The Ultimate Guide to Tradeshow Lead Generation

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Intro ____________________________________________________________________________Page 3
Set Goals________________________________________________________________________Page 4
Using Social Media as a Lead Generation Tool___________________________________Page 6
Turn Your Trade Show Booth into a Lead Magnet________________________________Page 13
Help Your Trade Show Staff Bring Their A-Game________________________________Page 17
Expediting the Lead Capture Process with Badge Scanner Technology_________Page 20
What Good Are Leads You Can’t Read?_________________________________________Page 22
How to Tell a Good Lead From a Bad One _____________________________________Page 24
Seven Booth Traffic Builders to Try____________________________________________Page 29
A Lead is a Start…Don’t Blow it, ok? ____________________________________________Page 31
How to Follow-Up _____________________________________________________________Page 31
Conclusion_____________________________________________________________________Page 33
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Intro
Lead capture is likely one of your company’s main objectives when
exhibiting at a trade show.
Despite this, some organizations – particularly frst-time exhibitors and
small and medium-sized enterprises – fail to optimize their lead
generation processes. These frms may lose out on opportunities to
make sales as a result.
Some exhibitors get so caught up in the bells and whistles of their
latest elaborate trade show booth idea that they lose sight of what's
really important when heading to an exhibition – lead generation, and
fnding the select attendees from thousands that the product or
service is best suited to. When it comes to locating and following up
with these specifc potential customers, a company doesn't need an
infnite budget, but a focused, creative generation plan that puts

emphasis on in-person content as well as digital outreach.
Set Goals
Going into a show you
must have written
goals. Showing the flag
is not a goal. (“We’ve
got to be there: all our
competitors will be
attending, and people
will think something is
wrong if we don’t show
up.”) Acquiring new customers is. Regaining lost customers is a good
goal. Retaining current customers is as well. We can apply quantifable
measures to each of these goals, such as sales revenues from new
sources over “x” number of months after the show. Simply showing up
is not going to assure that you will meet your goals. Yes, you have to
do a good job at the show.
But few tradeshow attendees place orders on the spot. Most make
their buying decisions in the days, weeks and months following a
tradeshow. Do you want to leave your prospects buying decisions to
chance? Effective follow-up is required if you are going to meet
ambitious goals.

Customize goals to the event
The size of a trade show can
determine how long you have
with each attendee. Smaller
events often provide more time
to ask questions, but this
doesn't mean that you can
afford to make small talk.

Instead, use this time to take the discussion deeper, guiding the
potential customer further along the sales path to reduce time to
close.
Using Social Media as a Lead Generation Tool
“We are leaving the industrial economy
and entering the connection economy.”
– Seth Godin
Thinking ahead of the curve
when using social media can be
the exhibitor's key to leading
the herd at a trade show –
don't be the one who says it
can't generate leads, be the
one to make it happen!
For many companies, immensely popular networks like Facebook,
Twitter and Instagram are integral marketing tools used primarily to
interact with existing customers and offer updates on the latest
promotions and product developments. However, these networks can
be harnessed as a powerful way to generate potential leads, as well.
Like anything in the era of instant gratifcation we live in, social media
has an effect on how business is done in the office and out and has
begun to rear its head more and more in the trade show sector. Lead
generation has been the primary goal of exhibitors since the beginning

of time, but many aren't aware that technology, specifcally social
media, can be used to interact with customers and can be a frst stop
for interested attendees to follow up on a product.
Of course, this valuable use of social technology has best practices of
its own. It is important that your company has an established company
page on Facebook before heading to the trade show, instead of
operating from a personal account – this unlocks complimentary
marketing information that could inform decisions made down the
line.
Using Facebook Insights, marketers have access to rich data that will
tell them things like: who is in their community, when they are most
active, and what types of content they like.
Social Media Examiner, a popular industry blog, reported that many
businesses consider social media more of a "brand awareness vehicle"
not a tool to generate leads, but this mindset could end up allowing
more forward-thinking brands to snap up customers. It's true that
brand awareness is the core of popular cloud-based services like
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others, but there are simple and
creative ways businesses can use these tools for lead generation and
capture during a trade show.
How to Capitalize on the Trend
Contrary to popular belief, social media is a useful, largely uncharted

