Trade show success rule # 4 – follow-up

Many businesses greatly diminish the potential and value of exhibiting at trade shows be doing poor, and sometimes no, follow-up. To maximize trade show benefit follow-up needs to be included as a strategy and be made part of the planning process. Here is my planning for follow-up after exhibiting at the AIO convention next week:

1. Take thank-you notes, envelopes, and stamps to the show. Each day I will write and send a personal thank-you note for each person I spoke with during the day who provided me with a card or contact information. I’ll also send a thank-you note to each person who dropped a card in the fishbowl for the GPS drawing.

2. Create a database of all contacts made at the show and include pertinent notes for each person. Again, I’ll do this daily while information is still fresh.

3. Follow-up each contact after the show, in writing, with a letter and marketing literature.

4. A week after the show call each person with whom I discussed our products and who showed specific interest in the products.

5. Within two weeks after sending out letters, follow-up with each prospect by phone. The purpose of the call is to: a) determine need and interest in our products; b) gauge reaction to the products we exhibited at the show.

6. Do additional follow-up as situations dictate.

Using this process I should be able to significantly “touch” each person who visited the booth and generate both short-term and long-term business.

I’ll let you know how it works out.

Will Limkemann