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International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 1
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Volume 16, Number 3, 2018, ISSN : 0972-7302
available at http: www.serialsjourna ls.com
* Al-Ahliyya Amman University, E-mail: ghiath.turgman@gmail.com
** University of Petra, E-mail: drrmomani@gmail.com; simaghaleb@hotmail.com
Abstract:
The study aims at showing the role of sale by the booth staff at the B2B trade show and its impact
on visitors’ purchasing behavior to make the decision to buy.
The study has been applied on the third Jordan Food Fair 2017 and on Food, Nutrition and Diet Exhibition
2017 in Amman, the capital of Jordan. The easy sample method, which included 241 visitors from owners and
managers of retail stores, hotels, restaurants, sports halls, cafes, etc. Was adopted. The questionnaires that
have been analyzed were (200). The most important findings of the study are:
Most visitors were senior management staff and from procurement management, where the majority of them
visited the B2B trade show to purchase. 65% of visitors decided to purchase the offered product whether the
deal took place in the exhibition or it will be completed after the B2B trade show. On the other hand, only 8%
of visitors had the intention to purchase.
The sales process within the B2B trade show on the Visitors purchasing behavior was partially supported in
this study.
The booth staff at the B2B trade show had the role that made visitors pay attention and razing their interest
in the product in order to create the desire and preference in them, which prepared the ground for the final
outcome, that is the achievement of sale with regard to the rest of marketing effects in the booth at the B2B
trade show.
Key words:
sales process, B2B trade show, visitors’ purchasing behavior, booth staff.
1. INTRODUCTION
Companies invest a lot of money from their marketing
budget at trade show, reaching more than 20% (Sridhar
et al., 2015).
This because they attract a very large number of
visitors who are considered as a target market for the
company (Herbig et al., 1997; Shipley et al., 1993). In
addition to the visitors invited by the exhibitor there is a
big number of visitors invited by competitor companies,
or those individuals attending the trade show by their
own. All of them constitute targeted ma rketing
opportunities (Godar & Connor, 2001), who are present
in one place (Blythe, 2010), which is not available in any
other marketing element.
B2B trade show gives visitors the opportunity to
experience that other means of marketing do not give ,
where visitors have the opportunity to try the product,
meet with the staff personally and interact with them in
one location in a neutral atmosphere(Godar & Connor,
2001; Kirchgeorg et al., 2010), thus providing positive
impact on visitors purchasing behavior. So, it is one of
the important elements of the marketing mix of
companies B2B (Sridhar et al., 2015), providing the
opportunity for effective impact in all the phases of the
purchasing process (Sashi & Perretty, 1992).
The trade show is also characterized by lower costs
of access to potential customers (physical) compared to
other marketing methods (Smith et al., 2003). Visiting
2International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
trade show is an effective way for visitors to access rich
information about the product at a low cost as well.
(Sharland & Balgoh, 1996)
Research also suggest that B2B trade show is one of
the three most important factors influencing the
consumers’ decision to buy (Kijewski et al., 1993). Other
researche consider that exhibitions come in the second
place in achieving sales (Duncan, 2001). In fact, B2B trade
show may not achieve all sales during the show (Smith et
al., 2004), but ultimately they affect sales in the short and
long term after the trade show (Mei-Chin Chu & Sui-
Ming Chiu, 2013).
Despite the importance of trade show to all parties
involved, research on trade show are rare. (Blythe, 1999;
Hansen, 2004), and according to researchers, research on
sales at trade show is almost absent. We have not found
any studies that links the effect of sale in the booth with
the purchasing behavior of visitors and the visitor’s point
of view. The researcher’s knowledge indicates that
research in Arabic on expiations is very rare, especially in
Jordan despite the importance of B2B trade show as a
low-cost promotional source due to the large number of
visitors attending the trade show. We have focused on
food industries because it has a relative advantage in
agricultural activity in Jordan, so these exhibitions
constitute basis for increase of sales of these companies
in the domestic market, which later leads to increase
competitiveness of Jordan’s exports of food industry
products to the countries in the world, especially to the
Gulf countries that are near Jordan.
However ,many companies experience some sales
failures in the B2B trade show (Bello & Lohtia, 1993) All
efforts and activities carried out before and during and
the B2B trade show, and their cost in the trade show, as
well as the sales and non-sales objectives might be lost if
the staff at the booth in the trade show ca not translate
these goals into reality, represented in sales in the
exhibition and forming the intention to buy immediately
after the exhibition or in the medium or long term. This
is confirmed by many researches, including that by (Smith
et al., 1999), who assert that any non-selling goal will be
meaningless objective if not paving the ground for sale
later. Out of this, we come up with to the study problem
by raising the following question:
What is the impact of the sales process of the booth
staff on the Visitors purchasing behavior?
We have tried to shed light on a very important
topic, about which specialized studies are absent as
re s earchers be lieve, de spite the significa n t role
and influence of personal communica tion in the
booth on the success or failure of all efforts of the
trade show.
At the same time, most of previous studies have
focused on analyzing the effectiveness of exhibitions
from the point of view of exhibitors, but from the point
of view of visitors they almost do not exist (Udo et al.,
2011; Rinallo et al., 2010; Smith et al., 2003).
We also worked on proposing a sale process model
in the trade show similar to the traditional sale, but each
sta ge of which differs in the way and method of
implementation because of the specificity and difficulties
of selling in the trade show compared to the traditional
sale.
Al so, we prop osed a model to mea sure the
effectiveness of the booth staff in each stage of the sale
process.
Finally, we presented a set of sug g estions and
recommendations that help to develop and improve sales
ski lls of the boot h employee s and thus achiev e
participation objectives of the trade show with the highest
efficiency and effectiveness.
The main objective of this study is to study the impact
of the sale process within the B2B trade fair on the
Visitors purchasing behavior. . Specifically, to show the
impact of sale role by booth staff at the exhibition on
the progressive effect of visitors’ purchasing behavior to
make a purchase decision
The sub- objectives of the research are represented
by the evaluation of each stage of the sales process in
the B2B trade show from visitors’ per s pec t ive,
evaluation of the visitors’ purchasing behavior, and
underlying the impact of sales process of the booth
staff at the B2B trade show on the visitors’ purchasing
behavior, and ultimately showing the relative impact of
each stage of sales process on the Visitors purchasing
behavior.