territory for lead generation and there are studies to back up the
trend. Marketo, a popular brand marketing frm, released an
article with ample evidence to this point.
"Social marketing is shifting away from company-to-buyer marketing,
and toward peer-to-peer influence marketing," the report asserted.
This statement was supported by market research reflecting a
relatively small pull for consumers in trusting the brand posts on their
social media feed. However, 70 percent of responders asserted that
they value word of mouth marketing from their friends and family
more than any other form of endorsement. Today, 'word of mouth' is
very often digital – a simple tweet from a real-life customer
recommending a product can go a lot further than your standard
marketing copy.
Another great way to use social media as a lead generation tool is for
trade show exhibitors to digitally interact with prospects directly. Social
Media Examiner recommended searching Twitter hashtags relevant to
your brand in order to track down potential users who made not be
aware your service exists.
"Whichever route you choose, join in on relevant chats that potential
customers would be participating in to make sure you gain visibility
with the right people," the report asserted.
Another method is to have your brand engage in its own social media
chat to bring in new customers using a hashtag instead of the old,

easily exhausted social marketing tricks.
Twitter and Linkedin
In considering lead-follow up or pre-show research, you can learn a lot
about a company from its Twitter page. If you use Linkedin and Twitter
your cold calls don't have to feel like cold calls because you know
something about them and can possibly relate on a human level.
Like so many other spaces in the business world, today’s trade shows
are fueled by social media conversations and the buzz they create.
Here’s a look at how you can leverage the power of social across
two important but very different channels:
Twitter Tips
• Create a profle so prospects can fnd you. It is expected that
you will have an active account.
• Use the event hashtag (#ExpoExpo) for Twitter to expand your
audience before, during and after the event. Use them every
time you tweet to help people fnd you. Don’t forget your post-
show thank you’s.
• Search and follow customers and prospects.
• Gain insights prior to the call, check out a prospect’s Twitter
profle for info about the organization, it's staff and upcoming

events.
• You can use Twitter to fnd the companies that you would like to
start working with. Chances are they are on Twitter as a
company or maybe some of the employees are active too.
• Build relationships with Influencers, follow them on Twitter.
Reply to and retweet their most interesting and relevant
content. (ex: Corbin Ball, TSNN, PCMA)
• Make sure to use their username in tweets when you reply,
Sample Tweet:
@lewhoff So nice talking with you today about iLeads, we have a
demo today, wanna join? http://bit.ly/12wOLOv
• Make it easy for your tweets to be re-tweeted. Keep them short
enough so your followers can add hashtags and short
comments. Keep your links short, too, for that reason. With only
140 characters, each space is valuable.
• Use a free URL shortener like Bitly or TinyURL to make a short
and memorable URL from a long URL. Short URL’s are easily
shared, tweeted, or emailed to friends. Also these free tools
track and analyze your links. Visit: www.bit.ly or
www.tinyurl.com
• Tweet frequently, people look at recent tweets to decide
whether or not to follow you.

• Retweet, @replies are very powerful. Like a session speaker?
Tweet a quote out wit the event hashtag and the speakers
username.
• Link to videos and pictures – think variety.
• This platform can be a powerful follow-up tool. Strike while the
iron’s hot – whenever you meet a good prospect at an event always
follow up quickly with a connection request while you are still fresh
in their mind.
• Before calling a customer or prospect open Linkedin and view their
profle. The prospect could be a neighbor, have attended the same
school, have the same hobby, etc.
• Be open with the people when you call about having looked at their
LinkedIn profles. It helps break the ice. Plus it shows you’ve gone to
more trouble than 90% of the other salespeople who call them
every day. “I noticed on your Linkedin profle that we grew up in the
same town!”
• There is a section that says “People Who Have Viewed Your profle”
The fact that someone looked at your profle is a good excuse to
reach out with a connection request.
• Take a look at your top-20 customers' LinkedIn profles, add them
Linkedin Tips

as connections.
Making use of social networking should be at the top of any exhibitor's
event checklist – it can foster interest around your product or service
long before you arrive at the venue.

