How to Get Real Leads From a Trade Show Booth

To get real leads from a trade show booth, treat the show as aggressive marketing, not a place to set up a table and wait. Do your homework on who will be there before you arrive, build a booth people can’t walk past, give them a reason to come over, and book an appointment on the spot while their interest is highest. What comes out of a trade show is up to you. Nobody else.

A member asked about this on a recent Tactical Tuesday, the live Zoom training MVMT members attend. He was shifting his marketing toward more in person contact and wanted the must haves before his first shows. Here is what we covered.

Why do most trade show booths fail?

When we teach marketing, we break it into three types: passive, active, and aggressive. Most people show up to a trade show with a passive mindset. They throw up a banner, sit behind a table, and expect the booth to turn into something profitable.

That doesn’t work. If you’re going to spend the money on a show, be aggressive. Stand out in the crowd and create memorable moments. People go where the action is. If nothing is happening at your booth, they keep walking.

What should you do before the trade show?

Most of the work happens before you load the truck.

1. Get the list of exhibitors, not just attendees. A lot of people only think of attendees as potential clients. Look at the other companies with booths too. Almost every show gives you an app or a list of who’s exhibiting. You will find gold in that list.
2. Do your social recon. Look up those companies before you show up. Learn who they are and what they need. Start making connections before the doors open.
3. Pre-schedule meetings. If you know people who are attending, set times to meet them at the show. One member put it this way: treat the booth as a business development hub.
4. Invite your own people. Old customers, current clients, and prospects. Get them to stop by. It gets them excited again, and a busy booth draws more people.
5. Pay for location. A booth with traffic costs more than the back corner. It’s usually worth it. Location matters.

How do you make your booth stand out?

Chet Holmes has a section on trade shows in The Ultimate Sales Machine, and he talks about “peacocking.” It’s an old school sales book and one of the best ever written. The idea is simple. Don’t blend in with everyone else. Go above and beyond on how you look.

Here’s what that looked like when we hosted our own trade show:

• Everyone wore the same branded gear. Men and women, everyone in an MVMT polo. It looked like a team.
• We paid a little extra for a real branded booth. Not a plain black backdrop with one sign. Full graphics.
• We built a TV into the booth graphics. It played a video with behind the scenes footage from our big events and speakers on stage. It caught people’s attention as they walked by.

One thing we thought was a mistake turned out to be one of the best parts. The booth graphics only had our logo on them, over and over. Unless you already knew us, you had no idea what MVMT meant. People stopped and asked. Those questions turned into conversations, and those conversations turned into other things. A little curiosity can do a lot of work for you.

A member also suggested putting a QR code on the shirts your team wears, so anyone you talk to can scan it on the spot.

If your product is big and physical, use it. One idea from the call was to park your product or equipment, with your sign on it, at the main entrance. That way you’re the first thing people see when they pull in and the last thing they see when they leave.

How do you draw a crowd to your booth?

There has to be hype. Something you’re giving away. Some kind of attraction.

• Run a big drawing. Not something small. Something that pulls people over, like an iPad. Have them register to enter.
• Get something interactive. We invested in a giant prize wheel. People lined up just to spin it.
• Add smaller prizes, drawings, and coupons to keep the energy going between the big moments.
• Stand in front of the booth, not behind it. You can’t sit back with your feet up and wait. Engage people actively. Bring energy. Make a little noise.

For years, one of my companies ran a booth at a state fair. We sold reflective insulation, so we covered two big booths in it. Shiny from every angle. Anything you can do to grab attention, do it. You’re going to be there anyway.

What should you do when someone stops at your booth?

This is where most of the money gets made or lost. Getting someone to register is step one. Step two is the call to action. Before the show, decide exactly what the next step is for every lead. For most businesses, it’s an appointment.

The law of diminishing intent holds true for trade show leads. The longer you wait, the less interested they get, and other booths are chasing the same people.

Use this order:

1. Book the appointment right there. If they’re talking to you and you can schedule it, schedule it. Do not wait. That’s when they’re the most excited.
2. If you can’t book it, set a time to call them. Get a specific day and time.
3. If you can’t do either, call them the next day and get that one on one time on the calendar.

Come into the show with a marketing plan.

Quick answers

Are trade shows worth it for a small business?
They can be, if you treat them as aggressive marketing. Showing up with a plain booth and waiting for people to come to you is how you lose money on a show.

Who should you target at a trade show?
Both attendees and other exhibitors. Get the exhibitor list ahead of time, research those companies, and pre-schedule meetings.

How fast should you follow up on trade show leads?
Book the appointment at the booth if you can. If not, set a call time on the spot, or call the next day at the latest.

Want to work on this with other business owners? Book a discovery call with The MVMT team at themvmt.com/discovery-call.