Alexis Exhibits

Best Practices for Establishing a Tradeshow Budget

Preparing a corporate marketing budget these days is a daunting task. All companies need to increase sales leads and amp up revenues, but shrinking marketing budgets have forced companies to carefully consider what must stay and what must go as far as budget items. An important component of the overall marketing budget is the portion allotted to tradeshows, which can be a valuable tool to help increase the visibility of your company and boost sales.

tradeshow_budgetThe reality, however, is that no matter how you look at it, tradeshows are expensive endeavors. You have to rent the space, create a display, promote it, stock it, and staff it. So before you decide to undertake a tradeshow, take a comprehensive look at all the costs associated with exhibiting as well as the expected returns.

Establishing an accurate tradeshow budget early is essential to developing an overall strategy that will achieve success and assure upper management buy-in. The amount you allocate to tradeshows will depend upon the scope of your efforts and the number, size and location of the shows you are planning on exhibiting at throughout the year. Though strategies will vary from company to company, the methods of establishing a tradeshow budget remain relatively the same.

Let’s take a look at some of the larger components you’ll need to be cognizant of when preparing your overall tradeshow budget.

Space rental. Exhibit halls will charge your company based on the size of your display so determine early what size booth you will be using so you can more accurately estimate how many dollars to allocate to booth space rental.

Utilities and related booth expenses. There will be a charge for installing and dismantling your booth. Other expenses include electricity, gas, water, and any other items you may require at your booth during a show.

Exhibit display, signage and accessories. This would include everything from display production, graphics, and banners to booth furniture, literature racks and any equipment needed to demonstrate your products. Crating and storage costs should also be added to this category.

Shipping and drayage. This would include all expenses associated with transporting your exhibit and materials to each location. Freight would include charges for shipping your exhibit, literature, and any other materials to the event location and back to your office or warehouse. Drayage costs account for items delivered to and from your booth space from the loading dock of the exhibit hall or conference center.

Travel and entertainment. Try to put together a realistic estimate on what it will cost you and your staff to attend each tradeshow. This estimate must include travel expenses (airfare, taxi fares, rental cars, etc.), meals, and hotel expenses. This category would also include any expenses associated with entertaining prospects and customers during the show.

Show marketing. This would include all the marketing and sales collateral required to support the exhibit. These materials could be used at multiple shows, so keep in mind that these costs will be spread over a number of shows. These might include product literature, handouts, staff training, and show promotional items.

Want to know how to leverage our experience and make your trade show budget go further? Let’s talk.

Calculating a Trade Show’s ROI

Exhibiting at trade shows is a costly and time-consuming marketing activity. Though that is indisputable, the costs are often more than recouped when the show is a success and your company leaves with many promising sales leads that can— with proper sales follow-up —be converted into future customers.

roiSo how do you determine whether a trade show was a success and worth the expenditure? In order to determine if the cost of attending a show was justifiable, you’ll need to calculate the show’s return on investment (ROI). In this case, ROI is the gain or loss from the money spent on various marketing activities (tradeshows, sales promotions, advertisements, etc.) that are intended to drive sales.

Calculating ROI is pretty straightforward. You simply divide the gross sales dollars resulting from the effort, in this case a tradeshow, by the cost spent to execute it. For example, if your company generated $600,000 in gross sales as a result of sales leads generated at a trade show event and it cost $150,000 to attend.

ROI: $600,000 ÷ $150,000 = 4

ROI is expressed as a ratio so it would be 1:4, which means for every dollar invested, your company got back four dollars. The tricky part is that it’s very difficult to determine exactly which sales leads from tradeshows resulted in actual sales. So in this case, you’re estimating ROI, not calculating an actual ROI.

In order to estimate ROI from tradeshows, companies use a variety of methods. Some companies have determined through past experience the average number of qualified leads it takes to get a specific number of opportunities to pitch to potential buyers, and how many of these will ultimately result in a sale.

The number of presentations that close in a sale are known as the “close ratio.” Over time, a company will be able to compute an average close ratio. Once a company has determined a close ratio, it can use leads generated at a show to estimate potential ROI from that event.

Another way to estimate ROI is to perform a sales conversion study. This is a controlled interview technique that is conducted via email or phone within a few weeks of an event. The intent is to uncover buying intentions and purchasing time from a pool of qualified leads collected at an event.