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 3
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
2. STUDY MODEL
The model of the study shows the independent variables and their effect on the dependent variable as shown below:
Table 1
The impact of independent variables on the dependent variable
Independent variable dependent variables
Visitors purchasing behavior
Attracting and arousing attention in
the booth at the exhibition.
Approaching the sales meeting.
Identify the visitors' goals and
recognize their needs.
Sales presentation
Handling visitors' objections
Closing the sale
The special features and uniqueness of the above
model stems from the following points:
First, we could not find any research that examined
the effect of the sales process in the booth of the
exhibition on the visitor’s behavior. Therefore, we could
not find any model similar to the above model to measure
the effectiveness of the sales process in the booth of the
exhibition in related research.
Second, we relied on the stages of the traditional
sales process phases models and applied it on the sales
process in the booth of the exhibition, since the essence
of the for the completion of sales transactions is, to a
great extent, similar in the number of its basic phases ,
regardless the location and conditions of the sale process
of any commodity, particularly for the stages related to
the Sal es presentation and the Handling visitors’
objections and closing the sale, for example. Based on
that, we worked to introduce some amendments to some
stages and we moved the functions of some stages to
subsequent stages. Moreover, we clarified that that the
method and approach of implementation of each stage
must be relatively different because of the fundamental
difference in the circumstances surrounding the work of
the sales staff in the exhibition are different from the
environment and conditions of the traditional sale. This
is clearly reflected in the questions of the questionnaire
as follows:
1. The first stage of the completion of the sale
process in the exhibition is completely different;
as attracting and arousing attention in the booth
at the exhibition does not exist in They are not
present in the traditional sales process. This is
evident in the part of the questionnaires
regarding this phase.
2. The first stage of the traditional sales process,
part of which is related to the market survey
and study aiming to reach potential customers
after collecting information about them ... etc. ,
does not exist in the first phase of the process
of selling at the exhibition, where the task of
these phases are moved to the subsequent stages
and implemented in a different manner.
3. The second stage of sale in the exhibition called
“approaching the sales meeting” is different
from that in the traditional sale, where sales
representatives try to fix a date for the potential
customer’s visit. However, in the exhibition, this
task is accomplished in the first stage and in a
completely different way of implementation.
The rest of activities are similar, but also
relatively different in the implementation
method due to reasons related to special
circumstances and difficulties of working at the
exhibition. This is reflected in some questions
questionnaire.
4International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
4. Phase 3 is related to Identification of visitors’
goals and recognizing their needs. They are also
different from that in the traditional sales. In
traditional sales, sales representatives can skip
the task of identifying more customers and
collect information about them in order, for
example, to see their eligibility to buy. A great
part of this task has been achieved in the first
stage of traditional sales. On the other hand, at
the exhibition, many visitors to the exhibition
are either completely new customers, or
cu stomers of the com peting compani es
participating in the exhibition, or they might be
sent to the exhibition for purposes other than
pu rchase. Therefor e, the imp ortance of
completing the task mentioned above in the
exhibition. In addition, it will be implemented
in a dif f erent ma nner ba s ed on the
circumstances and difficulties of selling at the
exhibition. All of this aims to diversify our sale
offer in the next phase, and reduce the effort
and time required to be accomplished with each
visitor because of their different objectives,
capacities and needs ... etc. The rest of activities
of this stage are similar, but also with different
implement ation met hod. Th is obv iousl y
reflected in the questionnaire regarding the three
stages that are completed in the exhibition.
Phase 4 (Sales presentation), phase 5 (Handling
visitors’ objections) and phase 6 (closing the sale) are
very similar to the traditional sales process in many topics,
but there are differences in the method and manner of
implementation for the following reasons:
– In the exhibi tion, there is la ck of full
implementation of stages preceding these three
stages with the same efficiency and conditions
available to traditional sales representatives. This
increases the difficulty of implementation of
these successive stages on the staff at the
exhibition.
– The impact of difficulties and conditions of
work at the exhibition forms an additional
compressing factor on their efficiency of
completion the tasks of these successive. The
most important of these factors are the short
time available to deal with each visitor, tiredness
of visitors and staff at the booth, the presence
of a number of competitors in the same space,
the presence of more than one visitor at the
same time in the booth of the exhibition and
lack o f prior knowledge on goals and
information of visitors ... etc., which increases
the difficulties of accomplishing these tasks with
the required efficiency.
Therefore, we have tried through the questionnaire
to ask some questions that show the effectiveness of the
completion of the sale process at the exhibition at the
lowest possible time and the highest effectiveness under
the environment and difficult conditions of .work at the
exhibition, which means that it reflects the success of
sales staff to overcome the difficulty of selling at the
exhibition, which signifies the degree of skills staff should
possess , that certainly must increase or differ from the
skills required for sales representatives working in
traditional sales.
What is new in our study model is that we have made
the dependent variable, which is visitors’ behavior, is
linked to their questions and related to the sequence of
the influence of visitors’ purchasing behavior , starting
from drawing the attention, creating interest and the desire
and finally creating the preference, which end in the
decision to buy the product offered. At the same time,
the model shows the gradual effect of the stages of the
sale process, in which each stage adds value to the
subsequent stag e, reaching the purchas e decision.
However, most of previous studies focus on the impact
of performance of the exhibition on the volume of sales
or the intention to purchase, or the extent of awareness
regarding products of the offering company…etc. We
could not find any study that deals with the variable in
the way we have already mentioned.
The importance of the proposed model and the
questions of the questionnaire along with the practical
application on sale conditions in the booth at the
exhibition have been set up to meet evaluate the
effectiveness of selling in the nutrition exhibitions in
Jordan, where the main objective of businessmen from
regular exhibition is selling. However, researches that
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 5
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
measure the effectiveness of sales process not only in
these exhibitions of nutrition, but also in all exhibitions
in general. Further, our goal is to indicate that it is wrong
to utilize traditional sales representatives in the exhibition.
