A trade show can fill a week with conversations and a box with visiting cards. What it's worth depends on the eighteen days after it. Here's a plan that starts the day before the show and ends with a clear answer on whether the stall paid for itself.
The day before: set yourself up
- Name the source. Decide the tag every lead from this show will carry, for example “Expo: the show's name”.
- Get capture ready. Everyone at the stall should be able to scan a visiting card into the CRM on their own phone.
- Prepare what you'll send. The price list, catalogue or sample request you'll attach to the first follow-up.
- Agree ownership. Every lead will belong to one named person by the end of each day.
At the stall: one card, one sentence
The most valuable thing you can capture at a show is why each person stopped. A card with one line of context is worth ten without.
- Scan the card while they're still there. A visiting card scanner that creates the record straight away means nothing waits for the office.
- Add one sentence. What they asked about, the volume they mentioned, and what you promised: “needs 5,000 units a quarter, send price list and sample”.
- Tag and assign. Source tag on, owner set.
The evening: sort in twenty minutes
| Group | Who belongs here | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Hot | A specific need, a timeline, or asked for a price | Personal message tomorrow morning, visit or call within the week |
| Warm | The right kind of business, interested, no immediate need | The five touches below |
| Cold | Students, suppliers pitching you, brochure collectors | Keep the record, no active follow-up |
Then create the first follow-up task for every hot and warm lead, with a date. If it isn't scheduled that evening, it tends not to happen.
The five touches
Each touch has one job, and each one refers back to the conversation at the stall.
- Day 0 or 1, the reminder. Where you met, the one thing they asked about, and what you promised, attached. “Good to meet you at the stall yesterday. Here's the price list for the M12 range you asked about.”
- Day 3, something useful. A specific idea about their problem, not a brochure. Show that you listened.
- Day 7, the offer. A concrete next step with a reason to act: a trial order, a site visit or a quotation.
- Day 12, ask for the meeting. Suggest two specific times for a visit or a demo.
- Day 18, close the loop. A polite last note saying you'll stop following up, with an easy way to come back later. It often gets a reply when earlier messages didn't.
Log each touch against the company as it goes out. When a lead replies, the sequence stops, and the conversation becomes a normal deal.
Field CRM turns each card into a record with the follow-ups already scheduled.
Did the show pay for itself?
Because every lead carries the show's tag, you can answer the question that decides next year's budget: how many meetings, quotations and won deals came from this show, compared with referrals or listing sites. Look twice, at thirty days and again at ninety, because B2B deals from a show often close months later. On Field CRM's Advance plan that's one report by lead source, or one question: “how did the Expo leads do?”
Checklist
- Source tag decided and capture ready before the show
- Every card scanned at the stall, with one sentence of context
- Every lead tagged and owned by one person
- Hot, warm and cold sorted the same evening
- First follow-up scheduled for every hot and warm lead
- Five touches running, each one logged
- Source report reviewed at 30 and 90 days
Frequently asked questions
How soon should we follow up after a trade show?
The same day or the next morning, while the buyer still remembers your stall. Every other exhibitor follows up the same week, so the first specific, useful message stands out.
WhatsApp or email?
Use the channel the buyer used at the stall. Many B2B buyers in India reply faster on WhatsApp; others prefer email for anything with a price in it. Whichever you use, log it against the company.
What if a lead replies halfway through?
Stop the sequence. The conversation becomes a normal deal, with its own next step.