How to Keep Trade Show Leads from Falling Through the Cracks
The whole point of your trade show experience is to get the word out about your company. It’s an opportunity to let people know you’re there, to inform them about who you are, what you stand for and what you offer. It’s a chance to gain new customers and clients.
Of course, if you don’t take care to keep organized and properly follow up, you can find these clients disappear after the show. Learn some best practices for trade show lead retention to help keep those potential new convention clients from falling through the cracks after the show.
Trade Show Lead Retention
Trade show lead retention is an art as much as it is a science. It means you need to make the right approach to draw people in. It also means you need to take the right steps to cement, hold and encourage those leads to grow into an ongoing relationship. It’s like fishing—once you hook the catch, you need to reel it in.
Get to Know Your Leads
The first thing you need to do is get to know your leads. Understand who they are and what they need from you. Ask the right questions in the booth, and take notes about what you discuss so that later, you can pick up the conversation, making it less of a cold call and more of an ongoing discussion. Names and contacts aren’t enough; you need real information.
Follow Up Quickly
Don’t wait months on end to send a follow-up to your new leads. Be timely and appropriate with your follow-up. Be personal and remind them about your conversation, and do it in a reasonable frame of time after the convention. If you made any promises on the floor of the show be sure to follow through.
Nurture Your Leads
You need to have a clear plan and system for nurturing leads. A system and a plan lead to preparation, and good preparation is the key to ongoing success. You may need to contact your lead five or more times before you actually cement them as a customer. Don’t give up after one lead, but be respectful and don’t be pushy. Be timely and on schedule.
Use All Available Technology
You’d be amazed how many businesses don’t leverage all the technology they can. This is the digital age. If you’re not using computer programs, social media, mobile apps and all the tech at your finger tip for every stage of your lead generation and nurturing process, you’re missing out on an important tool.
Exercise Patience
This is the biggest key to lead retention. Be patient. This process isn’t going to instantly and magically generate results. It requires ongoing effort and patience on your part. It’s a process that takes time and you need to have salespeople who can track the span of a relationship and nurture it properly, following up so that no one falls through the cracks.
Use the Right Exhibit Services
If you want to engage in the best trade show lead retention, the right exhibit services are essential. Contact Xibit Solutions today to find out how we can greatly improve both your lead generation and retention strategies with outstanding trade show presence.