ROI: Gross dollar buying intentions ÷ cost of the event and the cost of the survey = Potential ROI

Don’t overlook the soft benefits

While you are calculating the dollars and cents, don’t forget to consider the benefits of exhibiting that can’t be expressed in numerical terms, like:

  • Strengthening relationships with current clients.
  • Increasing brand awareness.
  • Consumer education efforts.
  • New product introductions.
  • Investor relations and improving perception of your company in the financial community.
  • New market introductions.
  • Public relations including editorial coverage.
  • Competitive intelligence.
  • Customer insight and research.

Though measuring exact ROI is difficult, these techniques can help you estimate your possible return using information that is more easily accessed from your internal sales groups. Using a projected ROI is a great way to strengthen reported results from tradeshows as well as to increase your credibility with upper management.

How to Choose the Right Trade Show

Some trade shows are great investments and deliver lots of high-quality leads; others are just a waste of your marketing budget. choicesThe trick is to find the productive shows without making a lot of mistakes.

I always start by defining my marketing goals and target customer. This immediately points me in the right direction. Armed with that information, I put together a list of all the shows that reach my target customers and then evaluate them.

What kind of show should you attend? Often it is a mix of consumer shows, industry shows, buyers’ expositions and educational conferences. Each kind of show has its place.

Then look at these key factors to decide which trade show is best suited for your business:

1. Does the show help you meet your marketing goals?

If you are interested in a regional market or are new to trade shows, consider participating in a smaller, local trade show. If your goal is to acquire the largest number of qualified leads, to support a major new product launch, and/or to significantly build awareness, participate in the major industry tradeshows that capture the largest number of target customers. If your objective is to build your network and to position your company as a thought leader, then investigate shows where your company can be a show’s sponsor and a company representative can be a featured speaker.

2. Is it the right market space?

A show that matches your exact market space is often the best show to attend. You can learn a lot by looking at who exhibits at a show you are considering. A list of past exhibitors is usually available from the trade show management or on their website. Call a few of the past exhibitors and ask about the quality and number of attendees at previous years’ shows. Identify the shows that have an exhibitor mix that will attract your target customers and that are complementary to your business.

3. Determine which shows your top prospects attend.

See if the attendee list from past shows is available. Review the list to determine which shows have a large number of your target customers on the attendee list.

4. Identify which shows your best customers attend.

Call your customers and ask which shows they plan to attend and which shows they would like to attend. If there is a show that some of your customers would like to attend but are not planning to attend, ask if they would attend if they received a free pass to the exhibits. Most major trade shows offer exhibitors a limited number of free passes, so if your customers would attend the show with free passes, this could be a good reason to attend this show.

5. Figure out where your competition will be.

How many of your competitors will be exhibiting at the show? If you are not there, will you be at a competitive disadvantage? Trade shows usually bring together many competitors under one roof. Look for shows where your company will stand out as a leader in your market.

6. Consider timing – does the show’s timing make sense?

Will your company have news? Do you have a new product to announce or roll out? Does it conflict with another more important show?

7. Are there any special PR opportunities?

Exhibitors have a distinct advantage capturing Trade Show PR because they have higher profiles than attendees. They can also more easily and effectively demonstrate their products. This is particularly important for new product introductions. Ask the Trade Show management for last year’s press list and if they have any information on who is planning to cover this year’s event. Are there any media outlets attending that provide opportunities for you to reach your target audience in an impactful way?

8. Finally, take a look at the cost to attend each show.

Will it have a positive return on your marketing investment? Which shows have the best returns?

Put it all together and you should be able to pick the best trade shows for your company.

The Tradeshow Survival Kit

When planning to exhibit at tradeshows, it’s impossible to forget the big items, such as your display, accessories, banner stands, banners, signs, and your booth staff. Unfortunately there are many other small items that need to be brought along with you that often fall between the proverbial cracks when packing for a tradeshow. Often, these small items can cost a ridiculous amount of money when you have to resort to buying them on-site or extremely inconvenient when you have to go off-site in search of them.

So to make it easier, we’ve compiled a list of items that you shouldn’t leave the office without when en route to a tradeshow. Most are small enough to either be brought in luggage by a staff member or shipped in one box to the event or to your hotel.