Turn Your Trade Show Booth into a Lead Magnet
Why is it then that some trade show exhibitors are so subtle in
their signage that attendees, if they stop at all, ask, “What is it
that you do?” If your booth graphics don’t make it crystal clear what it
is that your company offers, you you’ll be fortunate to get even one
person to stop by.
People say not to judge a book by its cover, but chances are the most
visually appealing booth will be the one that gets the lion's share of the
traffic.
While it's true that it can be exciting for trade show attendees to
marvel at a booth that's covered in video displays or swimming in
glitter, this fnancially risky move can lose its luster pretty quickly. Too

much glitz can make a company look insecure in their own product,
whether this is the case or not. Save the fancy techniques for later – at
its core, the exhibition is a place of business.
As trade show regulars have probably noticed, booths with simple but
attractive displays tend to draw the most visitors. A display can often
shape an attendee's frst impression of a frm, so it is crucial for trade
show managers to make their booths both visually appealing and
relevant to the company's products or services.
What companies need to know about trade show displays
While trade show managers may not be creating displays themselves,
they should still know what makes booth designs more aesthetically
appealing to audiences. This will give exhibitors a better idea of what
to look out for when selecting services from a professional design
company.
Pop-up displays can be a great trade show booth idea, as they may be
easily transported and highly customized. Since they are often popular
items at trade events, it is important for pop-up displays to be
designed in a way that makes them stand out. This can be achieved
through the use of specifc features that let attendees know what a
company does and what sets it apart from its competitors. If displays
fail to highlight a frm's unique features, booths may not seem as
interesting to attendees.
Trade show managers should also consider adding accessories to their

booths. Companies have had success using items like widescreen TVs,
light boxes and custom table cloths in their displays, but if employees
think of innovative features that no other booths use, they can greatly
improve their chances of driving traffic to their exhibit.
Provide an up-close-and-personal experience
Do you remember your last visit to an aquarium? The touch pool was
probably one of the most popular exhibits. People love to get up close
and personal with things on display, and this is true of everything from
starfsh to the product you're touting at a trade show. At the end of the
day, although brightly colored displays might catch attendees' eyes,
there's nothing quite like being able to see and feel a product for
yourself.
The blueprint for an effective display
There is no formula for creating the perfect display, but it helps for
businesses to keep in mind that variety is often an integral aspect of
effective booths. Successful exhibits often use a combination of pop-
up displays, accessories and banner stands to drive attendee traffic
and improve lead retrieval results. When communicating with booth
designers to create a display blueprint, trade show managers should
remember that audiences are drawn to booths that clearly indicate the
type of products or services a frm provides. Additionally, the display
should persuade attendees that they need to visit that booth instead
of competitors' exhibits.
Consult the experts

Trade shows can be excellent lead generation opportunities, so it
could be helpful for managers to invest part of their budget toward the
design of an eye-catching exhibit. Hiring a professional booth designer
rather than an ad agency can help businesses to better ensure that
their displays will grab visitors' attention.
If you have previous construction experience or an eye for design,
planning and building your booth might be a task you relish, but if
your strengths lie elsewhere, it's probably time to bring in the
professionals. This isn't an area in which you can afford to be cheap.
Remember that if you approach an exhibit design company and hire a
top-dollar expert to work his or her magic, the expense – though
daunting – will more than likely pay for itself in the form of lead
generation from the dozens of event attendees flocking to your booth.

