Is your team following up after the show?

Each year, you spend more time than you would like pouring over your trade show budget trying to maximize each spend and ensuring each choice will bring in the right leads to create the strongest relationships. But, what happens after the show? Has all your hard work paid off when the show comes to a close and you hand over your leads to your sales team for follow up?

After all the planning, budget allotment and hard work, many companies fail to follow up after a trade show. Here are some steps you, as an exhibit manager, can take to ensure follow-up to your prospects has occurred:

Importance of Good Lead Collection

Whether you are using the newest technology in lead capture or hand-writing notes, make sure you are gathering information that you and your sales team can use:

Correct contact information. Write down all the contact information you need to reach the prospect (both phone and email addresses). Always take the opportunity to correct the show’s information, many times prospects’ badging information will be wrong. Train your staff to ask attendees if it is correct.
Product or service interests
Attendees’ questions or inquiries
Label the leads. Determine a coded system that all members of your team will use to denote hot and cold leads.
Assign the lead to a team member. Train your team members to indicate who is the best team member to follow up with the prospect. When it has a name assigned to it, the lead is more likely to be followed up on then an open lead.

Train Your Staff

Set aside enough time before the show start to train each team member on the lead capture at the show. Discuss with the sales manager how show follow up will occur and review that with the team as part of the training.

Follow up Before You Start

Create a follow-up plan before you leave for the show. If your team needs tools (such as emails, brochures or letters), complete these before you leave for the show and give them to the sales team before the show. Some sales reps may want to get their follow up completed in the evenings while still at the show.

Create a post-show marketing plan. While the sales team is working through the leads, keep the your company’s brand in front of prospects. Create a post-show plan that touches the prospect on a routine, frequent basis beginning as the show ends. You can also schedule an email blast to go to prospects’ in-boxes at the close of show.

Exhibitors Connection specializes in creating an on-site, event marketing team that will best represent your brand, your company and be a natural extension of your team. Let us know if we can help you pick the right team for your next event, 773.631.9465.