Tradeshow survival kit items include:

An extension cord. Will come in handy when you realize how far equipment or lighting is from the nearest outlet.

Scotch, Gaffers and masking tape. Can be used from everything from holding down a tablecloth to sealing boxes for shipment.

Stapler. What good is a stapler without staples? Pack extra!

Paper clips. What can a paperclip not do?

Velcro dots or strips. Use to adhere signage to you’re the walls of your display, hold up banners or keep tablecloths in place.

Sewing kit. Prevent wardrobe disasters with this handy kit.

Safety pins. MacGyver once saved the world with a safety pin and a rubber band. Enough said.

Push pins. Use to hold signage in place, posts messages or notes, or awaken sleepy staff.

Black permanent markers. Use for labeling boxes or marking items that you don’t want walking away.

Blue, red, and black pens. Yes, attendees steal pens so pack plenty.

rubberbandNotebooks or pads of paper. Keep notes, reminders for staff, etc.

Rubber bands. See safety pins.

Small hammer and screwdriver. You don’t want to have to rely on on-site employees to loan you these handy essentials.

Spare pair of eyeglasses. Would be a really inconvenient time to not be able to see.

Wrist watch. Very important to keep scheduled meetings with the press or customers running on time.

Aspirin, Ibuprofen or other medications. Headaches are common at tradeshows due to late nights, over-imbibing, and lack of sleep.

Tissues. You never know when you’ll need these.

Paper towels. Prevent food or drink spills from ruining equipment.

Garbage bags. Especially handy when cleaning up after show is over.

Hand sanitizer or wipes. Shaking hands is a great way to make a good first impression, but it can also be a great way to catch a cold or other illness.

Alka-Seltzer. Plop, plop, fizz fizz…relief.

Throat lozenges. Everyone’s voices will be tired and sore from all the talking and dry air at tradeshows.

Lip balm. Indoor dry air and lots of talking equals chapped lips.

Eye drops. Won’t make up for lost sleep, but will help.

Comfortable flat shoes. Sure heels make you look great, but after hours of standing up, you’ll be happy you packed a more comfortable alternative.

Stain removal wipes. That meatball sub seemed like a good idea.

Granola bars. Perfect for a quick nourishment break.

Mouthwash or breath mints. Everyone has been trapped into talking to someone who has “death breath.” Don’t be that someone.

Extra batteries for equipment. This is one of the many items you’ll pay an arm and a leg for at the conference center’s gift shop.

Small digital camera. Take pictures of your booth, empty before the show to best show signage, displays, etc., and again while it’s filled with eager attendees for future promotional uses.

What’s on your must-have list? Share in the comments section.

Determine Trade Show Value with the 2 Minute Challenge

As tradeshow exhibit professionals, we are constantly faced with justifying the value of participating in shows. The cost of exhibiting, the travel, diminishing show attendance, and the economy have turned up the heat.

2minutes_clockOne basic test that helps me answer these challenges is to pose a simple question to any bottom line accountable executive. The question: if you were given 2 minutes to explain the advantages of dealing with your company to a person who regularly buys the same products and services from a competitor, do you think that you could convince them to give your company a try?

If the answer to this question is no, perhaps they should consider working for the competitor or at least reexamining your product or service offering.

Most confident executives would gladly accept this challenge. The best place to set the stage for this scenario is at a tradeshow or convention. Couple this amazing opportunity with the fact that the buyer has paid their own way to the show and that they are receptive to this pitch in the show environment and you can easily see the value proposition that tradeshows create.

The clients that I have worked with over the years that have the most success at shows have enlisted the help of a tradeshow pro to put together an integrated tradeshow marketing plan that will result in producing the maximum number of these opportunities. Our exhibit management program focuses on producing successful shows with minimum stress and maximum value. Our on-site trade show specialists are there the entire time, from set-up to tear-down – Let’s Talk.

The Other Reasons to Exhibit at Trade Shows

Almost everything that is written regarding the justification for exhibiting at tradeshows, talks about marketing, lead generation, and sales. These are important benefits, to be sure, but here are several other very good reasons for companies to participate in shows and to make sure that they compare favorably to their competitors. For example:

green pencil checking off checklistThe Investment Community – Companies of all sizes, public or private, need to consider that many investment analysts attend trade shows. Where better to gauge a company’s market position relative to their industry, than at a show? Financial statements are not the only consideration when deciding on investments. Savvy institutional investors often walk the aisles of shows to better understand current positions and future potential.

