How to Follow-up After a Trade Show

If you’ve ever exhibited at a trade show, you probably know that is one of the most costly and time-consuming ways to connect with new buyers. Despite the disadvantages and attendance decline in recent years, trade shows continue to be considered by many an event still worth going to network with professionals and increase your sales. But why it is so important to follow up after a trade show?

The main problem is that many small and medium enterprises don’t know how to maximize their return on investment from trade shows. Considering the time, hard work and money a trade show requires, a well-thought plan is critical if you want to get the full advantage of it. Thus, once you’ve gathered the full list of leads during the event, you need to follow up correctly.

This is where it goes wrong for most companies. The leads get to be split up among the different account managers and sales reps or are sent to other regional offices. This is practical if every sales rep has a certain territory. If they didn’t speak to the leads themselves can be a costly mistake, having the effect of losing the conversation momentum.  Here is a short guide with the 5 most important steps on how to successfully follow up after a trade show on your leads.

First Week After the Show

In general, by the end of such big networking events, exhibitors should have gathered a considerable amount of newly formed connections. Some of the leads have little potential while other may have a larger potential to have an impact. That’s why, It is essential to keep organized notes on what was discussed during the show together with the contact information or business cards. 

The next crucial step is to enter all this information into your CRM system as soon as possible. Whoever attended the trade show from your team must be accountable to write a short summary about what was discussed with the lead. For example, if interested in this product or another or the lead is working on project X and we can help them with Y, etc. 

If anything, prioritizing trade show follow-ups is a must if you want to increase your return on investment. If you implement a well-structured strategy, you are significantly increasing the chances that the deals pursued will be closed. Without further due, let’s go through our top tips on how to follow up after a trade show in the consumer electronics industry.

1. Categorize your Leads

A necessary step, which can be basically considered a preparation step, is the prioritization of leads. Even though this step does not entail any interaction with a potential client, it is highly recommended that it takes place directly following the event. It will help you recall and review all the people you came in contact with. Consequently, you will be able to choose wisely how to categorize them.

After events of such magnitude, having a clear picture of which leads are more and less important (“hot” or “cold”) is very useful. You can start contacting the leads that you most care about, without letting too many days pass after the show.  If you want to go a step further, you can also create segments by industry, location, or even sale probability. Additionally, during this procedure, you may sort out certain leads that you might have thought were a good fit, but in the end, didn’t align with your current goals.

2. Send personal emails

Once you’ve prioritized your leads, you can reach out to them by email. An important aspect of emails is personalization. The prospects usually receive many emails when they return from the event. On top of that, they will need to catch up on all the emails they haven’t responded to while they were out of the office. Therefore, getting through the noise is essential. The only way of doing so is to stand out and remind them about the conversation you had.  If you decide to reach out to your leads through an email campaign, you need to personalize it. Take our word on this, when it comes to following up with prospective customers there is nothing worse than sending an impersonal email campaign, addressing all your contacts at once. 

In general, we encourage you to tailor your message as much as possible, so that in the end, it conveys a more personal tone. This significantly increases your chances of getting a positive reply. The good news is that a follow-up email isn’t a cold email. You have already met the lead in-person. So take advantage and make it as much personal as you can by including related details.

How to structure your email

When writing your follow-up email try to refrain from immediately expressing your main objective (i.e. buy the product). In the beginning, it’s better to express your interest in the possibility of becoming partners. For example, the first email can just be a short introduction of yourself. It could also be a reminder of your interaction with the person. In some cases, it is better to wait for the other person’s response. Then you can find the right moment to bring forward your point. Take into consideration that the deal should happen naturally and for that, patience is key!

Whilst longer and more descriptive emails appear enticing when it comes to following up the first time, shorter emails are preferred. Why? At this stage, all you need to achieve is getting the attention of your preferred leads. By sending a simple and personalized email, you can make it easier for the other person to respond back. Think about the type of emails you would like to receive after a big event such as a trade show. You usually receive tens or hundreds of emails in your inbox.

As mentioned above, the first email should be sent within a week after the show. If there is no response, you can follow up with a second email two or three weeks later. 

3. Call 

A more traditional, but effective method of reaching back is the phone call. If you are a person of action and you really had a great click with your lead during the event, then calling your leads directly might be the go-to option for you. You will not only have the opportunity to communicate directly with the other person, but through phone calls, you will be able to develop a more one-to-one relationship and create a smooth transition after your in-person meeting. Of course, you need to keep certain parameters in mind. For instance, proximity and time zone and consider first if it makes sense to call the other person. 

4. Connect on LinkedIn

Connecting on LinkedIn applies to all kinds of leads (high/low priority, fit/not fit). Nowadays, connecting with other people on LinkedIn has become an unconscious act. So why not turn it to your advantage? Even if you don’t expect to close a deal with a potential customer, it is always encouraged to follow, like and comment on the posts of the people you met in events like trade shows. It is a great way to grow your professional network and simultaneously increase the credibility and reputation of your company as a whole.

5. Schedule a video call

What’s even better than calling? Connecting again through a video call or in-person! Of course, in-person, it is easier if you are in the same region. This is rarely the case given that remote work has become more common. Usually, you meet people from all over the globe at trade shows and video calls are a great alternative to meeting in person. Having said that, if you have the opportunity and the time to schedule an in-person meeting, you can increase your chances to close a good deal.

Using any or all of the above-mentioned tips will help you increase your returns on your trade show investment. Believe it or not, studies show that most companies lose most of the leads after the show. They usually send one email and archive the leads or pass it on to another colleague who forgets about them. The key to success is to follow up after a trade show, correctly with your prospects. Don’t forget to prioritize your leads and make sure that your emails stand out.

If you are a consumer electronics brand and you are searching for a more affordable and cost-effective way to get your product in front of the right distributors and retailers and increase your revenue, regardless if you are attending trade shows or not, we welcome you to Tradesnest. 

If you want to learn more about the differences between Tradesnest and trade shows and how Tradesnest can give you access to distributors and retailers from anywhere in the world, we invite you to read this article.