GuideExhibitors

How Can Exhibitors Get High Quality Leads at a Trade Show?

Three days on the floor, two hundred business cards, an email to each one back at the office, and a single-digit reply rate. Most exhibitors have been through that loop. The trouble is that a card only proves this person walked past your booth, and says nothing about what they are looking for or how urgently.

What a qualified lead looks like

A lead worth having should carry evidence of behavior: which questions this buyer asked, which of your products they viewed, which actions they took (saving, comparing, sending an inquiry). With that evidence you can decide who to follow up first and which angle to open with.

Concretely, a good lead reads like this: "This company is looking for a heat-resistant sealing solution; has compared three suppliers in the same category; has already sent a specification inquiry about your high-pressure valves; currently graded as tier one demand." With intelligence like that, the first sentence of the sales call writes itself.

Exhibitor Lead Intelligence and intent grading

Every lead we hand you carries evidence of behavior and an intent grade; a lead like that is Exhibitor Lead Intelligence. Once Omni Matcher has recorded a buyer's behavior, it grades leads by strength of intent: tier one for a clearly stated purchasing or meeting intent, tier two for repeated attention to and comparison of suppliers in the same category, tier three for initial browsing and information gathering. Each grade comes with its reason, for example "this buyer viewed your high-pressure valve page three times within two days and sent one specification inquiry".

Before, during and after the show

  1. Before: get your public material in order. When buyers search and ask, Askpo can answer only from the material you provide, so the more complete it is, the greater your chance of being found. For the detail, see How do buyers find shows and exhibitors?.
  2. During: reply fast. A buyer with a defined need is usually approaching several suppliers at once, and the exhibitor who gives a concrete answer first has the best chance at the meeting.
  3. After: follow up by grade. Reply to tier one leads within forty-eight hours, tier two within a week, and move tier three into a list for long-term nurturing.