When you manage meetings and conferences around the world for a living, you see a real cross section of business and the only green I see these days is the money being paid to companies pushing “Green Products” at inflated prices.  
 

The public message seems to be, it is cheaper to process recycled paper than cut trees ~ it takes less energy to reprocess aluminum cans ~ mandatory recycling saves money and reduces landfill and greenhouse gases… it all saves the environment.  So why does it cost so much more to buy products made from recycled materials?  We aren’t being paid to recycle our garbage… we are paying people to haul it away!  So who is keeping these savings?
 

Don’t get me wrong… I am for recycling and saving the environment.  But, what good is all of this recycling if our companies don’t start using common sense when it comes to marketing?  Right now “Going Green” more about marketing hypes… creating supply and demand than saving trees!  
 

The growing buzz word around the world is “Going Green” and half of the conventions and tradeshows this year have adopted the theme… Standing on the floor at IMEX (Frankfurt Germany) I watched as acres of tradeshow booths were constructed for a 3 day show.  More than 10,000 attendees were expected and the 2000+ exhibitors were hauling in boxes of brochures, gifts, bags and every promotional item imaginable shipped from all over the world... one each for every expected attendee.  The really amazing thing was, Companies paid a premium to have this stuff be “Green”; all of the pictures, brochures and charts were printed on recycled paper; all of the plastic sports bottles, pens, mint containers and carry bags were eco-friendly and bio-degradable.  Their collective hearts may have been in the right place, but where was their heads?
 

Nothing had changed… it was business as usual.  Day-Glo fluorescent colors and gaudy logos on just about everything… it made people look like walking billboards.  Attendees couldn’t wait to dump it…. the garbage cans were overflowing with the stuff.  And when the show was over almost half of what was brought remained in un-opened boxes left on the tradeshow floor.  The companies had no further use for it and didn’t want to pay to ship it home.
 

These companies/exhibitors could have done more to save the environment if they had simply followed the old 80/20 rule… 80% of the attendees have no interest in your product… Only bring promo for 20% of the expected attendance.  Even this is optimistic!!!
 

If our collective business goal is to “Go Green”, perhaps using more common sense when it comes to sales and marketing would be more “Green” than  trying to “Spam the Floor” .  I am only talking about tradeshows here, but the principal applies to all marketing… just look in your mailbox. 
 

Convention center floors and back offices around the world are filled with enough outdated/useless marketing materials from over-optimistic tradeshow campaigns to replenish a large forest every week.  If you are reading this article you attend lots of tradeshows.  You also know those slick marketing materials and big fancy booths don’t make sales.  Salespeople make sales.  And you don’t need me to tell you the average tradeshow salesperson blows more potential sales than they make.  Why is this??
 

Strangely enough, companies routinely spend 100% of their budget creating tradeshow booths and promotional material.  They do not train their sales people…. Ever!   And they usually send the newly hired least knowledgeable salesperson to work tradeshows because no one else has time!
 

It is old school, but if you are exhibiting in a tradeshow, the 80/20 rule applies.  Put 80 % of your budget into training your best most experienced sales people (have a plan) and 20% into promotional materials.  If you can’t afford a big booth, pick a location next to someone who can.  They may attract a big crowd but when their sales people can’t sell…. Yours will!
 

The 80/20 rule says you will increase your tradeshow sales results by 80%. Isn’t this a better way of “Going Gr$$n”? ... It is certainly better for the environment!

By: Terry Quick, ENTCO International, Inc.