Starting another post to pickup where Silvertree left off.
Speaking at home shows can be very helpful in generating quality leads for your company. Pick a topic that will set you up in the mind of the homowner as the Expert.
I held seminars on several topics. The most popular was How to Hire A Contractor. I arranged a panel composed of The Local Attorney General Office The President of the local BBB, a lawyer, a consumer advocate, and an insurance agent. I moderated the panel, gave some helpful hint items for homeowners to check out contractors and then turned it over to the panel. The Insurance Agent was asked all kinds of questions about liability and workmen's comp. The Lawyer was asked how to use contracts to prevent nightmare's. The Attorney General talked about the many complaints from homeowners, The Consumer Advocate said the Big Box Stores were the worse offenders when it came to customer complaints.
I also received great response and my largest sales from my Design/Build Seminars. The topic was Why use Design/Build Remodelers versus the solo designer or architech.
Other seminars were held for roofing. I spoke about how to properly vent residential roofs. This produced many qualified roof leads and sales.
After the seminars the prospects were invited to go to our booth to get more information. Immediately after the seminars the booth was packed. Everyone was trained to handle the flow. Many appointments were set. Because we gave to the public we had huge credibility.
The key to success was the proper planning several months in advance. We took out a full page add in the Home Show Circular and announced that we would be offering these free seminars. There was the cost of the adds and show materials. We had two women handing out flyers at the show before each seminar. We also arranged to announce the seminars over the loud speaker 5 or more times. Then we had people at the booth encouraging people to got to the seminar.
If anyone wants more info on how to do this feel free to contact me.
mark the coach