3. LITERATURE REVIEW
Sales process in the B2B trade show
The phases of sales process inside the B2B trade show
was built and designed
By relying on the traditional personal sales like the
models of (Cant& van Heerden, 2008)
(P rospe cting, Pl a n ning the sales call, Sales
presentation, objections, closing the sale
Follow –up), the model adopted by (Altrjman, 2017)
(Preparation for the sale meeting, The Approach,
Problem Recognition, The Presentation, Objections
Handing, Closing the sales , Follow –up), and many
models that differ slightly in form but similar in contents.
Similarly, sales phases inside the exhibition are slightly
different in form, but they are significantly very similar,
one of which, for example, is that of (O’Hara. &Herbig,
1993).
Trade show personnel, must initiate contact, open
the sales call, qualify, identify needs, present, close the
sales call, and record results.
However, the model we proposed depends on making
the sales process phases exclusive to the B2B trade show
into five phases as follows:
Attracting and arousing attention in the booth
exhibition, approaching the sales meeting, identify the
visitors’ goa l s and re c ognize their nee ds, Sales
presentation, handling visitors’ objections, closing the sale.
The stages of the sales process in the booth are
largely similar to traditional sales, but each stage of which
differs in the style and manner of its implementation
(Bello & Lohtia, 1993). This is due to a combination of
compl ex factors and conditions prevail ing in the
exhibition, that force the booth staff to adapt their efforts
(Spiro & Weltz, 1990), the most important of which is
the limited time available to sales meeting , the fatigue of
the booth staff , the presence of more than one visitor
to the booth at the same time, and the increase in the
number of visitors at the peak time, as well as the presence
of a group of competitors within narrow geographic
space (Dwyer et al., 2000) Differing visitor goals, nature
and career status(Gopalakrishna et al., 2010; Blythe, 2002)
the presence of more than one booth staff in the same
place, the presence of non-personal effects in the place
of display and the existence of interaction between
visitors themselves in the place of sale, and the impact
of the halo of the B2B trade show and the prevailing
atmosphere ... etc.
Therefore, regular booth staff who are not qualified
to sell at the show will fail to take advantage of the sale
in the B2B trade show.
So, the staff should have the knowledge and skills
needed to successfully complete each stage of the sales
process so as not only to end the sale, but also to achieve
the objectives of the sales and that of the non-sales as a
significant proportion of sales will be achieved after the
trade show
Stage 1: Attracting and arousing attention in the
booth at the B2B trade show: A large proportion of
visitors to the B2B trade show are new to the exhibitor,
so there is a great opportunity to win new customers.
However, a large proportion of them had already
planned to visit certain exhibitors, and at the same time
the do not enough time and tired. All of this form
additional challenge for the booth staff, and also because
of the large numbers of visitors passing through the
walkway, so the booth staff have very little time, just
seconds, to attract them to the booth.
The issue may make become more difficult due to
the physical environment and promotion methods in the
booth. Moreover, the task of the booth staff is certainly
difficult and require the exertion of great efforts to attract
visitors to the booth.
Stage2: Approaching the sales meeting:
Whatever the objective of the visitors visiting the
B2B trade show is, it is necessary to attract their attention
and interest in the sale offer. By the end of this stage,
mutual trust must be built with them to prepare the
6International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
message that meets their objectives from the visit (Blythe,
2009). The aim is not always to end the sale in every
me eting. This stage is con sidered the cause of
transformation to start establishing lasting relationships
with customers and turning visitors from focusing on
the product to exhibitors (Berne & García-Uceda, 2008).
Stage 3: Identify the visitors’ goals and recognize their
needs:
The few seconds of this stage are important for
sorting out visitors and setting goals (Ling-Yee, 2006),
their needs and marketing problems, as well as career
status and the ability of decision-making (Blythe, 2002).
This is to direct the Sales presentation effectively and
in accordance with the limited time available and stressed
visitors ... etc. Therefore, the decisive factor for successful
participation in exhibitions is to understand the visitor’s
goal and ability to achieve it efficiently (Godar & Connor,
2001).
The real success of the trade show is eventually made
by achieving the objectives of visitors, exhibitors and
organizers of the trade show (Gopalakrishna et al., 2010)
Stage 4: Sales presentation:
Due to lack of time and exhaustion of the visitors
who have been overfed by a great deal of information, the
Sales presentation should focus on specific characteristics
of the product and the benefit they give to the visitors in
particular, providing proofs of the validity of his claims,
while the employee in charge maintains the attention of
the visitor to his Sales presentation and ensuring that they
understand what he has offered them.
On the other hand, the direct goal of some visitors
may not be to buy (Blythe, 1999). This means that the
sales message and information should be directed to
intersect with the nature of visitors and their objectives
from visiting the trade show (Gopalakrishna et al., 2010).
When the goal of the visitor is not purchase and a
sale message designed to achieve the goal of sale only
was directed to him, he will ignore the message and will
not achieve any purpose (Blythe, 1999).
This requires the non-s tandardization of their
communication messages with visitors as all visitors are
important regardless their different nature and positions
or goals, But with different rate of importance. All visitors
can have a relative impact on sales outside the fair and
over a different time period (Blythe, 2009). Therefore,
moving through all stages of the sales process in order
to end the sale should be directed to customers who have
the decision making power only.
Stage 5: Handling visitors’ objections:
The objection is nothing more than a negative
comment on the product and it is the means of the visitor
to inform you that he has a need the product does not
meet. The professionals of the booth staff usually look
for these objections to take advantage of them. The
correct handling of these objections will reflect positively
in sales achievement. Perhaps, what makes it difficult to
respond to objections of visitors is the great number of
visitors, their presence in the same place and the limited
time available.
Stage 6: Closing the sale:
The booth staff has a number of strategies at this
stage, where the ones used are those that match the nature
of needs of each visitor individually, and any error in
successfully progressing towards the end of the sale or
inability of the staff member to feel the right moment to
stop talking and call for end of sale will destroy all efforts
in the previous stages of sale. The process of termination
at the B2B trade show requires special skills and tactics
from the booth staff due to the fatigue and lack of time
of visitors and other factors and difficulties of selling at
the B2B trade show.
