It’s trade show season again, and you’re about to invest a significant amount of time and money. As someone who has attended and exhibited at countless events, I know the drill. Trade shows are fixtures on the calendar, with product launches often timed to coincide.
Booth costs, staffing, travel—all these expenses add up quickly, and the pressure for a solid ROI is real. Yet, too often, these events can feel like just another cost of doing business.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Here’s a checklist to help you make sure no opportunity slips through the cracks.
- Set Clear Goals: Define what success looks like. Are you targeting a specific number of leads? Do you want to schedule demos or meetings on-site?
- Train Your Team: Ensure your booth staff understands common customer issues and challenges and how to qualify leads. Provide scripts or key questions to identify decision-makers. Train them on how to take good conversation notes.
- Leverage Pre-Show Marketing: Use email campaigns and social media to announce your presence. Offer incentives, like a free consultation, to encourage visitors to stop by.
- Prepare Your Tools: Have lead capture systems (e.g., badge scanners or apps) ready and tested. Ensure everyone knows how to use them.
- Engage Strategically: Approach attendees proactively but avoid hard sells. Focus on understanding their pain points.
- Qualify Leads in Real-Time: Use a simple scoring system (e.g., A, B, C) to prioritize follow-up.
- Capture Detailed Notes: Record insights like challenges discussed or buying timelines. Context is king when following up.
- Showcase Value: Highlight how your product or service solves their problems. Have visuals or demos ready to make an impact.
- Act Quickly: Follow up within 48 hours. Send personalized emails referencing your trade show conversation.
- Segment Your Leads: Focus on high-priority leads first. Use automation tools to nurture less urgent prospects.
- Debrief Your Team: Review what worked and what didn’t. Adjust your strategy for the next event.
- Measure ROI: Track metrics like lead conversion rates to evaluate your trade show success.
- Relying on memory instead of detailed notes. Figure out a way to do this, even during busy times.
- Delaying follow-ups, causing prospects to lose interest. If you wait more than 48 hours to follow up on leads, your chance of closing dr!ops dramatically?
- You are overloading your team with low-quality leads. Giving away swag to get leads is the worst idea you can make. It results in trash leads, and your sales team will hate you. Qualify the lead first, and then give swag.
Trade Show ROI Stats (from Tradeshowlabs.com)
Here’s an overview of some key stats about the ROI that trade shows have to offer.
- Regrettably, a mere 6% of exhibitors are confident in their ability to convert leads at a trade show effectively.
- 40% of exhibitors wait between three to five days after a trade show to follow up with their leads.
- 81% of exhibitors use email to follow up with leads collected at a trade show.
- On average, it takes approximately 3.5 sales calls to close a lead generated at a trade show.
- Converting a trade show lead is 38% less expensive than relying on sales calls alone.
- For those who put in the effort and follow up, 5 to 10% of trade show leads can convert.
- Among Fortune 500 companies, 14% reported a 5:1 return on investment (ROI) from their trade show exhibitions, meaning they earned $5 for every $1 spent.
- 52% of business leaders believe that trade shows and events provide the greatest ROI compared to other marketing channels.
- Companies can see a 4:1 return on investment (ROI) for their trade show expenditures.
I hope this helps some of you with upcoming shows. What’s your biggest challenge in turning trade show connections into lasting business relationships? Let’s discuss in the comments!