The Press – We have all seen shows like 60 minutes touring the Consumer Electronics Show or the Housewares Show, but these are not the only times that the press is present at shows. In every industry, people want to see what’s new. In addition, the information that is published will be posted on the internet, allowing global exposure. Favorable press coverage can really help your marketing efforts.

Recruiting – When a company comes to a show with a new or larger exhibit, prospective salespeople or managers see a financially strong, growing company, and are much more likely to consider becoming part of the team.

Market Research – When a prospect comes to your booth, why not do some market research? The key here is to formalize the information gathered by using a lead card. Asking a question like, “What would you think if we added an automatic feeder to our production system?” could provide valuable information for future product development.

While none of these reasons are going to justify the investment of exhibiting at a trade show on their own, they all add to the overall ROI. As such, be sure to consider ALL of the potential benefits when discussing the merits of exhibiting at a show.

Replacing Trade Show Giveaways With Promotions – Selecting a Great Premium

You have designed the perfect promotion and it requires a giveaway. How do you select a premium that builds on the promotional message, has high-perceived value among your target prospects, and is consistent with your brand position?

Set Your Budget

The first questions you need to ask are, “How much can I spend to reach a new prospect or make a sale?” and “How many premiums do I need?” The price range for trade show giveaway items is enormous. Timing, quality, order quantity, and special orders all affect the price. Since you will save a lot of money per unit with a larger order, try to find an item you can use for a number of shows.

Do a Brainstorming Search

red check in black boxOnce you have a budget, limit your search to items that fit within your budget. Look for items that extend the promotional message and support your brand. Look for items that are relevant to your target and related conceptually to your business.

Look beyond premium websites – pick up the phone and call a couple advertising specialty firms. Describe your promotion and give your budget requirements to a sales rep. Let them get back to you with some promotional item recommendations.

Use your favorite online search engine and search for items that are related to your promotional theme. Almost any item can be labeled, imprinted or packaged with your logo. Don’t restrict where you look for ideas.

Ask coworkers for ideas.

Here are a few idea starters:

  • Your goal is to select an item that is useful and has real value to your prospect.
  • High impact, low-cost premiums are informational items related to your product – article reprints, special reports, free audio or video download codes that can be redeemed on your website, or computer software. Other more expensive informational premiums include industry-specific DVDs and books.
  • If an informational premium isn’t suited to your business and target customers, consider a specialized tool, something that will make your prospect’s job or life easier.
  • Seasonal items have high impact at the beginning of the season – summer items are great ideas in May and June, but far less effective in August.
  • Tote bags – everyone at the show will be on the lookout for a really great tote bag. Avoid the economy or value tote bags – they will be passed by or discarded when attendees are offered quality bags. This is a nice addition to an informational premium.
  • Inexpensive items can be appealing if they are high quality and useful. For example, a tin of quality, mini breath mints is a popular item at B2B shows.
  • Items that incorporate new technology are popular everywhere. For example, LED flashlights are a highly valued item.

Put together a list of candidates

First, put together a list of all the possibilities then cross off the following items:

  • Eliminate low quality items. It is better to skip the free gift than to give a valuable prospect a pen with your logo on it that doesn’t work or leaks all over their hand.
  • Avoid generic premiums that have nothing to do with your business except your logo: sports water bottles, pocket office kits, picture frames, etc.
  • Give away items that people can not easily transport home. If most attendees fly into the show, avoid large items like golf umbrellas or breakable items.
  • Forget about heavy and bulky items unless you plan to deliver them to your prospects’ offices later. Just think about carrying this item around the showroom floor for hours then bringing it home on the plane.

Selecting the item

Now comes the fun part – picking the item. Look over your list and see if a few items really support the promotional theme and desired brand position. Pick the top 3 to 5 items.

Review the finalists with your sales team and a few of your customers to see if there is a consensus pick. If you have a tie, select the least expensive item.

The finishing touch

Make sure to incorporate your message on the item. Have it imprinted, labeled or packaged with your company logo, name and contact information. Don’t let there be any doubt where it came from.

Everything in your exhibit has to work to build your brand and acquire new business. A trade show premium is no exception. If it isn’t winning you new customers, take the money and put it to good use closing sales.

