Taking the lead on trade show exhibits and event planning can leave management personnel spending more time on the road than in the office.
Travel is an essential part of the job. Traditionally, the lead-generation team manages all of the pieces involved in generating leads, setting up booths, scheduling client contacts and all the parts and pieces of coordinating travel for business success. That means that searching out flights and handling the logistics all goes through the same mobile office.
How can anyone stay on top of a busy travel schedule, manage a booth, make thousands of contacts and stay on target for company goals? Using cloud collaboration tools makes things much easier and provides more agility.
Here are just a few of the ways in which migrating to a truly virtual office can make the travel lifestyle easier for the sophisticated professional.
1. The virtual desktop
Looking at the same desktop — with access to all the same software and saved files — from anywhere allows exhibition managers to stay current on work generated through the central office. When calling in to coordinate, both parties see the same screens, which makes talking through work faster and ensures better communication.
This also allows traveling employees access to reimbursement forms for hotels and travel expenses or any proprietary travel-scheduling software. If every employee must use the company rewards programs, they need access to the information on the fly.
2. Shared project calendars
When the entire office can take a quick look at the project calendar, it cuts down on delays. Reception knows who is in the office and who is at an event offsite. If a client has a scheduled meeting at a trade show, the office can act as the liaison for the traveling team. If there has been a personnel substitution, the client can be notified, immediately.
The better communication offered by a constantly-updated shared project calendar makes it easier for the head office, satellite offices and traveling personnel to stay in contact and up to date.
3. Project management software
One of the biggest challenges to any lead-generation activity is showing the direct return on investment. Travel to trade shows can be very pricey, which makes proving the value a crucial part of each event.
The right, cloud-based project management software includes tracking metrics and reporting. For each event, exhibition management can provide detailed reports about the number and types of leads collected. With automatically generated lists, the home office can start working on follow-up calls, as soon as the event ends. In some cases, an automatically generated email can go out during the event, letting the prospect know to expect further contact.
These systems also allow management to assess each trade show based on the numbers. Smaller shows that generate more and better-qualified leads will be more desirable than those with higher attendance, but fewer lead-generation opportunities.
4. Collaboration tools
When multiple shows occur at the same time, it is important to keep the entire traveling team in contact. Changes in marketing strategy must be communicated with telecommuting employees without any delays.
Collaboration tools that integrate seamlessly with project management software allow each team member to see current goals as they are updated. If the central office has changed the target from one product to another, the sales team needs to stay on top of it, whether or not they have had any office time.
Virtualizing the work space allows companies to give every employee access to all the information they need, from anywhere. When travel is a big part of the job description, cloud computing becomes a necessity.
The more quickly information flows from the trade show floor to the home office, the more profitable each show becomes. The less time employees spend on making travel arrangements, the more they have to spend wooing new clients.
Cloud computing allows sales and lead generation teams to do what they do best: meet and greet prospects.
