Whether you are exhibiting at a  Chicago Trade Show, Las Vegas Trade Show or are just conducting business, the key to success is constant follow up.  Staying on peoples mind’s will help in building brand awareness.  Simply in every day life, following up can lead to strong lasting relationships.

Show services always offers lead retrieval but what happens your company has opted out of that service and the business cards have accumulated in the bottom of briefcases? Putting a plan of action together for strict follow up can be a daunting task.  Finding a reliable source for Trade Show Lead Follow up can assist in bringing in new business generated from your recent trade shows.

Keeping a clean database of names and records for all your trade show practices can be accomplished with online exhibit management software and a dedicated staff that will help get all your leads in perspective.  Allowing you to figure out your trade show ROI, so that your company can best focus on the strongest leads first and foremost, while the potential client is still in trade show mode.

There are an abundance of machines that can make your life easier when it comes to managing your contacts.  Even outsourcing your trade show follow up can begin to bring in new business.

Here are some tips for managing the leads that you and your staff work so hard to collect. First, we hear from a reader who has a suggestion for capturing more complete information on the visitors to your exhibit.

Have your staff fill out the lead generation card rather than the prospect or customer. This way you are sure to get all of the pertinent information as well as make a personal connection with that lead. It also gives the staff member a better opportunity to find out the exact needs of the prospect.

- Denise Stabler, Future Industries

Another important aspect of managing that lead is making sure that your message survives beyond the run of the show. Here’s what another trade show marketer does to ensure lasting impact.

90% of all sales literature distributed at an event is often thrown out at the trade show, either by sales people or attendees themselves. We bring limited quantities and only use sales literature as conversational visual aides. [You may want to load the literature into a ring binder so that it’s apparent that it is not for deposit into the show tote bag.] Always take the customers name and information and send literature after the show. Only hand out literature as a last resort when customers indicate they prefer to take it at the show.

- Kelly Steinkirchner, Product Mgr, Buffalo Filter

There is a much better chance that you products and services will get better consideration in the relative quiet of the lead’s office versus the distraction-laden show floor. As the next tip points out you might also save on those expensive freight and drayage costs by limiting the amount of samples and brochures that you bring to the event.

In our business of fabric manufacture, we have found people prefer to be mailed sample swatches after the show rather than take them along from our exhibit. This has allowed us to ship less to the show site, and also enables us to contact the office daily with sample requirements that can be sent out – to be waiting for potential customers when they return home from the show.

- M. Reardon – Tweave, Inc.

Prompt follow-up can pay big dividends.

Be quick and effective with the leads, not only when you come back from the show, but also when the show is still running!! Don’t wait too long; your prospect can forget you. Be the first who come back to him with all the answers, quotes, literature, that they requested! Make sure they will remember your company …so before the prospects leave the booth, ask them for the best time to call back. Let them know what you will talk about.

- Name withheld by request

An effective means of getting the sales staff to follow up on the show leads is to keep an eye on the quality of the leads that you provide. Here is an idea that might help to get the quantity of qualified leads on the increase in your program.

The success of a trade show is often measured by the number of leads created (especially qualified leads). However, trade show staff often forgets to get the visitor’s contact info or to indicate what they are interested in. As a result you end up with either very few leads or leads that the sales team throws away as unqualified.

Use an incentive such as internal contest to see who gathers the most qualified leads among your staff. The qualification should include the basic information needed by sales; what product they are interested in, when do they plan on buying, how much money is in their budget, when would they like the follow-up call. [It doesn’t hurt to review your definition of a qualified lead with your sales team before the show to confirm their needs.] Have regular staff updates during the show to share their rankings as a way to remind them that their #1 goal is to gather qualified leads.

- John McDonald, CTO – blueC 802, Inc..

A speedy follow-up keeps the interest and continuity going from the excitement that you generate in the show hall. Here are a couple of methods that exemplify what works for many readers.

Our main objective is to capture email addresses and to send out the first email within 48 hours. It is far more effective than waiting 3 or 4 weeks to follow-up.

- Dianne Beveridge, Data Harvest Educational Group

This sentiment is echoed in this example from another reader.

Send a “thank you” e-mail the evening after an attendee stops by your booth. The e-mail should have your company’s graphic identification and your contact info. This is an immediate reminder of your company’s product or service and sets a tone of professionalism and customer-focused service.

- Martha Davis — CBCAmRent

We hope that you have gotten something of value from these trade show tips. Making the most of the opportunities presented by good lead management can give your exhibiting program quite a boost.

Tradetec Skyline Trade Show Services

• Your in box is full of emails, your voice mail is overflowing and you need to check on your current projects.
• You assume that all the people you met at the trade show will call you because you gave them a brochure and they are certain to remember you.

No doubt, you will have some catch up to do after the trade show but the key to success is to prioritize your post trade show activities. First, follow-up with all urgent issues immediately. Second, deal with issues that have come up with existing clients while you were away. Lastly, put all non-critical functions aside and start your trade show follow-up. Follow-Up – Immediately!

Call the most serious prospects first. You should follow-up with all your leads within 48 hours of the show by email or phone. Email all qualified booth attendees who provided contact information. In addition to following up with leads obtained at your trade show, one of the most important post show activities is to conduct a post show analysis. By answering some basic questions you will identify things that will help you when planning future events. Some of the key questions to ask are:

• What worked?
• What didn’t work?
• Was the booth functional?
• Was the booth in the right location?
• Was this the right trade show four our organization?
• Did I meet the right people?
• What did I learn from others?
• What did I learn about the competition?

At some point you will be able to call the effect of the trade show complete and measure your results against your initial objectives. If you kept good records of this activity, you should now be able to evaluate the effects of this particular show.