Managing Trade Show Leads and Referrals - Article: 1189614 at Isnare.com Free Articles Leads and referrals are an essential part of trade show success. After all, exhibiting at a trade show is about exposure, so you get to meet many existing and new potential customers. Consider everyone you meet as a possible lead or referral. Leads generate new business while referrals help your company grow because your product or service has come highly recommended. Your company has invested a lot of money and time to exhibit at a trade show and one of the best methods of recouping the expenditure is using leads and referrals. Leads Make sure that you and your team get a business card from everyone that comes into your booth. If you get the opportunity to talk to them for a while then make brief notes about your discussion on the back of the business card ghd new zealand. It acts as an aid memoire and means when you follow up the lead, you already have a little knowledge about the person and the company he or she works for. Meet up with your team after the trade show has ended and collate all the leads together. Run through them and make more detailed notes about each lead ghd hair straighteners. Divide the leads between your team so everyone has leads to follow up. You may like to sort the leads by relevance as to the product or service the person may be interested in. The chances are each member of your team specializes in different aspects of your company and are therefore more suited to deal with certain type of leads than others. Always deal with leads within a few days of the trade show. Don’t leave it weeks, your lead may have forgotten about you, or may even have gone to a competitor. Referrals Train your team in advance of the trade show about methods of obtaining referrals. Building a good rapport with your visitors at the trade show booth means you are in a good position to get a referral. Always ask for referrals, it doesn’t do any harm and they can only say no; although it’s unlikely they’ll decline. Getting a referral means that the person is pleased with the service or product you offer. They’re happy to recommend your company to a friend or business acquaintance and because of the trusted relationship it’s likely you will get the opportunity to gain a new customer. Visit other booths that are not in competition with you. You could work together and set up a referral system between your booths. It’s a good way to promote each other’s company and at the same get referrals. Use members of your team to walk around the trade show. Make sure they take a supply of business cards and giveaways with them. Get them to hand out a business card and a giveaway and in return get their business card and ask them to visit your booth. When they visit your booth the initial introduction has already taken place, so you start on a more relaxed basis. You never know you may end up with a referral.