You spend weeks preparing for an all-important trade show, and sure enough, everything goes off without a hitch. Your snazzy new booth draws a lot of foot traffic, and your engagement activity brings in many promising leads. Your print, online and social media outreach campaigns wow some key prospects. And even your competitors marvel at your ability to make connections and relate to customer “pains.”  You have done everything to achieve an unqualified success — except follow through. About 80 percent of contacts made at trade shows are never contacted after the last booth is dismantled, and that cou ld represent a lot of lost business for you. Even more, “dropping the ball” on a hot lead sends a negative message about your ability to stay organized, engaged and focused — qualities that probably matter to the kinds of clients you want to attract. Where do you start?

The problem with trade show follow-up is that you may not know where to begin. You’re too busy at the show to do much beyond keep up with the traffic during the day and stay in touch with the home office at night.  Then when you get back to your desk, you find a daunting volume of email about new and current projects you had  to “ignore” while away. However, an effective follow-up plan is spread out over time, beginning at the show and continuing for weeks afterward. Here are some ways to take better advantage of your opportunities:

Perform on-the-spot screenings. Within a few minutes of engaging with a trade show attendee, you have a fair idea if your services are a good fit for his or her needs. If everything goes well, take some mental and physical notes: products the person is interested in, services you talked about, maybe even a visual clue about the person’s appearance.

Touch base with priority prospects at the show. At the first opportunity, follow up by sending your best prospects an email or text invitation to return to your booth for an activity or more information. Keep it pleasant and to the point. After all, prospects are as busy and overwhelmed at the show as you are. Follow up with everyone else as soon as possible.  Within a few days of returning to your office, reach out to attendees who showed some promise but weren’t quite as interested as your star prospects. Your punctuality, pitch and professionalism may prompt them to take another look.

Get organized and take the long view. When you’ve caught your breath, compile a list of everyone you spoke to at the trade show. Categorize your leads and develop a high-level communications plan that notes the messages and frequency appropriate for each group. “Warm” leads, for example, may merit a personalized letter and customized information kit that puts you front and center again. Make your next move known. As you have news to share — a press release about a new product launch or your plans to attend another show — reach out to contacts that turned cold. As appropriate, share your news and express hope that you will see the individual again soon. It’s just another way to stay in touch with someone who once showed interest and may again.

Know when to quit.

At some point, your outreach efforts will pass a point of diminishing returns. Certainly, you want to continue communicating with anyone who lodges a serious inquiry. But if, after several attempts, your friendly and informative touch points meet with a stony silence, leave the individual alone and move on. You’ll both be glad you did. 

Guest Blogger:  Progressive Impressions International (Pii) has worked with corporate marketers to develop programs with personalization to support sales representatives working from local offices and stores. Pii has the resources to design, implement and update complete marketing solutions to keep pace with your changing needs. Pii specializes in maximizing customer relationships through education, cross-sell/upsell and channel marketing solutions to capture the full lifetime value of your customers.  View their website at www.whateverittakes.com