Help Your Trade Show Staff Bring Their A-Game
"A well trained staff is the most important part of your trade show
experience." Malcom Gilvar, as quoted by Inc.
You could come up with the best trade show booth idea in the world,
but if the people manning your exhibit are rude or uninformed,
chances are it will stick in attendees' minds for the wrong reasons. This
could have a negative effect on your reputation and the way prospects
perceive your brand, so giving booth staff the training they need prior
to a trade show is critical.
Before letting your employees man a booth, you should make sure
they're well-versed in information about the products and services
you'll be promoting. Part of the lead generation process involves

answering questions about
your company's offerings, and
employees who aren't up to
speed might cost you a sale –
or, even worse, a long-term,
proftable relationship with a
customer.
You should also take this
opportunity to ensure your
workers have a solid grasp of
customer service skills and
know how to behave on the
trade show floor. For instance,
if they stand at the back of the
booth chatting with their co-
workers, this might dissuade attendees from coming up to the exhibit
with questions. To make themselves seem as approachable as
possible, staff members should position themselves toward the front
of the booth and be ready to engage prospects at any time.
Emphasizing the importance of such behavior ahead of the trade show
will likely have a positive impact on lead capture.
• Don't skimp on numbers. Be realistic about how many people
you'll need to staff your booth at any one time, and don't forget
to factor in shifts and breaks.
• These employees are on the front lines, so when they come
to you with insights and ideas, listen to them. Chances are they
Booth staff should be
trained with talking
points and sales
messages and be
informed of objectives.
For example: to introduce
a new product or get new
orders for existing
products.
Booth staff should be
able to demo your
product – effortlessly.

know what they're talking about, and they'll feel respected when
you take them seriously.
• Get to know them: their personalities, interests and the way
they behave when they're getting tired. This type of personal
knowledge will help when it comes time to decide whom to send
on break and who to assign to which trade show in the frst
place.
• Even the best workers get burned out and need some
downtime. If the same people have been on the trade show
rotation for months, consider switching them out with other
staff members to give them some time off. When you reassign
them down the line, they'll probably come back better than ever!
• Make sure your employees know what they're signing up
for (or what they've been signed up for, if you appointed
them rather than letting them volunteer). They shouldn't go into
an event having any misconceptions about what's required of
them – ensure they don't expect to sit at the back of the booth
chatting with their colleagues when there's important lead
capture work to be done.

Don’t Tether Staff to Your Booth
Although deserting a booth altogether and leaving it entirely
unmanned is far from best practice, that doesn't mean staff members
shouldn't be encouraged to wander around the exhibition hall from
time to time, provided there's someone else covering the booth.
Authorizing your workers to check out the rest of the event delivers the
following advantages:
1. Staff members can enjoy a change of scene and get a chance to
stretch their legs. When they return to your booth rejuvenated,
they'll be raring to engage in lead capture and draw in attendees
with friendly and sincere smiles.
2. Employees can check out the competition in action and get a
frst-hand look at how your rivals are engaging prospects.
3. In addition to keeping an eye on direct competition, personnel
can also get a feel for how other exhibitors are attracting
attendees and maybe even pick up a good trade show booth
idea or two for next time.
Don't make your staff think they're restricted to observing, though. If
the opportunities present themselves, they should feel empowered to
walk up to prospects and strike up conversations, telling them about
your booth and perhaps even handing them some promotional
collateral. You never know where a chance encounter on the trade

show floor could lead.
Expediting the Lead Capture Process with Badge Scanner
Technology
The ability to follow-up on tradeshow leads is dictated by the manner
in which the leads are collected. If your “system” is to ask for a
business card on the back of which you make a few notations, you will
have a lot of key entry to do and you will have to work on assumptions
for which there may be no foundation. What assumptions? You will not
have the demographic information that is typically encoded on a
tradeshow attendee’s badge. You will have to ask for or do without key
qualifers, such as: 1. Type of business 2. Number of locations 3.
Annual sales 4. Number of employees 5. Level of decision-making
authority of the badge holder 6. Purpose for attending the show
If you suspect your lead retrieval
procedures aren’t quite up to snuff or
simply want to ensure you’re doing
everything you can to bring in new
business, consider leveraging badge
scanner technology.
Using scanners at your booth automates the process of adding
prospects’ information to your database, which will help expedite your
post-show follow-up efforts and ultimately result in more business for
Don’t blow your
budget on
tschotskes before
getting lead
retrieval – you
exhibit at shows to
gather leads, not
giveaway pens.

