The 5 Questions You Must Ask To Make Franchise Exhibitions A Success

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The 5 Questions You Must Ask To Make Franchise Exhibitions A Success

The Franchise Expo season is one of nervous anticipation, tight deadlines and often organised stress. So between getting everything ready to exhibit, as well as all the other demands on your time to support your Franchisees and business, there‟s little left for the essential planning when it comes down to actually what to say and how to communicate best to people during the event. Most just ad-lib and leave it to chance!

Perhaps in the back of your mind you have the usual niggles and doubts about people being apathetic or the echoes of “I‟m just looking” or “I‟ll think about it.”

And of course its unlikely people will make an „on the spot decision‟ on the day about signing up? If they do, it‟s normally because they were already at the point of decision from an earlier communication with you. So how do you connect with prospects when they are bombarded with information overload and a sensory overwhelm?

In a moment I will take you through The 5 Best Questions You Must Ask to help focus their mind and attention on your business…but before that I want to help you understand how to make your next expo or show the best yet.

As you know, you can‟t force interest on people, so this assumes you‟ve done your research and you‟re speaking to those who already have interest in what you have to offer and they stop by your stand long enough for you to create a dialogue. Here are some additional tips:

1: Create curiosity
Is there a surprising element to your Franchise, think what you could do to create intrigue and attract prospects to approach you? Getting their attention is key.

2: Provide a welcoming, non intimidating environment
Placing staff members, the position of furniture and marketing banners needs to be thought through carefully to avoid creating physiological and psychological barriers and potential apathy. The end of the event can be just as important, because prospects would have made their short lists of opportunities by then. Staff gathered together clock watching, ready to pack up, can appear unapproachable or rushed, and the reason they need to cross yours off their list! From exhibiting and attending many different events over the years, I‟ve observed this happen all too often.

3: Offer visual stimulation
A promotional video is still a great option, but is it a big enough „pull‟ for prospects, particularly if there‟s a one dimensional presenter to camera type of approach? How about showing prospects what they can ultimately achieve with your Franchise, showing them the desired outcome or end result. With a plethora of noise to compete with, you could consider adding titles to the key points of your presentation, so prospects can quickly understand from a short distance the benefits of what you offer.

4: Grab attention relative to your Franchise
Depending on your Franchise, is not always possible, but is there something extra to draw prospects in relating to what you offer?

Examples to get you thinking…

• Beauty – offer a 5 minute neck/shoulder massage
• Food/drink – offer free tasters, plus a discount voucher
• Diet & Fitness – top tips to look leaner, taller and younger, etc

I‟m sure by now ideas are flowing to attract prospects to your stand, long enough to of course ask these 5 questions coming up…

Forget Selling, Simply Educate, Train And Add Value

Let‟s first start with your introduction, this has the potential to attract or repel in an instant.

The best method is this:

Hello, welcome to X, my name‟s…and we Y so that Z (X is of course your Franchise, Y is what it does or offers, Z is the end results for both the consumer and the Franchisee)

A beauty business example:
Hello, welcome to Beauties, my name’s Sophie and we provide simple, effective and affordable beauty therapies for the stressed out working woman so that they don’t have to compromise their looks when limited on time and provides a great family friendly opportunity for our Franchisees.

Simple, effective and immediately breaks down any barriers they may have to avoid a stilted pitch. It‟s an introduction which helps to lead them into… „ok, tell me more…‟

Plan, practice and perfect yours for surprising results.

Right, we‟re finally at the 5 questions, to help you connect and communicate at your next promotional event.

5 Questions To Connect With Your Prospects:

1) What frustrates you about your work / career at the moment?

2) What do you think it would take to double your satisfaction / happiness?

3) What have you considered / looked at so far?

4) What‟s the number one thing you‟re trying to accomplish this year?

When asked correctly, will significantly lower the barriers to people opening up to you, giving you crucial information you can use (both immediately and in your post event follow ups).

5) Have you considered a career in …?

This question is very important, has nothing to do with your sales pitch, but everything to do with what your franchise can help them achieve. This relates to what you are really selling…what your Franchisees can achieve and help others with.

I hope this has served you to provide added clarity, create connection and build trust with your prospects and positions your Franchise as a very real option to help them achieve their personal and career aspirations.

Annette Du Bois
The Franchise Growth Expert
info@franchisecopywriter.co.uk