The world, and specifically the sales side of manufacturing is opening up. Factories are welcoming their suppliers and vendors back for in-person meetings. This is a far cry from last year, and especially what we wrote about in our August 2020 blog How to Adapt B2B Manufacturing Sales Strategy for the COVID-19 World.

During the pandemic, we learned to market our manufacturing companies differently. Where we previously relied on visiting customers, trade conferences, and phone calls during Covid we turned to Inbound Marketing, digital content, automated email, and targeted social media. This was not only needed to maintain relationships but to make sure we can still nurture our prospects through the sales process. 

It worked, and now those same prospects are saying,

 “yes, please come visit our shop.”

As we transition back, we need to stay organized and balance both worlds. Prospects that still prefer a remote process and those that want us to schedule meetings. Having a world-class CRM such as HubSpot can make the difference. 

Here are three key attributes that will keep you organized and not let any opportunities slip through the cracks. 

HubSpot tasks offer a tremendous organizational tool

1. Use the task feature so you do not lose track of opportunities. Schedule a call, email, or to-do for your prospect. Set priorities and reminders and you will quickly find a clean and efficient way to organize your prospecting. You can even build a custom queue to further organize lists, e.g. by industry, territory, or product mix.

1. Use HubSpot’s meeting scheduler to eliminate the back and forth scheduling scavenger hunt we all go through when trying to find a mutual time to meet. Your contact can see when you are available and pick the most convenient time for them. 

1. Your prospect’s behavior often is an indicator of future success. Know when they are visiting your website, what they are reading, and even if they viewed your proposal (And…how many times!). This is great intelligence that you will use as you prepare for that first in-person sales call. 

HubSpot offers many levels of features, starting with free CRM, MarketingStarter, and Marketing/Sales Professional. You can start small and grow. Interested in a demonstration? Contact us today.

Rolling out the carpet, pulling up the retractable display, and filling a large punch bowl with hard candy just does not cut it at a modern trade show. You need to drive traffic to the booth, capture leads, and make the very best impression in an incredibly compressed time. Our last blog introduced the concept of pre-show planning. Now, let’s discuss the show itself.

Let’s first start with the old real estate mantra, location, Location, LOCATION! Many shows let you bid on or pick your booth location. Pay attention to entrances, lounges, bars, and the main stage. You may also want to see who else has chosen their space. Are they a big draw exhibitor or your largest competitor? Can you get a corner booth that will provide two directions of travel versus being stuck in the middle of an aisle? Or, better yet, can your budget support an island booth?

Once your location is set, the single most valuable resource you have is who will be representing your company in the booth. At the show, for all practical purposes, this is your office. First impressions should not be that of a booth worker, sitting down, talking on the cell phone, eating a hoagie while they drip sauce on their laptop. Admit it, you have seen this at every single show you have ever attended.

Booth personnel should first and foremost, want to be there. Believe it or not, salespeople might see the show as a waste of their time. They have clients to meet with and calls to make. Standing in a booth often seems like a waste of their time. Who would be great in the booth? Consider your customer service team. They rarely get to travel but might have decades-long relationships with customers. Customers they have never met face to face.

Booth traffic builders, product demonstrations, press conferences, entertainment on and off the show floor are all considerations when building your plan. Check out the full section on During the Show planning in our eBook. Trade Shows for Manufacturers Guide. In our next post, we’ll wrap it all up with Post-Show promotion.

Did you see what I did there? Vaccine shots….

Manufacturers, like many businesses, have had to completely rethink their marketing approach. For years, it was feet on the street and months of trade shows, conferences, and hosted lunch & learns. Then, the doors were locked, events were canceled worldwide, and well, you know the rest of the story. Over a year ago we started writing about the huge interest in digital marketing and all things virtual. Here’s where our head was a year ago: How to Adapt B2B Manufacturing Sales Strategy for the COVID-19 World. Digital is here to stay, but another log is back on the fire.

It is April 2021 and we are once again hearing about trade shows. Will the attendees and exhibitors return at past levels? Who knows? People may be just so sick of quarantine they will attend just to get out of their basement office and see prospects in person. This very well may be an early adopter situation.

We’re sponsoring a meetup in Columbus Ohio for manufacturers. If you are in town on April 28^th, contact me for tickets.