Replacing Trade Show Giveaways With Promotions That Work

For decades companies were satisfied to give away trade show premiums that built brand awareness and didn’t do much more. Company logos appeared on everything from camouflaged jackets to rubber ducks. Most ended up discarded or given away to friends and family. Now marketers are reexamining their strategies and replacing free gifts with promotions.

A promotion is an incentive to act – it is something that will directly generate qualified leads and drive sales.

Building a successful promotion

A fresh carrot dangles off of a stick.The first step is to define your target customer and decide what you are trying to accomplish. Every business wants to increase brand awareness but now marketers want promotions that also motivate an action. Do you want to get leads, get people to try your product, make sales at a show, drive people to your website, or generate retail traffic?

Once you have defined your goal, design a promotion to target your prospects. Don’t just give something to everyone who passes by your booth unless everyone is a great prospect. General giveaways generate unqualified leads and your real prospects will be hard to find in the mass of names gathered at the booth. Most sales reps won’t even bother to follow up on any of the show leads because it is too hard to find the qualified prospects.

Structure the promotion in a way that starts a dialog with target customers and encourages follow-up conversations or contacts.

Does your promotion require a free gift, a sales incentive or both?

Some promotions work best with a sales incentive – discount coupons, gift certificates for future purchases, gift with purchase or other sales promotion offer. Some companies have found that combining a sales incentive with a premium giveaway is their unbeatable combination. Make sure to get your prospects’ names, email addresses and phone numbers, and some additional information that identifies the best prospects. If you choose to use a giveaway, capture the prospects’ names and contact information in exchange for these gifts. Also, take the opportunity to ask one or two questions that will make the qualified prospects stand out.

Games, Drawings and Prizes

Games and drawings are very popular and will engage people. The trick is to design a contest that will appeal mostly to qualified prospects. The easiest way to create a focused game or drawing is to select a prize that will mostly interest a qualified prospect. So never give away money or TV sets. Instead, think about giving away your product or a related item as a prize. Then increase participation in the contest by giving away lots of prizes throughout the show.

Track your results

Establish a way to measure the success of your trade show promotions. If you used a sales incentive, code it so that you know what the show offer actually generated. If you gave away a premium item, after the trade show, survey your customers and your exhibit team about how well it worked.

Work to answer these questions:

  • Did the offer attract qualified prospects to the booth?
  • Did the promotion achieve your sales and/or lead goal?
  • Was it profitable?
  • Did your prospect and customers find the premium and/or sales incentive useful? Or did they discard or forget it?
  • Did the promotion, sales incentive and/or the premium project the right corporate image?

Selecting a great premium

There are plenty of exciting trade show giveaways that will make your promotion a success. Learn more about creating promotions that work in Part 2 – Selecting a Great Premium.

Top Ten Tips – How to Work a Tradeshow Booth

Your company has invested a great deal of money into a beautiful tradeshow exhibit and you’ve been selected to work the booth. How do you prepare yourself to make the most of this opportunity?

Here are some helpful tips:

  1. Create a preshow plan. Profile the type of prospect you wish to attract to better focus your efforts. Get a preregistration attendee list and contact as many of the suitable prospects as possible before the show. Extend a personal invitation to your tradeshow booth and give the attendee a reason to stop by – something new for them to see works well. You should contact any very important prospects to try to set up an appointment at the tradeshow.
  2. businessman_handshakeFamiliarize yourself with the entire convention agenda. Be aware of keynote speakers, educational sessions, and social events. Prioritize them and make sure to attend. Be prepared to discuss these sessions with prospects who come to the booth.
  3. Study the design of your exhibit. Read and understand the graphics. Have a plan for giving the prospects a quick tour of the booth and recording lead information for follow-up.
  4. Develop a plan to deal with current customers efficiently so that they do not monopolize precious prospecting time.
  5. Memorize a few greetings. Try not to ask questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Your goal should be to encourage the prospect to talk about themselves or their company so that you can tailor your presentation to their interests.
  6. Be approachable. Refrain from eating in the tradeshow booth, checking your Blackberry, or holding extended conversations with coworkers. It is human nature not to be rude and interrupt people and it will make your tradeshow exhibit seem uninviting.
  7. Be sure to have a disengagement line or two. The best one is “thanks for stopping by”, but if you are talking to an important prospect it might be better to say “where do we go from here?” or “how would you like me to follow up?”
  8. Take notes. There are so many people and so little time. Brief notes will help you to be more effective with your follow-up.
  9. Try to schedule breaks throughout the day to deal with voicemail, email, and just catch your breath. Remember, quality is more important than quantity.
  10. Follow up in a timely manner, meaning the next day. Don’t risk letting your prospect forget you.

