--- title: "Show Stoppers: Why are exhibition sales techniques so bad?" description: "I spent half a day at the London \"Technology for Marketing and Advertising\" show today. I wished I hadn't. Each of the exhibitors had obviously sp" --- This is a search field with an autosuggest feature attached. - There are no suggestions because the search field is empty. # Show Stoppers: Why are exhibition sales techniques so bad? ![Bob Apollo](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/78fa41976d534cacbb0e22e151bc6816) Post by [Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo) February 13, 2008 I spent half a day at the London "Technology for Marketing and Advertising" show today. I wished I hadn't. Each of the exhibitors had obviously spent significant sums of money merely paying for the space. The hidden costs in terms of preparation, employee time, etc. were undoubtedly several time higher. So why was so much of this investment wasted? To start with, it was hard to work out what many of those companies did, or what customer problems they solved. Worse, most of the "elevator pitches" were barely coherent. ... and if I never, ever get approached again by a salesperson asking "can I help you", believe me, it won't be a day too soon. Even if they managed to get past this first barrier, asking for a demo inevitably resulted in "death by features". Hardly anyone attempted to tailor what they showed me based on an attempt to first explore and understand my needs, or understood that in most demo situations, less is more and they should quit while they were ahead, unless asked for more detail by the prospect. It makes me angry because, in these live environments, the people manning the stand are the brand - and the experience they offer the customer is either going to make a lasting impression - or be immediately forgotten. There's a particular technique in making these sort of live events work - and if vendors are unable or unwilling to coach their salespeople appropriately, frankly, they would be far better off not taking part. 'scuse the rant! ###### Tags: [Complex Sales](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/topic/complex-sales) ![Bob Apollo](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/78fa41976d534cacbb0e22e151bc6816) Post by [Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo) February 13, 2008 Bob Apollo is a Fellow of the Institute of Sales Professionals, a regular contributor to the International Journal of Sales Transformation and Top Sales World Magazine, and the driving force behind Inflexion-Point Strategy Partners, the leading proponents of outcome-centric selling. Following a successful corporate career spanning start-ups, scale-ups and market leaders, Bob now works as a strategic advisor, mentor, trainer and coach to ambitious B2B sales organisations - teaching them how to differentiate themselves through their provably superior approach to achieving their customer's desired outcomes. [Follow me on my website](https://www.inflexion-point.com) [Follow me on LinkedIn ](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/bobapollo) [Follow me on Twitter ](https://twitter.com/bobapollo) ### Comments ###### Related Articles ### [Neil Rackham: B2B buying behaviour is becoming increasingly polarised](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/neil-rackham-b2b-buying-behaviour-is-becoming-increasingly-polarised) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Apr 22, 2014** We’re all very familiar with the idea that modern B2B buyers are increasingly well-informed and far less dependent on ... ### [Why untested assumptions will kill your Q4 closes](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/b2b-sales-why-untested-assumptions-will-kill-your-q4-closes) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Nov 22, 2015** It's the 22nd November, we're well into Q4 and for many organisations - and many B2B sales people - that haven't yet ... ### [If you’re late to the B2B party, you need to disrupt it!](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/in-complex-sales-if-youre-late-to-the-party-you-need-to-disrupt-it) Posted by **[Bob Apollo](https://www.inflexion-point.com/blog/author/bob-apollo),** **Feb 09, 2016** You’ve been invited to a friend’s long-anticipated party. 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