I flew home from a client's trade show in Las Vegas the night before Sarah and I recorded this one. I don't even remember the flight.
We were there to help the client get a return on the event. Everybody knows the booth costs money. What gets missed is the travel, the hotels, the weeks of prep and three to five people out of the office for most of a week. Sarah thinks of revenue as including the money you protect, and event budgets get less scrutiny than almost anything else in a business.
This post is based on Episode 81 of Revenue Rewired. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Spotify, or Amazon.
Our client and I started talking about a month before the show. They had eight to ten goals, with generating interest making up about 40% of the weight. We met two or three times a week from then on.
I researched last year's event the way I'd prep for one of our quarterly meetings. I read the posts and comments, called people who went, compared the agenda and speakers, and got on a call with the conference hosts. By the time we sat down with the client, it felt like we'd attended last year. They were launching two new offerings at the show, so we also planned how to test the messaging live.
Then at lunch on one of the show days, I sat next to a salesperson from another company. He found out about the conference a week before. I asked what he did to get ready and he said he packed and came. No talking points, nothing to hand out, no meetings booked. He told me it wasn't a good conference. I kept my opinion to myself.
Here are the questions your team should answer several weeks before the show:
Every four hours or so, our team regrouped to talk about what we were hearing, and we changed our approach right there. Dinner each night covered the day and the plan for tomorrow. Days ran from about 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sarah's rule is that if you leave a conference with more energy than you arrived with, you did it wrong.
A few other habits I'd recommend:
We skipped swag this time and got less traffic than we hoped, which led to a long dinner debate. Sarah's view is that good swag is a whole separate project. She can't name a vendor from their giveaway, but she remembers the ones who followed up. What matters more is that every person at your booth gives the same answers. We talked about why that consistency wins deals in Episode 81.
At another show, a client put their best product manager in charge of pulling people into the booth. She gave fantastic demos, and she was also very shy. After about 90 minutes she was wiped out. She should have been there to run scheduled demos while someone outgoing brought people in. Another client got upset when his two introverted team members skipped an evening event after a full day. One of them lay awake worrying about it. A private dinner with that day's best prospect would have worked better for everyone. Build in downtime and people come back sharper.
I've already gotten three or four emails from this show that said, more or less, "Sorry we missed you, want to book a demo?" Nothing personal in any of them. For your hot leads, send something that same day while the conversation is fresh. Keep it short and personal:
Hi Jay, it was great meeting you today. You asked me about X, and here are my thoughts. Here's a short video if you want to go deeper. I'll follow up next week, but let me know if you'd like to talk sooner.
Before the show, decide who enters the data into the CRM, who sends each follow-up and what the cadence looks like. Not every conversation will be ready to buy. For the ones that say "not now," Sarah and I talked about how to bring those deals back in Episode 80, Finding Hidden Revenue in Your Closed Lost Pipeline.
In our book, Revenue Rewired, we call these gaps revenue leaks. A cold follow-up after an expensive event is one of the easiest to spot and fix.
Q: How far ahead should a B2B company start preparing for a trade show?
A: Start at least a month out. Our client and I began talking about four weeks before the event and met two or three times a week to set goals, research the show, update the booth, build collateral and book meetings. A week of prep isn't enough time to reach customers, plan your message or set up lead capture.
Q: How do you measure trade show ROI?
A: Set your goals before the show and weight them. For our client, generating interest carried about 40% of the weight, and the remaining goals, including testing messaging for two new offerings, split the rest. Then count the full cost, including travel, staff time and prep hours, along with the booth fee.
Q: Is trade show swag worth the money?
A: It depends on whether you treat it as its own project. Memorable swag takes planning, a useful item and sometimes a partner. Sarah's point is that attendees remember which vendors followed up and answered their questions far more than who handed out the best giveaway.
Q: When should you follow up with trade show leads?
A: Reach out to your hot leads the same day, while the conversation is fresh. Mention what they asked about, share one helpful resource and tell them when you'll follow up next. Decide before the show who enters leads into the CRM, who sends follow-ups and what the cadence is.
Q: How many people should staff a trade show booth?
A: Enough that no visitor waits long or walks away, without the booth looking crowded. Add one or two people who roam the floor, break areas and lunch tables to start conversations and invite people back to the booth.
Q: How do you keep introverted team members effective at a conference
A: Give them a role that fits their strengths, such as running scheduled demos, and build breaks into their day. Swap evening events for a one-on-one dinner with a strong prospect, and don't expect everyone to be on from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
At StringCan Interactive, we help mid-market companies connect marketing, sales and revenue operations so every investment has a path to pipeline. Events are one piece of that. If your team is heading into a trade show and wants a plan for before, during and after, let's talk.
For more on finding and fixing the leaks that cost you revenue, grab a copy of Revenue Rewired or subscribe to the Revenue Rewired newsletter.