Are you interested in exhibit management for your entire tradeshow program? Our exhibit management is based entirely on strategic planning. Contact us today if you are in need of trade show help.

In a Blink of an Eye, a Trade Show Decision is Made

Swarms of attendees are in the aisles, but who will come into your booth? Is one of the attendees your next big prospect? They could be…

The bestselling book, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, informs us: eye“A person watching a silent two-second video clip of a teacher he or she has never met will reach conclusions about how good that teacher is that are very similar to those of a student who has sat in the teacher’s class for an entire semester. That’s the power of our adaptive unconscious.”

Considering the implications of this in trade show terms, here are some items to be aware of in working with buyers and prospects in your exhibit and creating the best possible impression.

The snap judgments derived in those seconds will determine whether someone perceives you worthy of their time. And whether they will move towards any type of engagement.

When you are creating your booth property you must remember that it will be placed in a sea of other sights and sounds. How do you create a physical structure that is welcoming and delivers your core marketing message to the trade show audience? Not an easy task.

Can your booth live up to its marketing potential? Here are a few questions your team should consider as you prepare for the show.

  • Will a person who is unfamiliar with our company know who we are and what we do via our graphics?
  • Do we clearly communicate our solution message in our booth in images and text?
  • Is your booth open and inviting so that someone is drawn into it?
  • How can you tactfully interrupt someone who is walking the aisle and engage them with video, music, graphics, a demonstration, etc.?

We know that most attendees come to the show with an agenda, and use the time to evaluate vendors before making a final decision. When a buyer is in the information gathering mode, as is generally the case at an event, there is a relatively small window of opportunity to grab their attention. What happens is they use this time to count in and leave out suppliers based upon their experience in the booth with them.

Starting the Conversation with a Prospect

Let’s assume that your booth has caught the attention of someone walking the aisle. The first step in any engagement process is a conversation. It is conversation which is focused on the attendee, not you.

Do not start the conversation with, “Can I help you?” This is an immediate turn-off! Use open- ended questions to probe if this person is a prospect at all.

The best booth personnel don’t sell, instead they “gather” the information on what type of prospect they are engaging. Gathering information is the opposite of selling.

Start the conversation with a “pick up line” that will solicit a thoughtful reply, like one of these:

  • What conference session has been the best one, thus far?
  • Wasn’t the [keynote speakers name] funny, entertaining, etc. What did you think of him/her?
  • What booth on the floor has been the most compelling for you?
  • What’s the best thing you’ve seen at the show?

What are the qualifying questions that let YOU determine if they are a prospect for you? If you get these questions answered, then you know where to take it from there!

Once you have the conversation started, then you can ask other open-ended questions which can help you qualify them. Here are some examples for you:

  • What’s your biggest challenge this year?
  • What did you hope to find at the show?

Now that you have their attention…are they someone you want to talk to? Ask a question about THEIR responsibility at the company. Like:

  • “Are you responsible for _________”
    If no…ask “who is?”
  • “Are you involved with _________”

They may be a source of information about potential projects. If they are not the right person, don’t waste another second with this person while potential “hot” prospects are walking by the booth. Escort this person out of the booth quickly and politely so you can engage with the right prospect.

Now if you find a decision-maker for your target company-type…take it a step further and find out if a project is on the horizon by asking:

  • “Is your company planning a __________?”
  • “Have you chosen a vendor?”
  • “When will you make that decision?”
  • “What are the criteria for ______?”
  • “What is the budget for ______?”

The questions you are asking should match the lead gathering device the booth personnel have. You could be using a lead card, an electronic device, or a handheld smart phone to capture relevant information. Make sure all members of your booth team know what pieces of information you want gathered and someone is monitoring for quality.

By gathering as much information and recording it on the show floor, it will make the follow- up process more robust. In a future post we will discuss several proven follow-up activities that can separate you from the competition and move the prospect along the sales funnel.