Trade Shows true value: Follow Up Leads

Trade Shows true value, believe it or not, is after the show with the "follow-up"!

For most it's tempting, after the preparation to get ready for a trade show and the hours on the trade show floor, to just come back and collapse. But as I stated earlier, the real value of being at a trade show -- why it's worth your money -- comes when you follow up on the leads and contacts you make.

Our author offers some guidelines in order to make the most out of the "follow-up":

Organize leads while still at the trade show. Most people return from a trade show with a stack of business cards.

Start tracking contacts and leads as you get them. For every trade show, bring a separate-bound notebook, stapler, and pens.

Start the follow-up process as soon as you get back to the office. You don't want to lose the momentum created at the show. Rule of thumb is if you wait more than 48 hours to start following up, there's a good chance you'll never do it.

Have a follow-up "summit" in your office to review leads. Bring all those who will have follow-up responsibility together to discuss the leads, make follow-up assignments and set deadlines. Turn those business cards into an action plan.

Make the first follow-up. The easiest way is to send each lead an e-mail. Thank them for visiting your booth, remind them who you are and what your company does, and tell them they'll be hearing from you again soon. Personalize your message and don't be too vague in your subject line, so they don't think your message is spam.

Do what you've promised -- immediately. If you've had good interactions with strong leads and promised to do something for them when you got back to the office do that right away.

Add all your new leads and contacts to your company's mailing list and contact management system. The people who aren't in the market for your product or service immediately are still involved in your industry, so they're most likely to know others who may be interested in your products or services.

As I've stated countless times on this site, trade shows are one of the most effective and efficient ways for business owners to build their customer base. But they take work, before, during and -- especially -- after the show. You've got to turn that pile of business cards into gold. Proper preparation would have included the purchase of certain displays like pop up display units, trade show booth panels, brand identification through high end tradeshow booth graphics, and possible accessories including banner display stands, trade show lighting, and special custom printed carpet. All these items combined with your pre, during and post show marketing will no doubt help increase bottom line sales and increase your new customer base.