It is not a requirement that all sales meetings should
result in end of sales (O’Hara, 1993) since there are many
transactions will be completed after the B2B trade show
through the follow-up process (Lee & Kim, 2008).
(Smith et al., 2004) emphasizes the need to focus on
the follow-up efforts after the end of trade show because
of insufficient efforts at the B2B trade show sometimes
do not end the sale.
Visitors’ purchase behavior: The impact on the
Visitors’ purchase behavior begins with attracting and
arousing the visitors’ interest in the product offered and
then forming the desire, preferring to buy and then buy.
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 7
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
4. HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT AND
SUGGESTED MODEL
B2B trade show activities and role of personal contact in
the booth:
Other than personal contact in the booth before,
during, and after the B2B trade show, there is a range of
activities that play an important role in supporting booth
staff in achieving sales (Smitha et al., 2004; Sridhar et al.,
2015), or to discourage their ability to do so (Blythe, 2009),
including activities prior to the B2B trade show like
choosing the appropriate B2B trade show and planning
for it including decisions to hire, and specify the number
of staff in the B2B trade show and train them ( Ling-yee
L, 2007; Lee& Kim, 2008), and invitations to visitors
(Gopalakrishna & Lilien, 1995), as well as the design of
the booth and its location in the trade show etc. (Lee &
Kim, 2008),
Non-personal communication activities at the trade
show are those included in the booth…etc. and after the
trade show, they include the follow up of visitors,
measuring and evaluating the performance of the trade
show (Lee & Kim, 2008).
In spite of the positive or negative impact of these
activities, the booth staff play an important role in
mitigating the negative effects of activities that should
have a negative impact on the success of their interaction
with visitors, such as the decrease or increase of the
number of visitors to the booth beyond the booth staff
energy… etc.), through their skill, experience and efficient
performance, as well as their ability to invest the quality
of these positive activities to achieve greater results.
In order for the sales process to suc ceed in
influencing the Visitors purchasing behavior, it must first
be successful in attracting their attention to the booth
and raise their interest to follow-up sales offer in the
booth. With the move from stage to stage parallel with
the achievement of the objectives of each stage of the
sales process, the gradual impact on the visitor’s purchase
behavior begins and moving him gradually from the stage
of attracting attention and raising interest in the product
offered ... etc. to eventually reach the achievement of
purchase achieved through the successful completion of
the sale, that is the final stage of the sale.
Several studies have confirmed that there is an impact
for the exhibition’s activities, including the performance
of the employees within the booth of the exhibition on
visitors’ purchasing behavior, which is represented by end
of the purchase or purchase intention.
The results shown in (Smitha et al., 2004) indicate
that sales and post-exhibition buying levels were greater
for the group of visitors attending the exhibition than
those who did not attend.
Some studies have argued that the effectiveness of
the trade show does not always appear directly, so I studied
the trade show’s effectiveness by measuring the intentions
of buying from it (Smith et al., 2003; Hightower et al.,
2002).
It is true that all non-personal and personal trade
show activities play an influential role in the visitors
purchasing behavior (Sridhar et al., 2015). However, the
major and crucial role is related to personal contact in
the booth through the sale process, where sales are
generated directly during the trade show or buying
intentions are created (Smith et al., 1999) The shift of
purchase intentions into sales shows the importance of
follow-up after the trade show (Lee & Kim, 2008).
In his study, (Sridhar et al., 2015) also concluded that
the impact of the workers in the booth on the new
customers’ intentions of buying exists, while the impact
of commun ica tions aft er the trade show on the
procurement was higher amongst existing customers.
(Gilliam, 2015) showed that the impact of the booth
in the exhibition on the performance and behavior of
both attendees and booth staff of the exhibition is
represented by their performance, which is eventually
reflected in the achievement of exhibition objectives,
including sales.
As for a study by ) Farhangmehr& Simões 2015), it
has shown the importance of personal communication
in the exhibition, which is a basis for building trust and
establishing long-term relationships with visitors, and to
encourage social interactions between buyers and sellers.
As for the research by (Sarmento et al., 2015), it
stressed the importance of understanding the objectives
of both visitors and exhibitors, and that the workers in
8International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
the wing must imitate the objectives of visitors, which
must be reflected positively on the performance of the
trade show, including sale.
(Çobanoğlua & Turaevab, 2014) has shown that the
efficiency of the booth staff is a function of a range of
factors related to the extent of their work experience in
the trade show and the quality of selecting and training
them and their important impact on the performance of
the company exhibiting at the trade show.
As for (Mei-Chin Chu & Sui-Ming Chiu1, 2013) either
between the role and importance of follow-up after the
trade show, and the professionalism of the booth staff
and their deep knowledge about the product and trade
and its impact on visitors’ decisions in the trade show
and after.
As regards the quality of service role, (Udo et al.,
2011), stated that booth staff when they provide a good
communication service, it must be reflected positively
on the intention to buy.(Gopalakrishna et al., 2010),
indicated that the heterogeneity in the behavior and
actions of visitors must require different behaviors by
the staff of the booth in the trade show in communicating
with them, which eventually must be reflected positively
on the performance and results of their work in the
exhibition. (Blythe, 2009) also confirmed that the booth
staff should not only focus their sales message on
potential buyers at the exhibition, but on the achievement
of non-selling objectives, which should give their results
in the formation of the intention to buy.
(Lee & Kim, 2008) at the same time showed the
importance of the impact of raising the quality of the
performance of the booth staff through training them
and the determination of their numbers in a deliberate
manner, as well as the impact of follow-up activities after
the trade show to raise sales performance.
(Smith et al., 2004) As for the role of the trade show,
including the efforts of the staff in the booth in preparing
for the sale outside the exhibition should be considered
as not all the efforts of the trade show will always pay
off directly in the trade show.
(Godar & O’Conno r, 2001) fou nd out that
Determination of the nature of visitors and their different
goals in advance must lead to the increase of effectiveness
of sales meeting, thus achieving the objectives of the
trade show.