your company.
Why are business cards not enough?
Not every exhibitor realizes that the information contained in encoded
form on an attendee badge is much more comprehensive than that
which is contained on a business card. A registration form requires
that attendees provide specifc valuable demographic information,
such as the attendee’s level of buying authority, the products and
services in which they have an interest, their budget for such products,
their company’s size, etc.
What Good Are Leads You Can’t Read?
One of the most common challenges for exhibitors is understanding
their notes from an event.
Rookie
mistake:
“Leads” consist
of notes
scribbled on
the back of
business cards.

As an exhibitor, you have a lot of openings to fnd out essential
information about potential leads. These insights can help qualify
follow-up actions and contribute to a successful conversion. However,
the fast and furious pace of a trade show can lead to illegible notes
about contact information, areas of interest and more. Sorting through
the data after an event could leave you wondering exactly how to
follow up with these leads. The problem become even more of an
issue if these potential customers are handed off to other
departments.
Fortunately, technology is making it easier to capture information.
Badge scanners reduce reliance on handwritten notes to create a
database of qualifed leads, and this allows multiple parties to follow
up with interested consumers without a lot of confusion.
The best leads should always contain information about how to follow up.
Some individuals may want to receive a phone call within a week, while
others may prefer to communicate over email. This information is
often not available through badge scanners, but is vital to improving
conversion rates.
The way you approach conversations during trade shows can have a
large impact on your ability to capture essential information. Personal
interactions are the best way to gauge interest, but you may not be the
one to complete follow-ups. To clearly communicate information to
sales or marketing departments, a lot of businesses use notes to
convey insights learned through interactions.

The right lead retrieval software can input information collected from
badge scanners directly into the right CRM for follow-ups.
Attendees often
complain that they
do not receive any
follow-up from the
exhibitor booths they
visited. A good lead
retrieval system will
send an automated
follow-up. Some
systems provide
attendees with an
automated email follow-
up with information from the booths they visited. This gives exhibitors
peace of mind that they will always have a follow-up sent to the
attendees that visited their booth.
How to Tell a Good Lead From a Bad One
Defne who you want to come to your exhibit and target them
specifcally. At a busy trade show, you may not have a lot of time to
spend with each person who comes by your booth. At large events,
hundreds of potential leads will be vying for your attention, and each
one could be the connection needed to capture a big sale. If you keep

attendees waiting too long, they will leave, causing you to miss what
could have been a great opportunity. This makes it vital that you
maximize the value of your conversation with each person to qualify as
many leads as possible during the short time you are able to devote to
them.
Who does your visitor
represent? A Fortune 500 frm?
An Internet hotshot? A multi-
national? A frm on the rise or
on the decline? A company that
you can grow with, or a Goliath
to your David? Why? Why did
your lead attend this event? If
she was looking for
products/services like those
that you offer, you clearly have
a prime prospect. If she was
there to gain competitive
intelligence, that puts her at the other end of the spectrum. In between
there are people who attended the event for any number of reasons.
Perhaps related seminars were of the greatest interest. Or related
products. Or networking. Knowing the reason is important to you in
qualifying your leads.
Why did the lead visit your exhibit? Perhaps a current customer
referred her. That makes her a particularly well-qualifed prospect.
Your visitor might not have a need for your product, but she might

