Follow Up & Results: Make a Follow Up Plan and Stick to It!

The best time to plan for follow-up is before the show. Most companies do not have an effective follow-up plan for their tradeshow leads. Once the show is over and the booth dismantled, the leads become the property of the sales department. They then get divided up (geographically) among the sales force. Effective follow-up is too valuable a tool to misuse. It is to your advantage to develop an organized, systematic approach to follow-up.

Use all available resources – an inside sales team, your marketing team, or an outside firm to qualify leads for you. This will dramatically increase results. Aim for quality rather than quantity. The tradeshow gave you the opportunity to gain face-to-face contact with key prospects. To dramatically improve your sales results, consider how you can maximize your show connection, and be prepared to contact every lead immediately after the show. If you don’t, your competitors will!

Written by Susan A. Friedmann, CSP, The Tradeshow Coach, Lake Placid, NY, working with exhibitors and meeting & event planners to improve their event success through coaching, consulting and training