Embrace Welcome Letter” telling exhibitors about our offering of free, frequently-forgotten items and our great blog.

I’m hoping to use the Kentucky convention to turn some vendors on to the things we’re planning for the NFDA show in October.

I’m finalizing plans for Kentucky now, so I’ll share more in the coming days.

As a vendor, I am ethically required to tell you that conventions are all about seeing new products and buying them, usually with great convention-only discounts.

But as a realist, I know that conventions are really about human interaction.

There are less expensive ways to get CEU’s than to travel hundreds of miles and stay in a hotel overnight.  Seminars can be broadcast on the Internet, boards and committees can travel separately to central locations to steer their organizations.  Trade magazines can run “virtual expos” in their pages and invite readers to see the newest products and services.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Tancread

So why do we attend conventions and why do I suggest you make an effort to attend at least one each year?

Because we get to see old friends, make new ones and stay connected to the “bigger picture.”

During the 5.5 hours of the IFDF Convention Expo, I heard ”Well I haven’t seen you in a long time!” and “John, you old son-of-a-gun!  How you been?” and “How’s your year been so far?”

I even had several sales interrupted by an old friend bumrushing my potential customer.  There’s not much I can do but step back and wait for them to get reaquainted before I launch back into my pitch.  I handled one such meeting so well that the original prospect turned to his old friend and made her buy a cover for her funeral home.

For all our technology (Internet, cellphones, video conferencing, etc.) there’s still a part of our human heart that desires a gathering.  That’s why, despite rising oil costs, people still go to restaurants, thousands of people mob the movie theater for opening day of a big movie and why college kids go to parties every weekend.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Vit Hassan

Even nomadic people, like the Umm Bororo tribe (pictured above) gather for special events.  The photo above is from a wedding party.

Besides the chance to see new products and services, the continuing education credits, the opportunity to meet well-known experts in the industry and the time spent with old and new friends, a trade convention reconnects the attendees with the industry at-large.

So much of what we do as funeral professionals is singular and isolated.  Most funeral directors pay little attention to anything that isn’t in their service area, which can be as little as 1-square mile in dense areas.  I even overheard one Florida funeral director say that his attention span extends in a 50-mile radius from his firm; past that, he doesn’t care.

Unfortunately for that director, his consumers pay attention to a lot more in the world.  And he should, at the very least, keep his ears open for changes in his own industry.

And a great way to keep on top of his industry with very little daily effort is to attend a convention.

They’re surprisingly inexpensive, so check one out.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user keepthebyte

We’ll be attending the Mid-Western Trade Show at the Kentucky FDA Convention in Louisville at the end of this month.  If you’re close to Louisville, come visit us.  We’ll also be hosting a ”mort dinner” (read about it in our post, What’s a “Mort Dinner”?) and Final Embrace will buy a meal for the first 5 blog readers who pre-register for the dinner.  Details to follow.

Final Embrace is located just 40 miles from Orlando, so the upcoming NFDA Convention is practically in our back yard!  In fact, I lived in Orlando for almost a decade before moving to the small, sleepy town of Eustis just a few years ago.

All of which means I’ve got a lot of knowledge about the city, the attractions, various clubs/restaurants and other fun stuff to do in the area.

Orange County Convention Center by Flickr User dasroofless

Which is why I’m planning to create a website for those funeral professionals who will be attending the NFDA Convention in October.  On the site (and in special sneek previews on this site) we’ll share tips for getting the most out of local theme parks, bring you updates on plays and concerts taking place at the same time as the convention and offer suggestions for local restaurants and clubs for those who seek exciting nightlife.

Swan Boat in Lake Eola Park by Flickr User Jordi Gomara

Even better, we’re working with a few area funeral homes, cemeteries and crematories to bring some behind-the-scenes tours to convention attendees.  And since we know how important some of the training seminars are, we’ll schedule these tours so they don’t conflict with important convention events.

The site will be sponsored by a few of the vendors coming to the show.  We’ll also mail out a “catalog” of sorts which will highlight our events while showing off the sponsoring companies.

Downtown Orlando by Flickr User Jordi Gomara

Our goal, for vendors, is to provide an inexpensive way to send a pre-show mailer to those who plan to attend. 

For funeral directors, we want to offer some exciting, imformative events and some helpful hints to see more than just the show-biz side of Orlando, a thriving and diverse community that features a ton of world-class golf courses, a plethora of fine, unique restaurants and an impressive array of afterhour and live-theatre venues.

Here’s the convention floor schematic again:

Most people choose their booth location based up on the idea that people will maximize their convention floor time by going to the very edge and walking the perimiter, like this:

I revised the pictures, as the NFDA is blocking the middle entrances - TBT

But humans are usually more savvy than that, and getting their bearings in a new space trumps the most “efficient” use of time.  So most attendees will move toward a wide open space in the convention hall.

This is a more accurate depiction of the typical convention-goer’s route:

I revised the pictures, as the NFDA is blocking the middle entrances - TBT

Why do people walk a floor this way?  First, let’s remember that many attendees have only scheduled one visit to the expo floor.  They’re here to see what’s new and maybe chat with a few company reps they’ve met before.

Or, they’ve got a specific goal, like “finding a new mortuary cot” or “seeing the embalming machines” that will drive their plans.  Others simply want to walk the floor to say they’ve done it and see what jumps out at them.

Either way, for an attendee, keeping equal numbers of booths on either side during a walk maximizes the opportunities for surprises and interesting sites.

The convention givers know this, so when they lay out the floor, they provide for wider aisles 1/4 of the way in from at least two sides, as they’ve done here.