(Blythe, 1999) stressed that the message provided by
the booth staff should be in line with the visitors’ goals
during the meeting in the booth, in order to reflect
positively on their sales performance.
(Smith et al., 1999) finally confirmed that the impact
of the trade show, including those working in the booth,
enhances the effectiveness of personal selling. The
researcher concluded that the participation in the trade
show significantly reduces the cost of sales and follow-
up efforts until the closing of the sale, and that the trade
show generates positive effects on customers’ buying
intentions.
It is noted that all of the previous studies mentioned
above examined the effect of all or some of the trade
show activities, including personal contact of the booth
workers on the sale or intention to purchase. Nevertheless,
but we did not find any study that analyzed the impact
of each stage of the sales process on the Visitors
purchasing behavior, which is expr essed in ou r
hypotheses, as follows:
4.1. Hypotheses
The first hypothesis: The sales process of the booth staff
affects the Visitors purchasing behavior Sub- hypotheses:
First sub-hypothesis: The stage of Attracting and
arousing attention in the booth at the B2B trade show
affects the Visitors purchasing behavior.
Second hypothesis: The Approaching the sales
meeting affects the Visitors purchasing behavior
Sub-hypothesis 3: The stage of identify the visitors’
goals and recognize their needs affects the Visitors
purchasing behavior.
Sub-hypothesis 4: The stage of the Sales presentation
affects the Visitors purchasing behavior.
Sub-hypothesis 5: The stage of handling visitors’
objections affects the Visitors purchasing behavior.
Sub-hypothesis 6: The stage of closing the sale affects
the Visitors purchasing behavior.
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 9
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
5. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study is based on the analytical descriptive method
and collection of data by means of the questionnaire.
The data were analyzed and statistically analyzed to test
hypotheses validity.
5.1. Data collection
Study population
The study population consists of all specialized B2B trade
show of food industries held in Amman in the year 2017,
which accounted to (4) B2B trade show.
The study sample
The sample of the study was chosen by adopting the
personal judgment method of the researcher because of
the great similarity among exhibitors in exhibitions
specializing in food stuff. Two B2B trade show were
chosen from the study sample: The first one is the third
Jordan Food of 2017, and the Nutrition and Regimens
exhibition of 2017 which was held in Amman the capital
of Jordan. The two B2B trade show aimed at business
men of owners and managers working in retail stores ,
hotels, restaurants, sports halls, cafes, etc.,. Which were
the aim of our study. As for the total number of visitors
of the first B2B trade show, it was 432, whereas the
visitors of the second B2B trade show were 217 according
to the date obtained from the two e x hibiti o n
administration. The easy sample method was chosen. The
sample of visitors chosen was the sample of the study
of the first B2B trade show, which accounted to 164
37.96% of visitors), whereas the number of visitors of
the second B2B trade show was 77(35.48% of visitors).
This was done by covering almost the most of the time
of the B2B trade show. This was done by cooperation
with the team work and the female employees of the two
B2B trade show, who were in charge of registering the
visitors of the exhibition. The aim and nature of the
study was explained to them, as well as the details of the
questions in the questionnaire, and the way of attracting
visitors to answer the questions. I personally used to be
there particularly at the rush periods in order to follow
up and evaluate the distribution of the questionnaire. 41
questionnaire were not considered since they were invalid
for analysis, and only 200 questionnaires were analyzed
(82.98%)
5.2. Study tool
The study tool is the questionnaire that consisted of (5)
paragraphs, and divided into three main sections:
A Section I: It is concerns with the career status and
visitors’ goal of visiting the exhibition, and the
number of visitors who decided to purchase in the
exhibition or they had the intention to urchase.it It
comprises (5) paragraphs.
B Section II: It relates to the stages of the sale process
and consists of six main paragraphs.
1. Attracting and arousing attention in the booth
at the B2B trade show It contains (7) paragraphs.
2. The Approaching the sales meeting. It contains
(5) paragraphs.
3. Identify the visitors’ goals and recognize their
needs. It contains (7) paragraphs.
4. Sales presentation. It contains (11) paragraphs.
5. Handling visitors’ objections. It contains (6)
paragraphs.
6. Closing the sale. It contains (8) paragraphs.
C Section III: It relates to Visitors purchasing behavior.
It includes (5) paragraphs.
6. VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
In order to test the study validity of study measures,
Content validity and construct validity were used, Based
on extensive literature review and interviews with the
aca demic experts in the field content validity was
supported.
Construct validity measures whether a scale is an
appropriate operational definition of a construct (Flynn
et al., 1990). Construct validity was done by A principal
component factor analysis with varimax rotation after
collecting data (Hair et al., 1998). Tables 1 and 2. All items
loaded strongly (.0.5) on their appropriate factors which
supported their dimensionality (Hair et al., 1998).
Reli ability was operationaliz ed using internal
consistency method valu e for attract and stimulate
10 International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
attention in the booth exhibition equal .883, approaching
the sales meeting equal .841, identify the visitors’ goals
and recognize their needs equal .867, sales presentation
equal .855, respond to visitor objection equal .765, closing
Table 2
Factor analysis: independent variable constructs
Attracting and arousing attention in Descriptions Factor Reliability
the booth exhibition loading
6 The vitality and effectiveness of the booth staff who attracted .698 .883
you to enter their booth.
7 The success of booth staff in using their body language
(their looks and facial expressions) to connect you with .753
you, resulting in attracting you and raising your attention
to enter their booth.
8 The success of booth staff in starting their conversation
with you (for example, asking questions to make you pay .800
attention), which attracted you and raised your interest to
enter their booth.
9 The success of booth staff in expressing their interest and
respect of visitors, which attracted you and raised your .660
attention to enter their booth. .849
10 The hospitality shown by the booth staff to visitors that
attracted you and raised your attention to enter their booth.
11 The staff were not busy and they were very pleased to .831
attract you and raise your attention to enter their booth.
12 The willingness of booth staff to offer any services .759
requested by visitors, which attracted you and raised
your attention to enter their booth.
