Exhibiting at a trade show is a way to connect with potential customers for your business face to face, and an opportunity to begin building a relationship based on a real human interaction. Even in today’s world of online buying, creating this type of connection with the people who stop by your booth can let your company stand out in their minds in a different way than your website or online content can. 
A trade show also gives you access to a targeted audience, since most are centered around a specific topic or industry. That way, you’ll know the people attending are already interested in an area related to your business. This is also a reason why you should carefully choose which trade shows to attend. Make sure the trade show you choose is a good fit for your business, and that the people attending represent your typical customers. Otherwise, the investment you make in attending the show (which often isn’t cheap) may not be worth it.
81% of trade show attendees have buying authority, reports Proposify. Access to these people can result in a big pay off for your company. All of the business cards you collect at a trade show are leads for your company. Make sure you’re maximizing those business cards to get the most ROI from the trade show.
Start At The Booth
Anyone you talk to at a trade show has the potential to be a customer. The trick is to find out who might actually become one, and who is just there for the free swag, all in a short period of time. In each conversation, you need to show your value and be as helpful and educational as possible, just as you would in a sales call with a sales qualified lead. This is not just about selling them on your product.
Learn as much as you can about each person and their needs. Take notes as well that you can use to follow up after the show.
Qualify Your Leads
Just like any other lead that engages with your business, the people you meet at a trade show must be qualified. Remember who your buyer persona is. Do the people you spoke with fit the profile? Maybe some of the people who visited your booth are interested in your product or service, but are not a good match for another reason. You may need to do some additional research to find out. Part of maximizing those business cards you collected is knowing who has the best chance of becoming a customer. Understand if you can actually help them. Otherwise it’s a waste of your time and resources.
Follow Up
After you’ve done the hard work at the trade show of connecting with people and gathering their contact information, your work isn’t done. It’s time to make sure you’re maximizing those business cards by having a strategy for following up with these new prospects.
Make sure to follow up in a timely manner, while the trade show is still fresh in both of your minds. If possible, even try to move people to the next step during the show. This might mean setting up a sales call or demo, or signing them up for a trial. Capitalize on their attention now. They’re focused on being at the show, not back in the regular business of their day to day schedule.
If you reach out in the days following the trade show, use the notes you took during the conversation to remind the person of who you are and hopefully have a more genuine connection. Don’t hesitate to reach out again if your first attempted is unreturned. Chances are they are also catching up at the office after a few days away.
Lead Nurturing
Not everyone you talk to at the trade show will be ready to take the next step with your business. Based on what you’ve learned about them, you should segment and nurture your leads to hopefully move them towards becoming a customer. Consider setting up an automated workflow specifically designed for the people you meet at the trade show. They can be automatically enrolled once you’ve saved their contact information from the business card.
