March 2004
Cheat Sheet: Exhibitor lead tracking

Helping exhibitors become more successful at following up on leads generated at your show will give your event greater value in their future marketing plans.
By Linda Chandler

LEAD-TRACKING TRACK RECORD
The good news:
•  90 percent of attendees say exhibitions are their primary source of information about products
•  57 percent will make a purchase decision in the next year
•  48 percent need to hear from an exhibitor only once before buying

The bad news:
•  80 percent of all show leads are handled improperly
•  49 percent of exhibitors do little or no preshow staff training
•  43 percent of buyers receive information after they’ve decided on another source
•  18 percent of booth leads never receive any follow-up

WHY DON’T EXHIBITORS FOLLOW UP?
• Incomplete or inaccurate screening
• Busy post-exhibition schedules
• No lead-tracking system in place
• Inadequate staffing
• Poor accountability

HOW YOU CAN HELP
•  Provide handheld, wireless lead-tracking devices

•  Offer standard yes/no and multiple-answer qualifying or survey questions

•  Allow exhibitors to customize questions

•  Provide easy data transfer to disk, personal digital assistant or Web site

•  Download information into labels, spreadsheets or other formats, including e-mail lists

•  Use Microsoft .NET technology for Web registration compatibility

•  Enable providers to offer e-mail and direct mail follow-up services

TIPS TO GIVE EXHIBITORS
Follow-up is a three-part process: before, during and after the show.
1. Do the advance work.
• Be sure booth staffers understand their assignments and objectives.
• Print brochures, catalogs, and other materials well in advance and stuff envelopes.
• Create customizable cover letters to mail with materials.
• Practice with any tech devices so you can work fluidly on the floor.

2. Be productive at the show.
• Qualify leads. Use surveys and codes for hot, warm and cold.
• Verify contact information and ask for the best time to phone.
• Have team meetings to compare notes and prioritize leads.
• Overnight or e-mail leads to a staffer who can initiate immediate follow-up mailings.
• Take thank-you notes or postcards to send to best prospects while still on site.

3. Stay focused after the show.
• Block your schedule for your first day back in the office and devote it to follow-up.
• Assign a specific staffer or hire a temp to assist for a day.
• Distribute follow-ups to regional/local sales, distributors or dealers.
• Set timelines for repeat contacts. Track and be accountable for the deadlines.

INSPIRE EXHIBITORS WITH SUCCESS STORIES
When Pat Galligan was Director of Marketing for Waukesha Cherry-Burrell, he hired Leads to Sales Inc. of Carol Stream, IL, to handle leads from a trade show where he had a 6,000-square-foot booth. Using Leads to Sales’ Qualifax system, Galligan was able to prove that the trade show generated more than $3 million in sales within 90 days. This helped him sell the sales force, as well as upper management, on the benefits of trade show participation. Here’s what happened:

•  During the four-day show, someone keyed leads into an Excel spreadsheet. Each night that information was e-mailed to Leads to Sales.

•  Leads to Sales sent a two-page fax to each lead. The first page was general information with a thank-you. The second page was a customized, detailed needs survey with an 800 number for faxing back.

•  A whopping 50 percent of the leads faxed back their detailed needs, re-qualifying themselves as serious buyers.

•  Appropriate sales representatives were sent the information with instructions to phone all the hot leads within 24 hours. There was no problem getting down-the-line follow-up, since lead quality was so good.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
For more useful tips check out these Guru Reports from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research at www.ceir.org:

• Planning for the Follow-up Ahead of Time

• Beyond ROI and ROO

• Measuring Exhibit Results

SOURCES
Karen Erkelens, Convention Retrieval Services, (602) 568-5152

Rich Erschik, Leads to Sales Inc., (630) 462-9944

Craig Giles, AR Systems ShowCare Solutions, (888) 892-0745

Mark Kennedy, ExpoExchange, (301) 662-9401