Approaching the sales meeting Descriptions Factor Reliability
loading
13 The success of booth staff in attracting you for their .777 .841
Sales presentation.
14 Booth staff were successful in attracting your interest .826
to hear and see your Sales presentation.
15 Booth staff responded quickly to your way and style .729
of verbal and physical communication.
16 Booth staff were successful in creating a friendly and .840
harmonious relationship with you.
17 Booth staff were successful in creating a mutual .740
atmosphere with you shortly.
Identify the visitors’ goals Descriptions Factor Reliability
and recognize their needs loading
18 Booth staff sought meeting you to try discover the nature .740 .867
of your purpose of visiting the exhibition.
19 When they discover your goal of purchasing, the booth .795
staff made sure that you had the power of purchasing
or whether you are influential in purchasing.
the sale equal .859 and visitors purchasing behavior equal
.777 . Generally, these values are exceed recommended
minimum 0.7 (Nunnally(1978), and this result establishes
the reliability of all the theoretical constructs.
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 11
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
20 When discovering that you have the power of purchasing .671
or that your role is effective in purchasing , the employee
made sure that you had the power of purchasing
21 The booth staff stimulated you to talk about your problems .814
or unmet needed.
22 Booth staff alerted you to your problems and needs .776
regarding the aspects that you had never felt about before.
23 Booth staff were highly provisional in discovering your .640
problems and needs Booth staff needed not long time to
24 discover your problems and needs. .780
Sales presentation Descriptions Factor Reliability
loading
25 Booth staff presented /offered a brief sale offer, focusing .745 .855
specifically on your needs.
26 Booth staff presented their sale offer in logical sequence, .773
trying to explain and simulate that the product benefits
directly match your needs.
27 Booth staff, relatively. Gave more time and effort to clarify .602
the features which are most important to you.
Booth staff translated product features into benefits
appealing to you.
28 Booth staff answers to your inquiries were professional .613
and accurate.
29 The booth staff answered your questions briefly, adequately .701
and satisfactorily.
30 Both staff provided you with all required and necessary .561
information to make a purchase decision at the trade
show or in the future.
31 Booth staff made sure that you understood each piece of .500
information provided before moving on to another piece
of information.
32 Booth staff kept your attention throughout the selling offer .540
33 Booth staff presented convincing proofs that corroborated .501
the information they were marketing about the product
34 Booth staff made sure of your satisfaction regarding proofs .757
presented to you.
35 .712
Handling visitors’ objections Descriptions Factor Reliability
loading
36 Booth staff encountered your objections to the product .734 .765
quietly in trust and self-confidence.
37 Booth staff responded to your objections with .851
professionalism and in a convincing manner.
38 Booth staff inquired about any other objection you had .731
before they started responding to your objection.
39 Booth staff, in many cases, made the objection an .644
opportunity to convince you that the product is specifically
suitable to your needs.
12 International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
When submitting your objection during the sales offer,
booth staff convinced you to defer the objection until they
40 finish the sale offer. .527
Booth staff persuaded you to answer your objections after
41 the exhibition when answering them require a lot of details. .549
Closing the sale Descriptions Factor Reliability
loading
42 The Booth staff prepared to finish the sale with a quick .582 .859
review of the benefits and proofs they gave in their sale offer.
43 Booth staff have adopted the appropriate and convincing .651
method for you to finish the sale. .651
44 The Booth staff did not hesitate to end the sale at the time .697
of the first signal that indicates your conviction of the offer.
45 Booth staff did not require much time to finish the sale. .775
46 Booth staff had successfully provided convincing solutions .807
when you refused to complete the sale.
47 Booth staff did not do an unjustified pressure to finish .753
the sale.
48 Booth staff did not rush to end the sale before their offer .793
was completed.
49 Booth staff withdraw at the right moment when you insist .606
that you do not want to complete the sale.
Table 3
Factor analysis: dependent variable constructs
Visitors purchasing behavior Descriptions Factor Reliability
loading
50 Booth staff sought to attract your attention to the product .770 .777
displayed.
51 Booth staff sought to raise your interest in the product .821
offered.
52 Booth staff worked to create a desire towards your product .699
53 Booth staff worked to create your preference for the .655
product displayed.
54 Booth staff worked to stimulate you to make a decision .701
to buy the product offered.
7. ANALYSIS
7.1. Descriptive statistics
Table 4
Job status, the objective of visiting the B2B trade show and the visitors’ responses
54% senior management, 32% procurement department, 7% marketing, 1- Department of your work
7% other divisions
39% general manger,15% deputy general manager, 39% head of department, 2- Your position in the company
7% other divisions
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 13
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
No Yes 3- You visited the exhibition to
27% 73% To purchase directly from the exhibition regardless whether you purchased or had the intention to purchase.
8% 19% a- To collect information and compare in order to make a purchase decision in the future regardless whether
you purchased or had the intention to purchase or not.
No Yes 4- You have visited the exhibition to:
7% 1% Not to buy from the B2B trade show, but your visit encouraged you to purchase.
2% 5% a- Not to buy directly but your visit to the B2B trade show encouraged you to have the intention to purchase.
2% 0% b- Not to collect information and compare in order to purchase in the future, but your visit encouraged you
to purchase.
0% 2% c- Not to collect information and compare in order to purchase in the future, but your visit made you have
the intension to purchase.
No Yes 5-was made by you in the exhibition
44% 56% a- Make the decision to purchase whether the deal was made in the B2B trade show or after.
36% 8% b- Just making the intension to purchase in the future.
Table (4) above shows that the highest percentage
of visi tors, which is 54%, are senior management
individuals. This simply explains that most of the
companies visiting the B2B trade show, are small, medium
and family owned companies, in which decision-making
authority i s c oncentrate d mainly in the senior
management. This is confirmed in a study by (Bello, 1992)
who argues that B2B trade show attracts owners and
managers of small businesses who usually have the main
opinion in the decision-making process.
This percentage is followed by 32% of visitors who
were from the procurement department. This eventually
is in line with the result mentioned in the table above
that is the main aim of 73% of visitors was to purchase
directly from the B2B trade show.