know someone who does. Even a visitor from a competitor does not
have to be unwelcome. He may be an excellent source of information
on mutual competitors. Or he might be someone with an ego, the type
that gives you inside dope on his company order to burnish his image
as an insider. There could be any one of a number of reasons why
someone visits you. Find the one.
Defne the problem your solution can solve
What is the problem that your visitor hopes to solve?
What can you offer as a solution? Defning the problem that your
prospect hopes to solve is not always straightforward. For example, he
might say, “My problem is that our air compressor is only 15
horsepower. Our usage has grown. I need something bigger.” Maybe
he does. Or maybe he simply has the wrong type of compressor. A
newer, more efficient model of the same capacity might serve him
quite well, while reducing his energy consumption. His problem could
be that he does not have a drier to dry the air that the compressor is
using, resulting in excessive moisture that is causing mechanical
damage. If your response is to simply send him a quote on a 25
horsepower compressor to replace his “inadequate” 15 horsepower
unit, you may lose the sale to a more inquisitive salesperson.
Before you can offer a solution, you have to thoroughly understand
the problem. If you want a long-term customer, a “decade-plus
customer,” your goal has to be one of mutual satisfaction, not simply a
sale. You must give the customer a real solution, one that will look as
good, or even better, a year down the road.

When will a decision be made on the product/service that you are
offering? The answer plays a large part in how you prioritize your
leads. To whom do you devote your energies right now, the Fortune
500 lead who plans to purchase in 18 months, or the three-year-old
outft with $2 million in sales with an immediate need? If your
company is frmly established and a leader in its feld, your outlook is
quite different than that of an entrepreneur in the early stages of
growth. Sure, the entrepreneur would like to grab some Mr. Fortune
500’s business, but, hey, 18 months out? For a start-up, that is an
eternity. The lifeblood of a start-up is cash, and cash comes from sales.
How important is it to add qualifers, survey questions and notes to
trade show leads?
Qualifying a lead does not have to be a long, laborious process.
Sometimes a few quick questions can determine if the attendee is
someone eager to move right away, or a potential customer who may
need more extensive nurturing. Fortunately, there are some ways that
you could reduce the time it takes to determine these factors.
Understand what a good lead looks like
When it comes to pulling trade show traffic toward your booth, you
may be tempted to measure your success in sheer numbers. If a lot of
people stop by, that's a good sign, right?
Actually, it depends. For instance, if you're giving away gimmicky or

novel branded gifts, these may attract a lot of attention – but solid lead
generation requires more than just event attendees pocketing a cool
keepsake. The same can be said of an eye-catching trade show booth
idea that, while intriguing to onlookers, might not actually enhance
lead capture.
A longer interview process does not always generate better results.
Businesses often spend hours whittling down candidates for a job
opening only to have them not be a great ft because they were asked
the wrong questions. The trick is to have a better understanding of
what you are looking for, and the same process works with lead
capture strategies. You can tailor questions to quickly fnd key factors
and ensure that you are moving in the right direction.
Measure results and make revisions
Technology is helping to improve every aspect of business. For
instance, metrics are able to determine the likelihood that a job
candidate will be a good ft for a select role. Similar measures could be
used to improve lead qualifcation, as performing analysis of previous
clients can give you a good idea of the ideal customer, which can help
you craft the right questions.
It is also important to measure the success of various trade shows. It
may be difficult to quantify the results of a single event, but the
process could provide insight into how you can improve your
performance. Continually learning and making adjustments allows you
to fnd success at each event.

Seven Booth Traffic Builders to Try
At large trade shows,
hundreds of frms could
be competing to draw
attendees’ attention.
The vast number of
displays with flashy
items and eye-catching
graphics on the floor
could make it difficult
for audiences to decide
which exhibits are truly worth their time.
Therefore, retailers will need to do everything possible to persuade
prospective customers to visit their booths instead of their
competitors’.
Here's some quick tips to try at your next event:
1. Set Up Appointments. Prior to the event, your salespeople should
contact local prospects to set up appointments and see if they are
attending your industry show.
2. Announce incentives on your website, the event Facebook page,

