Tradetec Skyline

One of the biggest aspects of trade shows is following up on all qualified leads in a timely manner and conducting a post show evaluation. This key area is where most trade show exhibitors fail for a couple of reasons.

• 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.

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