| If preshow mailers are the equivalent of invitations to a | | | | helped them find a way to ..." |
| party, then following up is the same as sending | | | | 3. Reinforce your exhibit theme in your follow up to |
| thank-you notes to your guests. Terri Crim of Modern | | | | help with recall. One exhibitor continued a food-themed |
| Postcard says that follow up should be an automatic | | | | booth by sending mailers that looked like recipe cards, |
| part of your marketing, just like preshow mailers. Or, as | | | | along with a shopping list pad. |
| Lori Marshall from Wood Associates puts it, "Every | | | | 4. Always respond in the way the prospect told you |
| prospect is important ... they took the time [to stop by | | | | to. Attendees are annoyed when they don't receive |
| the booth], so why shouldn't I take the time to thank | | | | the information they were promised. This proves you |
| them?" Not surprisingly, Marshall's follow up arrives in | | | | weren't listening to their needs. If they want a catalog |
| the form of a handwritten thank-you note. | | | | and you call them on the phone, they will just tell you |
| Here are some tips you can use to follow up after the | | | | again to please send a catalog. Get it right the first |
| trade show and stand out from the crowd. | | | | time! |
| 1. Make your follow up timely. One exhibitor wondered | | | | Hot prospects might buy within thirty days. Warm ones |
| why a prospect was being so evasive on the phone | | | | (which are the majority) may take much longer. Make |
| when she called to follow up. She later learned that her | | | | sales reps accountable for the leads and monitor their |
| competitor was meeting with the prospect at the | | | | progress for at least six months. Keep following up until |
| moment she called. Lesson learned: Be the first to | | | | they "buy or die" -- it can take several contacts to |
| follow up! | | | | close a sale. Since most of your competitors will give |
| 2. Use the notes captured on the leads to personalize | | | | up after one or two tries, you can win the sale by |
| the follow up. This doesn't mean personalizing a form | | | | sheer persistence. |
| letter like the sweepstakes companies do -- sprinkling | | | | Remember ... your job doesn't end the minute the trade |
| the recipient's name throughout the letter. True | | | | show is over. Instead, the most important part begins! |
| personalization goes way beyond that! Use the | | | | You have those leads -- now turn them into money in |
| information gathered on the lead form, such as where | | | | the bank! |
| they are located or what their most important needs | | | | Excerpted with permission from Build a Better Trade |
| are. Incorporate items such as, "When Client XYZ was | | | | Show Image, © 2002 by Marlys K. Arnold. |
| facing [the same problem the attendee indicated], we | | | | |