If we look at t the total number of visitors shown in
the table above, we find that 54% of visitors were senior
management individuals, 32% from the procurement
department, 7% marketing. We find that they were the
decision makers or have the influence over the purchase.
This corresponds to the study by (Swandby et al., 1990)
who said that the percentage of visitors who have the
influence over the decision of purchase of their
companies accounted for 80%. Also this corresponds
with the study by (Rosson & Seringhaus, 1995),who found
that the percentage of influent people over the decision
among the attendees are between 79% to 93%, including
the final decision makers to purchase who were between
22% and 51% of the attendees. Moreover, this also is
close to the research by (Bello, 1992), which found that
78% of the attendees share one decision or more.
As shown in table (4) 73% of people mainly visited
the B2B trade show in order to purchase, and this might
be against some studies .This can be explained in our
study as it is related to the specification of the product
which is the food stuff exhibited.
The following important note from the above table
is that the percentage of those who came to the B2B
trade show aiming not to buy accounted to 27%, which
is in line with the results of previous research, including
(Blythe, 1999; Hansen, 1996), whereas the goal of 19%
of visitors was to gather information for a decision in
the future.
The most important note is that out of the 8% of
those who did not intend to buy or collect information
and compare in order to make a purchase decision in the
future, 1% purchased and 7% had the intention to do so
in the future. The explanation of this is that we refused
to accept the answer to the questionnaire. In addition,
we think that they fell under the influence of discounts
and sales activation tools. Perhaps, they felt they should
not be deprived from the opportunity where competitors
benefited from visitor and the efficiency of sales staff.
14 International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
Finally, it is shown in Table (56) that 56% of visitors
to the B2B trade show decided to buy the product,
whether or not the deal took place in the B2B trade show.
This 56% is a high percentage out of 73% of visitors
whose goal was to buy from the B2B trade show. This
close to the study by (Blythe, 2002) who argues that trade
B2B trade show have been widely viewed as a way of
making sales. Exhibitors usually rank selling objectives
high on the list of importance. He found that 40% of
the visitors had no role in the purchase that is 60% had a
role in the purchase. This concept is far from the survey
of Tanner (1997), who found that 26% of visitors had
just signed the purchase orders at the B2B trade show.
The explanation of this is again due to many reasons
relating to the nature of food commodities, the fact that
the exhibitions in Jordan are adopted as a means of selling
and the use of tools to stimulate sales and high sales
efficiency of the booth staff.
The same table shows that only 8% of visitors had
an intention to purchase the product in the future. Our
explanation for the low percentag e of those who
had the intention to buy came within the explanation
of the reasons that led to a greater percentage of sale
in the B2B trade show, the most important of which
th e na ture of s im i l ar food uncom pl i c a t e d
commodities…etc.
Table 5 shows the means, standard deviations and
inter-correlations of the sales process in the B2B trade
show and the Visitors purchasing behavior
Table 5
Correlations, means and standard deviations
Variable Mean Std. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Attracting and arousing attention 4.16 .677
Approaching 4.13 .639 .609*
Identify goals and needs 4.05 .637 .445* .776*
Sales presentation 4.08 .531 .547* .666* .703*
Handling visitors’ objections 4.06 .565 .562* .469* .618* .653*
Closing the sale 3,85 .549 .744* .563* .534* .575* .668*
Visitors purchasing behavior 4.01 .595 .570* .342* .207* .545* .402* .575*
*Sig<.05
7.2. Hypothesis testing
Table 6
Result of interaction regression
Variables Model 1
B t-value Sig
Attracting and arousing attention .222 2.686 .008
Approaching .001 .009 .993
Identify goals and needs .450 4.757 .000
Sales presentation .572 7.182 .000
Handling visitors’ objections .060 .754 .452
Closing the sale .529
R2
F 36.125*
* Sig<.05
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 15
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
Multiple regression analysis was performed to
examine the sales process within the B2B trade show on
the Visitors purchasing behavior. A summed scale of six
independent variable dimensions and dependent variable
was created for regression analysis.
Regression models were analyzed for the dependent
variables as shown in Table (6). Results indicated that
study models were statistically significant, and explained
approximately 52.9 percent of the variance in Visitors
purchasing behavior. The regression model was found
to be significant (R2 = 0:529; F = 36.125) at the p = 0.01
statistical level.
Results showed attracting and arousing attention
(beta =.222, t=2.686, P<.05) are positively related to
Visitors purchasing behavior, so H 1 1 was accepted.
Identify goals and needs (beta =.450, t=4.757, P<.05) to
be positively related to purchasing behavior of visitors
so H 13 was accepted. Sales presentation (beta =.572,
t=7.182, P<.05) to be positively related to Visitors
purchasing behavior so H 14 was accepted. Closing the
sale (beta =.362, t=4.316, P<.05) to be positively related
to Visitors purchasing behavior so H 16 was accepted.
However, the effects of Approaching and Handling
visitors’ objections were not found to be significant, So
H12 and H15 were not accepted. Thus, the sales process
within the B2B trade show on the Visitors purchasing
behavior was partially supported in this study (H1).
8. DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
It was found that the majority of visitors to the B2B
trade show are from the top management, followed by
the heads of the purchasing departments. This is in line
with the result, indicating that most of the visitors had
the goal of buying. At the same time, however, there was
a great percentage of visitors who did not intend to visit
the B2B trade show to buy.
Most of the visitors to the B2B trade show are
decision-makers. On the other hand, a small percentage,
that should not be neglected, came to the B2B trade show
not for the purpose of buying or collecting information
and making comparison make a purchase decision in the
future. The study showed that 56% of the visitors to the
B2B trade show decided to buy the product, whether the
deal was made at the B2B trade show or later. Those
who had only the intention to buy in the future reached
8%.