What we do know is the planning has not changed. If you are considering a show in the 4^th quarter of 2021, that may sound like a long time away. It is not. Over the next few weeks, we will revisit all that is the trade show. We will cover planning, sponsorship, media interviews, and more. Our consulting on trade conferences covers three critical phases: Pre-show, During the Show, and Post-Show.

Here’s a primer, written in 2015 to get you started. Trade Show Preparation 101 for Manufacturers

If you are ready to get serious about your exhibition and creating a return on investment, download our free Trade Shows for Manufacturers eBook

By Glenn Levar, President/CEO
Shared Time Human Resources Management, Inc.

During a crisis such as COVID-19, it is time for manufacturing executives, directors, managers, and supervisors to become leaders. Leadership is the art of influence and the skill of creating the conditions to achieve operational and organizational success. Managers manage things: budgets, strategic plans, and operational plans. On the other hand, leaders respect others, coach, build teams, provide feedback, encourage feedback from others, and improve employee skills to accomplish goals. Great companies are built on values and mutual trust.

The leader, entrepreneur, or business owner establishes the company’s values and is responsible for communicating them to employees, customers, vendors, stakeholders, and the community. The organization’s leader is its prominent cheerleader for company values.

Values are the foundation of the organization. Leaders must live and thoroughly understand the company’s values day in and day out.

The values steer the organization’s acceptable business behavior. Company leadership must align itself with its value statement. For an organization to be effective, leaders are responsible for agreeing with their company’s values.

As a leader, your values are essential to your overall organizational success. Today, employees want to work with a company with a purpose (mission) and values that meet their needs.

Leaders’ expectations are based on the company values that may be formally written or even unwritten. Many start-up companies, for example, may not have formally written values statements, while established companies have written value statements. Their values are long-lasting. They guide decision-making and might never change.

Recently, Shared Time Human Resources Management had an appointment with a multi-generational, family-owned business. During the meeting with two senior managers, we discussed numerous issues. When asked what the company’s values were, neither senior manager could identify a single value. They guessed and subsequently admitted they did not know. As our conversation continued, we discussed retention rates. Shared Time discovered senior and recently hired employees with ten (10) or more years of service. In the last twelve months, more than 50 percent of the company’s employees voluntarily left for other opportunities.

The following are examples from two major corporations: one followed its values; the other did not.

In 1982, Johnson and Johnson (J&J) were alerted that someone had tainted Tylenol Extra Strength capsules in at least half a dozen pharmacies and grocery store shelves in the greater Chicago area. J&J chairman directed all consumers not to resume using the product until the extent of the tampering could be determined. J&J stopped advertising Tylenol and ordered all Tylenol be removed from store shelves. J&J acted following their corporate values and did not want to risk public safety. J&J corporate leaders admitted upfront there was a problem and responded to the Tylenol crisis. J&J’s response remains the benchmark on why values matter. J&J’s corporate values.

British Petroleum (BP) purchased Standard Oil of Ohio (SOHIO) in 1987. BP wanted Standard Oil of Ohio for several reasons including its Alaskan pipeline, distribution system, and employees. Twenty-three (23) years after the acquisition, on April 20, 2010, BP had a disaster in the Gulf of Mexico with its drilling rig platform, Deepwater Horizon. At the outset of the crisis, BP officials stated oil volume leaking from the rig was low. Several days later, the rig sunk, and eleven workers were dead. The investigation found BP took shortcuts, cut corners in drilling, and ignored early warning signs before the explosion. BP’s corporate leaders were not truthful from the outset of the crisis. BP’s corporate values (code of conduct) were updated in July 2014.

Values are what the organization lives by. Value is about the discipline it is getting people aligned and engaged in taught action to solve problems. Values are the underpinning on which the organization’s culture rests. Culture is the company’s business operating system to make decisions and communicate with employees, customers, vendors, shareholders, and communities.

In his book Good to Great Jim Collins stated, “enduring companies preserve their core values and purpose while their business strategies and operating practices endlessly adapt to a changing world. This is the magical combination of preserving the core and stimulate progress.”

If you are interested in learning more about this blog or case study, its results, or the human resources services Shared Time offers, please contact Glenn Levar (telephone: 440.979.1046, e-mail: grlevar@sthrm.com).  To learn more about Shared Time Human Resources Management Inc., please visit www.sthrm.com

Shared Time welcomes referrals from clients and friends. Please pass this human resource case study along to anyone who may have a need or be interested in Shared Time’s HR services.