Seven Tips on Collecting Leads at Trade Shows

Trade shows are an excellent source of qualified prospects. However, many businesses return from these events with fewer leads than anticipated or many unqualified leads.

How can your brand improve your results from trade shows? Our trade show advertising specialists at Oser Communications Group have put together some top tips for collecting leads at trade shows.

1. Design a Lead Generation Plan

Before heading off to a trade show, you must determine what you intend to achieve from the event.

What type of leads do you intend to capture? What are your goals?

Perhaps you want more signups for a free product sample or to grow your email subscriber list. No lead generation campaign can be successful if it doesn’t have a goal and a plan to achieve it.

2. Promote the Trade Show

As the date for the trade show draws closer, it’s important to let prospective attendees know that your brand will be at the event.  

Write a blog post about attending the event. Schedule a few posts about the show on social media. The goal is to encourage as many people as possible to meet you at the event.

3. Send a Qualified Team

The best team to send to a trade show is one that combines some of your best sales personnel. Send people with the right experience and training to talk to highly qualified leads.

4. Create a Streamlined Process for Your Booth Management

A quality booth management process helps you separate real prospects from random attendees. Here’s an example of what a successful booth process looks like:

• Greet the visitor
• Scan the visitor’s badge
• Ask qualifying questions (to weed out unqualified suspects)
• Demonstrate your products to qualified suspects
• Get a commitment for a call, physical meeting, or other forms of follow-up communication

Collecting leads at trade shows is easier if you have a quality process in place.

5. Pay Attention to Your Booth Design

You want your booth to stand out from the dozens of other businesses at the trade show. Ensure it is welcoming enough without losing your brand identity.

A colorful booth with neatly designed, legible banners can help boost booth traffic.

6. Don’t Be Quick to Dispatch Promo Material 

Excellent booth management ensures you don’t hand out promo material and literature prematurely. However, even if you don’t have a booth management process, you should still avoid handing out literature too quickly. Otherwise, you’ll find most materials on the floor and in trash bins.

7. Leverage Technology

The days of lugging writing pads and paper forms to trade shows are long gone. You should incorporate technology into your trade show planning.

Using digital tools to scan attendee badges and collect their business card will significantly simplify the follow-up process.

Get More Expert Advice On Trade Show Lead Generation

Do you need more guidance on collecting leads at trade shows? Are you looking for a qualified event marketing consultancy group to work with?

Call our experts at Oser Communications Group at (520) 721-1300. We can offer guidance on everything from literature material to booth display colors for trade shows.