The study also showed that there is a relationship
between the independent variables (stages of the sales
process) and this is in line of the theoretical principles
that is each stage leads to the next one. The relative effect
regarding the importance of each phase of the sale
process (independent variable) on the Visitors purchasing
behavior is as follows:
Sales presentation
Identify goals and needs
Closing the sale
Attracting and arousing attention
In our opinion, the most important influence of the
sale proposal on visitors’ purchasing behavior is the logical
result due to homogeneity of food commodities that
requires and shows the distinctive capabilities of the
booth staff in persuading visitors to distinguish their sale
offer from that of competitors. Likewise, discovering the
problems and needs of visitors is also important and
necessary to increase the efficiency of the sale offer of
booth staff. The ability to finish the sale is also an
important stage in the sale in the exhibition due to the
need for efficiency by taking advantage of time and effort
of both visitors and booth staff.
However, the effects of Approaching and Handling
visitors’ objections were not found to be significant- Our
interpretation here is related to the reliance on B2B trade
show as an essential tool in the sale of food commodities
to busi ness men, whi ch led to the eme rgence of
knowledge and close relationship with many visitors. This
weakened the role of the introductory stage of the sale
meeting. So, it had no significant impact on the visitors’
purchasing behavior. As for the stage of responding to
objections, our interpretation is related to the simplicity
of the product that is food commodities, resemblance of
prices, quality levels of the competing goods, which led to
just few objections from visitors, so they did not have a
significant impact on the visitors’ purchasing behavior.
The sales process within the B2B trade show on the
visitors’ purchasing behavior was partially supported in
this study (H1).
16 International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research
Ghaiath Altrjman, Raed Ahmad Momani and Sima Ghaleb Magatef
At the same time, it was found that the sale role of
booth staff was important in attracting the attention of
visitors and raising their interest in the product displayed
to create their desire and preference to the product. This
paved the way for the final result that is the sale, due to
the rest of the marketing effects in the booth at the B2B
trade show.
The good results of booth staff ability to achieve
the sale can be explai ned by the fa ct that food
commodities sold are not complex. Moreover, in Jordan
there is reliance on B2B trade show to sell such products
mainly to businessmen. This led to the acquisition of
knowledge and getting work experience by booth staff
in the B2B trade show environment, resulting in as good
relationship with visitors.
9. MANAGERIAL IMPLICATIONS
Increasing the efficiency of booth staff to achieve sale
operations in the B2B trade show and reaching the stage
of ending the sale since most visitors are decision-makers
of the purchase. At the same time, there is a need to
increase the efficiency of booth staff to diversify their
messages and sales tactics, stemming from two reasons.
The first one is to correspond with visitors who came to
the B2B trade show with no intention to purchase, and
they are not decision-makers in the purchase. This is to
create a desire and preference in them for the product
displayed in the B2B trade show and not to focus much
and waste time and exercise pressure to end the sale in
the B2B trade show. The second reason is to correspond
with different types of customers because of their
different job status along with their different objectives
of visiting the B2B trade show and perhaps their
personalities, so as to increase the effectiveness of their
sale meetings as there is a need to save time and efforts
of both staff so as to meet greater numbers of visitors,
especially at time peak..... etc.:
It is necessary to develop the efficiency of booth
staff at the stage of ending the sale to deal more efficiently
with visitors who did not come to the B2B trade show to
buy or gather information to make decision in the future.
But they might be the decision- makers of purchasing or
influential in the purchasing decision. This is to stimulate
them to make a decision to buy in the B2B trade show or
later on, on the condition that they should work
professionally, know the limit at which they should stop,
not to waste more time without result, not to put pressure
on visitors, or overuse of sales stimulation tools and
stimulate them to make an irrational purchasing decision.
At the same time, the B2B trade show staff should
not focus only on ending the sale, but rather on preparing
the ground at the B2B trade show to establish lasting
relationships and creating loyalty in the visitor towards
the exhibitor and also following the visitors after the B2B
trade show. There is also the need to increase the efficiency
of the booth staff to follow up the sales process after
the B2B trade show as long as there is a proportion of
visitors who formed the intention to buy only while
visiting the B2B trade show. This requires effective follow
up after the B2B trade show, so as not to miss the
opportunity to achieve the sale.
Due to the homogeneity and simplicity of food
commodities, the efforts of sales staff should be
developed, especially in the stage of discovering visitors’
objectives and needs and the Sales presentation as their
role in these stages is very important since it has influence
on the purchasing behavior of visitors and creating
preference for the product of the exhibiting company,
preparing the ground for making the purchasing decision
by visitors. This the demand to increase their skills to
end the sale and also because of the failure of many sales
due to weak efficiency of the booth staff to complete
this stage successfully. Therefore, participants in the B2B
trade show must show great interest in continuing to
develop sales skills of the booth staff, especially in the
following stages:
– Attracting and arousing attention.
– Identify goals and needs.
– Sales presentation.
– Closing the sale.
These have positive impact on the visitors’ purchasing
behavior of the exhibition.
All visitors should be dealt with. However, staff
should distinguish different visitors and give the greatest
attention to those who have the goals of buying and the
power of decision-making to purchase, and the volume
International Journal of Applied Business and Economic Research 17
The Impact of the Sales Process within the B2B Trade Show on the Visitors Purchasing Behavior
of their purchases are expected to be bigger, where
visitors to the B2B trade show ranged from large tourist
facilities to small supermarkets. Of course, this does not
mean to neglect other visitors, but the weight of the effort
and time will be in their favor, due to lack of the time
available in the B2B trade show.
Finally, because of sale difficulties in the B2B trade
show represented by time constraints , high effort on
staff and visitors alike ... etc., in addition to the large
opportunities for sale in specialized food B2B trade show
and the opportunities to win new customers, all of which
at low cost compared to traditional sale outside the B2B
trade show.( Bello and Barksdale, 1986 ; Kerin and Cron,
1987)Hence, more attention should be paid to booth staff
management in terms of selection, appointment, training,
and motivation as they have a significant effective role over
the visitors’ purchasing behavior in relation to other
marketing elements in the booth in the B2B trade show.
10. THE LIMITS OF THE STUDY
Our study focused only on the sales process within the
booth, but we did not discuss the pre- B2B trade show
stage as it overlaps with non-personal contact. Likewise,
follow-up of customers is not included here as it also
overlaps with traditional sale outside the B2B trade show.
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