blogs, Twitter page and LinkedIn groups.
3. Offer Exclusive, Time-Sensitive Deals. Everyone loves a good deal,
and the people who frequent trade shows are no exception.
Advertising exclusive offers that expire when the doors of the
exhibition hall close for the day is a great way to not only draw visitors
to your booth but also stimulate on-the-spot lead capture.
4. Be the Charging Station. It's shocking that so many shows don't offer
attendees a charging station. Especially with intermittent Wi-Fi that
tends to really drain your phone battery while searching for a signal
charging up is a necessity. Key tip: Don't waste this opportunity. Have
a video demo on loop at the charging station for your captive attendee
audience, after the video is over, ask what their business challenges
are and what they came to the show to fnd.
5. Be the Wi-Fi Hot Spot. At your booth, create
a broadband cellular hot spot, using a MiFi.
6. Have a Planned Demonstration or
Presentation Schedule. If selling a service,
provide demos. Key Tip: Display when the
next demo will occur. Let attendees know
they they will receive a raffle entry for sitting
in on the short demo.
7. Free Food. Seriously, who can turn down goodies like cookies and
milk, coffee and donuts.

Prior to your event send out an email that leads to a landing page with
available appointment times. Offer an incentive to make a pre-show
appointment. Share this landing page on your social channels and include
the event hashtag, be specifc:
“Pre-book #ASAE15 to our booth to discuss our event app, get a free tech
gift.”
A Lead is a Start…Don’t Blow it, ok?
If you haven’t given serious
thought as to how you will
successfully follow-up
tradeshow leads that you’ve
just collected, your company
has just invested a lot of
money for which its return, if
any, will be based purely on
luck.
Effective tradeshow follow-up
begins long before the last business card is exchanged, long before the last
farewell to your fellow exhibitors. Follow-up preparation begins before the
tradeshow and continues as the show progresses. To a great extent, by the
time you depart the show, the die has been cast.
It’s not where you
start, it’s where you
finish” – Lyrics from
Dorothy Fields in Seesaw

How to Follow-Up
When following up on a lead, focus on this question: What can I offer this
prospect that will add value to his product or service and help differentiate it
from those of his competitors? You may not have been able to sufficiently
analyze his problem on the spot on the tradeshow floor. In the follow-up
phase you have the opportunity to do this and to offer the value add that will
begin a relationship.
Make it easy for your leads to take action. Present the next steps clearly to
them and quickly. When will a decision be made on the product/service that
you are offering? The answer plays a large part in how you prioritize your
leads. To whom do you devote your energies right now, the Fortune 500 lead
who plans to purchase in 18 months, or the three-year-old outft with $2
million in sales with an immediate need?
Email is great for follow-up because you don’t get caught playing phone tag.
You also have entered your prospects inbox. Now they can follow-up on you.
Start with an e-mail message or brief letter thanking your prospect for having
visited your exhibit.
What to Include in that frst email
Provide your prospect with a value add, either a solution to his
problem or a means of differentiating his product or service. Close
with a call for action. Since your initial point of contact was a
tradeshow, you might instill a sense of urgency by offering some type
of show special, some inducement for him to act now. This is the “tell

him” phase. Offer this prospect a clear conversion path: an quick
product overview to remind them what you sell, then a case-study or
testimonial, a demo and then fngers crossed you will get to close the
deal. In another fve to seven days, tell him what you’ve told him. Send
an e-mail or letter recapping the benefts your organization is
prepared to deliver that will solve problems or differentiate products.
Offer a compelling reason to act now.
Don’t expect a one shot follow-up to produce results. Too frequently
an exhibitor’s follow-up, if you can call it that, consists of nothing more
than a single piece of literature with a “personal” cover letter.
Don’t kid yourself. That isn’t follow-up. After you send an email, call to
follow up. If they have not received your info, you can quickly email it
to them (possibly again) while you are one the phone. In your next
email recap the benefts your organization is prepared to deliver that
will solve problems or differentiate products. Offer a compelling
reason to act now.
Conclusion
If you have prepared well in advance and executed your plan during
the show, then many of your generated leads will result in sales, or
better yet, in decade-plus customers.
Preparation, execution and above all lead follow-up are the elements
that will assure that you will realize a substantial return on
investment.

If you get a chance, check out our tradeshow resources page that will suggest
ideas on how to be more successful as a event organizer and exhibitor.
More tips at: www.bartizan.com/blog

The Ultimate Guide to Tradeshow Lead Generation

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The Ultimate Guide to Tradeshow Lead Generation