REALIZER attended SWITCH (Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology) from 29-31 October 2024. It has only been 2 months since our ideation stage and we were bringing a prototype to one of the largest tech events in APAC.

Here’s what we did to achieve 60% lead conversion rate at SWITCH.

About SWITCH 2024

Singapore Week of Innovation and Technology was held from 29 to 31 October in Singapore, with 300 participating startups and 20,000 attendees.

SWITCH hosted deep tech-focused thought leadership sessions, market access sessions and networking to encourage the formation of a global tech innovation community. The event was organized by Enterprise Singapore and MP Singapore. How REALIZER converted leads with just a prototype

Pre-event

Step 1: Narrow down your ideal customer profile(s)

REALIZER is a lead management tool for client-facing professionals. In other words, it is sector and industry-agnostic— you can use it too!

However, casting a net blindly will simply overweigh the ship and tip it over. Hence we narrowed categorized booth exhibitors into three groups:

1. ICP

2. Semi-ICP

3. Non-ICP

It took me over a week to figure out the categories of all exhibitors, considering:

1. their funding round

2. industry type

3. company size

4. the global expansion opportunities.

Step 2: Connect with exhibitors before the event

I tried connecting with all 300 exhibitors at least three days before the event. Of course, this took me a lot of time, from researching their email and LinkedIn to creating a message for them.

However, connecting with exhibitors was proven effective.

While visiting booths, every professional was pleased to find out about the effort made to connect with them. Through prior research, you can:

1. Ask them the right questions

2. Learn more about their product

3. Create a better synergy

During Event

Step 3: The alignment of the product pitch

Be it a 30-second elevator pitch, 1 or 3-minute pitch, all members in the booth should have a crystal clear idea of the product. Similarly, the time of pitches should also vary depending on the ICP categorization.

1. ICP: 3 minutes

2. Semi-ICP: 1 minute

3. Non-ICP: 30 seconds

The confidence exuded during pitches shows the readiness of the employees to take on the challenge of running a start-up, regardless of the stage.

Step 4: Create a credible and trustworthy experience

One of the most important factors that led to a high conversion rate is the credible and trustworthy experience REALIZER provided for any visitors or professionals spoken to. Let’s break down what credibility and trustworthiness is:

Trustworthiness

To build trust in a selling process, you need to show that you care about others and not just focus on personal agenda. By listening to them, it allows listeners to view your approach as “They care about me and how their products will impact my career”. Rather than thinking about speed and moving from booth-to-booth, here is what you can do:

1. Listen and engage with their products

   1. Listening to their product shows respect and it is more likely for them to return the favour of listening to yours.

2. Walk around during non-peak hours and engage in more small talk

   1. SWITCH was a 3-day event with a fair share of peak and non-peak hours. When no one was at the booth, I engaged in small talk with the staff, learning more about them and asking about their business.

   2. Small talk allows us to more that their personality, agenda, approachability, and willingness to help. As more rapport is built, exhibitors are more likely to introduce decision makers to you for meetings.

Credibility

To build credibility, REALIZER was honest and held integrity in everything shared with customers. As a startup, weaknesses and inadequacies are expected. By being transparent and professional about shortcomings, it provides the opportunity for:

1. Advice and honest help from professionals

   1. Instead of saying ‘yes, we can do everything’, establishing honesty about the current progress of your startup allows professionals, especially those whom have been through the same experience to offer help.

2. Expectations for something greater

   1. With transparency in shortcomings and integrity to work hard on the product, it makes the success of a startup exciting. Professionals are likely to view the integrity as a sign of hard work and likelihood to work on present shortcomings.

After all, actions speak louder than words and everyone wants to root for the underdog.

Step 5: Booth design and pamphlets

Our booth was PINK, with a few simple lines of what we do. If you are a startup, it is likely your booth would be a tiny one within a cluster. One of the most common comments received from attendees were “I can see your booth from miles away. It is so eye catching”.

The colors of your booth also provides a different message, based on color theory in advertising, the psychology of how colors affect marketing:

1. Black: power, elegance, sophistication, and exclusivity

2. Blue: down-to-earth, honest, wholesome, cheerful

3. Pink: Excitement, daring, imaginative, up-to-date

4. Green: Competence, reliability, intelligence

5. Purple: Sophistication, upper-class, charming.

6. Yellow: Outdoorsy, Tough

More about color theory will be explained in our future articles on UX/UI design.

After Event

Step 6: Connection within 48 hours

REALIZER allows users to send sales collaterals automatically upon typing in the recipient’s information.

Since most exhibitors at SWITCH intended to share their collaterals and information to as many ICPs as possible, REALIZER was an attractive product for trade show participants.

With that as our initial win, REALIZER sent out a follow-up email within 48 hours after the event so that participants are well rested, rather than seeing our reach-out as ‘annoying’ and ‘disturbing their rest’.

Conclusion

This concludes the personal experience of how REALIZER had a 60% conversion rate from SWITCH. However, it is also important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The approach can vastly differ upon considering your ICP, the type of trade shows, industry, and product.

Nonetheless, being credible and trustworthy will be the best way to provide a lasting and professional impression. Good luck for all trade shows in 2025!