An exhibitor has a great conversation with a potential customer at one of their trade show exhibits. She plans to follow up with the individual following the show and asks for a business card. After receiving the card from the potential client and thanking him for stopping by, she picks up a pen and starts to jot some quick notes down on the card.

Stop. This is where the problems with lead management begin. The notes that she was able to jot down quickly most likely are not enough for effective follow-up after the event. This is a problem because when she attempts to contact the potential client she may have a difficult time recollecting the exact conversation and information. Because of this, the results of trade show booths will suffer.

Cards For Leads

A lead card can be one of the most effective tools that are available to the staff at trade show exhibits. The card can help them guide the conversation to ensure that each important fact on the card is obtained. Additionally, they can also take more detailed notes about the potential client so that they will have more information prior to making a follow-up contact. In most cases, these types of cards come in a pad that is placed on a clipboard or that has some form of backing to it for easy writing. The cards can be anywhere from a half-page to full-page of standard size paper depending on the volume of questions. Regardless of the size, a company will want to ensure there is plenty of space to take notes at trade show exhibits.

Electronic Lead System

An electronic lead system is often offered to trade show booths by those that put on the exhibition. Using this type of system will help the staff as information can often be quickly put into a database. At the end of the event, the staff can obtain a digital file that contains all of the leads information that was input. Exhibitors can even find these type of programs for their iPhone or smart phones too.

Database For Customer Relationship Management

Using a good Customer Relationship Management, or CRM, database helps a business to maintain an effective follow-up process for every lead from trade show booths. These systems decrease the number of duplicated contacts and help to ensure all sales staff are on the same page. Some companies attempt to use an Excel file for their customer relation management database; however, the information is not able to be effectively shared among all representatives and is not very efficient either.

These three steps will ensure that your next event will have more effective follow-up. Taking a little extra time at the booth will result in better return from each event. To learn more great ways to get a better return on your investment, contact a trade show exhibits professional.