ARTICLE 8

Towards the tail end of last year I faced one of the most unusual situations to date. We were running a Client Facing Workshop to assist their reception staff deal with the general public. The organisation was a well known racecourse and the difficulty encountered revolved around how best to deal with particularly drunk and abusive / aggressive members of the public. And you thought your job was challenging!
This situation made me realise that in business most clients and prospects behave in a fairly predictable way. It would be a truism to predict that in a given situation, subject to certain stimuli, you would be 60-80 percent sure of the outcome. With a drunk this ability to predict drops through the floor. It struck me how simple selling was by comparison. Then you improve the odds ever more by selling ‘in the event industry’ where the variables are reduced still further so the outcome should be even more predictable.

Let me explain further.  With us, the comforting thing to remember is that our clients will buy from us for one of three main reasons – and only three reasons.
Sure their motives may overlap, but nonetheless it makes life simple. The decision to exhibit, attend or sponsor an event is based upon (1) Profit, (2) Prestige and / or (3) Fear.  A profit buyer is calculating return on investment, cost per thousand and other metrics. They will see who attends, their likely budget, the depth of their pockets and the cost of attending. A positive sum will result in attendance and that’s about it in terms of the science. Reasons for not attending will include a better deal elsewhere, too expensive, can’t afford it, some other marketing medium cited as more cost-effective, someone doing a ‘deal’ or just about any cost / budget related issue. Prestige buyers on the other hand are more concerned with image, kudos and reputation. Whilst the recession has made them keep an eye on the fiscal side, their true interest lies in the best position / location, one-upmanship in terms of their competitors, your visitor profile, your media partners and the overall reputation of your event versus that of a rival event. Their reasons for not attending will include the wrong image, that they get all their business from recommendations, that everyone knows them (and that they know all their own customers anyway), or a failure to make them feel special. They feel awkward discussing money and consider it to be slightly vulgar but concede to their FD that they need to be seen to be trying. Fear buyers finally are a different kettle of fish. They are governed by risk. They do not actually want to participate in your event but may be concerned by the risk of missing out. They are so terrified of making the wrong decision that rather than risk that they would rather not make a decision at all. They will be concerned with numbers, quality, location, the ground opening up and the sky crashing down on their heads! They need reassurance and guidance and seek proof, something tested and something safe. They are also susceptible to peer-pressure in that if most of their competitors are on your floor plan it will carry considerable weight.

So there it is – to quote an infamous meerkat, “Simple”!