Your trade show booth offers beer. It’s swamped with people scanning their badges for you. You end up with 2500 names.

Your competitor offers nothing except a 2-page study (with charts) of how increasing budget and staff by 10% yield 200% returns when combined with a purchase of your type of product or service. They collect (maybe) 250 names.

Who had better marketing? Assuming only 50 direct salespeople, and 5 inside sales, whose sales force will likely close bigger and better deals, faster?

I think the answer is obviously not your beer booth.

Consider: you have a list of 2500 people who wanted free beer. Your competition has a list of 250 people who realized that the study helps them build a bigger budget and staff – and a purchasing case for the product.

Their list is more qualified. Their list is full of people who value the information enough to give out their name and phone number, knowing a salesperson will call. Your list is full of people who would risk being annoyed by a sales rep… just to get a free beer.

VMware, this year’s hottest IPO, gives away almost nothing at their trade-show booths – while desparate defense contractors are handing out stressballs.

Toys suck at generating qualified leads. Tools (whitepapers; information that helps people do their jobs / look good to their bosses) work better.

So skip the pens; offer papers!

[Thanks to David F for the Washington Post article that spawned this rant...]

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[ps: Please buy my book.  http://buynow.stupidmarketing.com -- and tell your friends!]