In the everyday hassle of doing your job and getting ready for a trade show simultaneously – things begin (or don’t begin) to fall apart. Trade show planning cannot wait until the last minute or something will be forgotten. In the preparation stage your marketing department must meet with your sales department and decide why you are attending a particular show – need more customers? A product launch? Have to be seen? Then the exhibit space is booked, the display is bought, rented, or refurbished. New graphics are coordinated. Hotels and travel are booked. And pre-show promotions are sent to your current and wannabe clients.

All along you must keep in your mind that you are going to your own personal Super Bowl where you are competing with hundreds of exhibitors among all the other booths in the show hall. You've got to insure that your trade show display will stand out from all the others, which means you'll need a stand-out, breakthrough design with thought provoking graphics. That said and done you must now take a deep breath – you are on your way to the show.

Day one, you are on the show floor, have you told your staff what is expected of them? Have you reminded them that it is not necessary to try to sell to everyone? Remind them to greet everyone passing by, and when and if they respond, QUALIFY them.

Quick questions – remember they did not come to the show just to see you – so, ask if they are in the market for your product or service? Do they have a particular problem? Are they working with a competitor? Then shut-up and listen - give them a chance to talk. Their talking will help you determine if they are a prospective client and if they are not, thank them, and move on. If they are, continue your conversation. Get contact information, and hopefully some kind of personal information as well and make a note of it. Now you will be ready for the follow-up call. Without this quick method of qualifying you lose valuable show time and even follow-up time back at your office.

So now … the follow-up. If prospective clients go back to their offices with 60 other business cards, yo-yo’s, pens, and catalogues – how long will it take them to call you? You must call them within a week. These are not cold-calls, you just met Jim, or Joe, or John. Take your little note you wrote with their personal information and go to it and don't stop with one call. Follow-up is allot of work, but with all the work you already invested it is ridiculous to squander a lead and to not finish the job. The follow-up is your payback – you have done all of the preparation and qualification – now get the client.

Jan Koren - jkoren@AbsoluteExhibits.com