Measurement Tip 30

Gathering the Right Information at Trade Shows and Events

Most often show managers leave a trade show or event with what they consider to be a substantial amount of leads. However, once these contacts are properly formatted into a leads database, it becomes clear that event staff neglected to capture key pieces of information from the potential prospect or lead.

Information such as time-frame of purchase intent, need for a follow-up or even the prospect’s specific interest is almost always not properly documented and leaves the sales team with very little to follow-up with after a show.

Take for example, a client of ours that documented close to 300 leads at a trade show and was initially satisfied with this result. However, once the information was processed in a database it was clear that only 40% of the prospects could be deemed a “qualified” lead. Most lead entries in the client’s database had little to no additional information to pass on to the sales team for targeted follow-up.

If show managers streamline the process by which they capture leads information at a trade show or event by using a well thought-out lead documentation system and implore the value of capturing the information to event staff through pre-show training, then they can produce more promising prospect information.

Remember, training exhibit staff on the value of documenting key customer or prospect information is a process that takes time. Show managers must slowly create this “culture” shift within the organization and find an approach that works the best for their team.