Are you looking to turn those conversations with trade show leads into long-term relationships?
Every business collects leads at events. Acres of business cards. Badge scans galore. Handshakes and promises to “follow up soon.” But…
The sad truth is that most of these leads never convert into sales. Instead they sit in a database slowly getting colder by the day.
Successful businesses are the ones that build strong processes around collecting quality leads at events. Then turning those leads into relationships and revenue long after the tradeshow is over.
The good news is that system doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact:
- It can work for any industry
- It’s simple to start doing tomorrow
- The ROI is crazy high when done correctly
Let’s take a look at how you can build strong long-term business relationships from the leads you’re collecting right now.
Contents
- Why Trade Show Leads Are So Important
- 3 Huge Mistakes Businesses Make After Events
- 5 Strategies To Turn Leads Into Relationships
- Maintaining Long-Term Business Relationships
Why Trade Show Leads Are So Important
Trade show leads aren’t just like any other lead your company will come across.
Unlike cold leads from an email list, trade show leads have actually visited your booth. They’ve had real conversations with your team. And they’ve walked away with something valuable (whether that be a brochure, a product sample or simply some connection).
This means trade show leads are of higher quality.
If you dive into any industry-specific statistics around trade shows, this is supported countless times. For example:
79% of people attending trade shows are thought to be buying decision makers. Meaning they work within the authority to greenlight budgets and sign off on purchases.
That’s incredible when you think about it.
Imagine walking up to your booth with years of budgeting authority and a desire to solve a problem that your product or service can help with.
The right trade show signage hire and exhibition stand hire experience can leave those decision makers walking away knowing your brand like nobody else. Pair that booth set up process with professional exhibition stand builders and great signage hire at events and you’re well on your way to helping your company convert trade show leads into loyal customers.
In fact, another statistic found that…
72% of event attendees say they are more likely to buy from exhibitors that they meet at tradeshows. That means they’re ready and willing. Your business just needs to know how to approach them.
Trade show leads just seem to be ‘warmer’ and more qualified than your average lead your business will come across.
3 Huge Mistakes Businesses Make After Events
Unfortunately, most businesses bomb it when it comes to following up on leads after an event.
Booths, travel and accommodations all paid for…Then total radio silence for weeks.
Here are the three most common reasons why leads go cold after events:
Businesses Wait Too Long To Follow Up
If a lead doesn’t hear from you within 48 hours they’ve likely forgotten the conversation they had with you.
Follow Ups Are Terrible
Sending a mass email to every lead you collect saying “It was nice meeting you at the event” just doesn’t work anymore.
Nobody cares. It’s not personal and you sound like every other generic brand out there.
Leads Are Not Qualified
Different leads require different types of follow-ups. By not qualifying leads your sales team is wasting their time contacting the wrong leads.
Easy fixes, but you’d be surprised how many businesses make these mistakes.
5 Strategies To Turn Leads Into Relationships
Alright now that we know the DON’TS. It’s time to dive into some STRATEGIES that will help your business turn those leads into lifelong partnerships.
Quality Over Quantity When Capturing Leads
Booth staff should be taught to gather as much information on a prospect as possible when chatting to them at the booth. Yes, name and email is great. But how about…
- What do they need help with?
- What are their pain points?
- What is their buying timeline?
- How large is their budget?
Information like this is EXTREMELY valuable when conducting sales outreach and follow-up after the event.
By using a lead-capture app or simple shared spreadsheet you can ditch the business card collection strategy and start compiling QUALITY leads instantly.
Follow Up Within 24-48 Hours
Okay, you caught their attention at the booth. Now it’s time to really seal the deal.
Following up within 1-2 days of meeting a lead is crucial. You want to strike while the iron is hot.
Something as simple as this works wonders:
“Hi [Name], It was great chatting with you about [insert specific topic] at [event name]. Here is the [info/resource] mentioned during our conversation.”
Boom. That’s it. Simple. Easy. And super effective.
Make sure you don’t pitch them! You’ve already made the sale by getting them interested enough at the event to give you their details. Now you want to provide that value you promised.
Segment Your Leads Into Categories
Some leads will be hotter than others.
That’s why it’s important to separate and categorise leads based on how far along they are in the buyer’s journey.
Here is a simple system that works well:
- Hot – Leads that are ready to buy now. They’ve expressed interest and are ready to take the plunge.
- Warm – Leads that have shown interest but don’t have the budget or timeframe to buy yet.
- Cold – Leads that you want to keep nurturing long-term until they’re ready to buy.
Hot leads get a phone call. Warm leads get a tailored email sequence. Cold leads go into your long-term marketing nurture campaign.
Give Value Before You Ask For The Sale
Nobody likes being sold to.
This is why it’s important to spend some time researching leads at the booth and THEN following up with valuable, tailored content that matches their needs.
Maybe it’s a free industry audit. An ebook that relates to the topic they mentioned at your booth. Or even something as simple as sharing valuable industry insights.
As long as value is provided first, trust will start to build with leads that will one day convert into sales.
And providing value doesn’t always mean giving things away.
If you position yourself as an industry expert your leads will be FAR more willing to buy from you.
Continue To Nurture The Relationship
How many businesses do you know that only ever contact their customers when it’s time to sell?
Your lead has your contact details. They know who you are and what you represent. Now it’s time to sell THEM on keeping your company top-of-mind.
- Monthly newsletters with outstanding value
- Quarterly personalised check-ins
- Invitations to your future events
- Sharing valuable case studies and success stories
Building long-term business relationships is all about staying top of mind WITHOUT being annoying. Provide valuable content consistently for years and those trade show leads will one day remember your business when writing that next purchase order.
Maintaining Long-Term Business Relationships
Building a relationship is easy. Maintaining that relationship is where the REAL magic happens.
Treat every customer relationship as an opportunity to NOT only provide value, but to build a genuine long-term partnership.
Here are some things the best businesses do to continue adding value to their customer relationships:
- Remember personal details and reference them in future conversations
- Proactively look for ways to introduce and provide opportunities for your customers
- Show your face at every event and industry happening year after year
- Invest in top-quality signage hire and presentation that reinforces who you are
When you start doing these things your customers will grow to trust you more than your competition.
And businesses trust brands.
Long-term business relationships developed from trade show leads are the ones that end up providing your business with the most revenue over time.
Wrapping Things Up
Turning trade show leads into long-term business relationships really isn’t difficult.
To recap:
- Focus on gathering quality leads over quantity at your booth
- Follow up leads within 1-2 days of meeting them
- Segment your leads into categories
- Provide value before asking for the sale
- Continue adding value to grow the relationship overtime
Trade shows are a perfect opportunity to meet face-to-face with actual buying decision makers that are ready and willing to do business with you.
Apply these strategies today and watch your conversion rate from trade show leads skyrocket.