But what about the two sides that don’t have aisles, you ask?

Here, the convention makers know that once an attendee has her bearings, she’ll cut up through the large center booths to find the big aisles at the other end.  The designer of the convention can do this because he knows that the larger booths are more visually exciting and will “pull” the attendees through the hall.

Because of this “pull,” a floor walker won’t just go to the end of the hall and turn 90 degrees.  Usually, the attendee or the group of visitors will ask the question “Is there anything interesting down there?”

If they don’t see anything good, they’ll execute this turn:

And while it’s hard to see in this picture, there are two or three more rows of booths, all costing the vendor upwards of $2000, that will never get visited, unless they create a visual excitement that will entice the visitor to walk out of his way.

One special area of interest and concern for vendors is the “entry zone.”  often, vendors want to be near the doors, since they’ll be one of the first things the attendees see when the doors are thrown open to the public.

While entry zone booths get a lot of first day traffic, most of the visitors are moving quickly away from the entry doors, since the steady stream of visitors will put pressure on those in front to “make room” for the rest. 

Few attendees feel comfortable stopping so close to the doors on the first day because they’ve yet to get their bearings.  And because of the aversion to perimeter skirting as previously discussed, this is the most likely way attendees will react at the entrance:

Being in the “line of fire” as attendees move quickly toward that big aisle and the open spaces will at least get you a brief glance and maybe a return visit at the end of the trip, but being just a few rows away can mean you’ll be skipped.

Is there a bad spot on the convention floor?  Yes and it’s at the very edges or the corners of the space.  I walked the floor of the 2007 convention twice and the saddest-looking vendors were the ones who were stuck in the corners.

Slightly happier were the folks on the east wall who were near the Eternal Image booth.  Eternal Image, an urn and casket maker who specializes in licensed products (AKC Urns, Star Trek Caskets, etc.), had built a large, white-columned booth that drew visitors over to it.  But had Eternal Image not set up such an elaborate and interesting space, many of the side-wall vendors would have seen less traffic.

Interestingly, Eternal Image has already secured their booth for 2008 and it’s not on the perimeter; it’s a 1600 square foot space in the middle section, between the largest block (Batesville Casket) and the center stage of the general session.

These are just some of the issues to consider when planning your location.  But, if you need further proof of the best spots on the floor, check out the updated expo map to see the booths that have already been taken.

Here’s a screenshot of the 3D model I’ve been telling you about:

This is the current floor layout for the 2008 NFDA Convention in Orlando.

I’ve guessed on the layout for the center section, but I know from the NFDA press releases that this is the “center stage” area where the general sessions will be held.  Julie Stanhope, my rep. for the convention, confirmed that it will be a “theatre-in-the-round” setup, so this is an approximation of what that might look like.

The columns are part of the convention building.  I’ve left the walls and doors of the convention out of this, but the next model will have them in place.

I’ve added a few funeral cars to the booth for one of the car companies.  I inserted them to give you an idea of the scale of the room.

I also put our booth, #1670, on the model, with the setup I discussed yesterday.

If you have already downloaded SketchUp, you can import this full model, with it’s 360-degree rotation and zoom capabilities, by visiting the 3D Warehouse.

A good friend, who is considering a booth for the NFDA Convention, emailed me with this concern:

I am hearing through various sources that the convention here in October will be slow due to the fact that Disney is only open during the day and families will be going to the parks.  I hate like heck to have it slow and put out so much money.  

You always seem to have the pulse on the goings on in this industry, so I thought I would give you a holler. 

I think my friend has a valid point, so I called the NFDA to get a response.  Here’s what Celine Clark, the Director of Public Affairs and Communication for NFDA, has to say:

Orlando is a big draw precisely because it is so family-friendly, with opportunities for our attendees to spend time with their families at the show and in the city itself.   

This is a brand new convention experience, one that we’re certain offers something for everyone.  As you know, our general sessions will be on the show floor this year, keeping attendees right in the middle of the expo action.  This year’s convention and expo will offer engaging workshops focused on real results, more social events and get-togethers than ever before, amazing guest speakers, and, of course, an expo hall packed with great vendors. 

And for those who want to get in a little Disney on the side, NFDA has arranged for special afternoon and evening only-priced tickets so that attendees get the best of both worlds.

Celine was nice enough to share a link to the NFDA’s brand new, 2008 Convention website, which looks pretty impressive.  There, attendees can purchase discounted Disney tickets and find out a whole lot more about the convention.

Seems to me like the NFDA has considered the issue and has designed a convention that gives people time to hit the theme parks in the afternoon (the expo closes at 3 pm each of the 3 main show days) and still see a lot on the expo floor and in the session rooms.

But even if there are fewer folks roaming the floor, you should exhibit at this show if:

- You are rolling out new or improved products to the industry and want to make a big splash
- You want to create buzz about your great new company
- You want to build or reinforce wholesale relationships with supply companies (Kelco, Dodge, etc.)
- You’re looking for feedback on products/services from a large base of funeral directors

My friend’s company is still small, but she wants to expand.  She lives close to Orlando and won’t have to worry about getting a hotel or booking a flight.  Her staff lives nearby and can commute together to the show.

The only major expense she’ll have is for a booth.  Even if she splurges on a corner booth, she’s only looking at $2400 in sunk costs.  A few hundred more for printing and a display and she’s in front of three or four thousand industry folks for less than $4000.

For the rest of you, here’s my advice:  Get to the show if you can afford it!

Either later today or early tomorrow, I’ll upload that interactive map of the convention floor I’ve been promising.  Along with it, I’ll describe the path most people take through a convention floor, so you can plan your booth size and placement.