Trade shows are a great way to make a splash in your industry. If you choose wisely, you’ll be surrounded by potential customers, excited fans, and influencers to get the word out about your product. It’s an investment that can pay dividends long into the future.
To get the best return, you need to strategically follow up after the event is over. Once the craziness of the event is over and you’re back in the office, compile the contacts your team collected and process all the information into a simple, Easy to read spreadsheet with some simple column headings:
• Company.
• Contact Name.
• Role Title.
• Email.
• Enquiry Information/Notes.
Prepare a standard letter or email in advance of the event, which suits most enquiries, thanking them for visiting your stand that day and promising that a named individual will contact them within the agreed timescale.
Hot leads need to be followed up within three or four days of the event to prevent competitors from stealing the deal. Initial rapport would have been established at the show so this gives a good basis to turn a hot lead into a sale. And the Warm and cold leads can wait but an acknowledgement for their attendance to your stand Or commitment to the next step should also be agreed within those post-event days.
The month after the exhibition is prime time for converting warm leads into a sale. If they handed over their business card or contact information it means they are likely to still remember you which leave a basis to make contact and connect.
Make sure your sales professionals individually follow up with the people they spoke with, whether that’s through sending email, connecting on LinkedIn, or following them on Twitter. People build relationships with people, not companies.
