Woman at trade shoe booth attempting to collect leads

Increase Trade Show Leads

Trade show leads are elusive, especially with competition from other booths. In this article, we look at how to secure leads at trade shows.

You go to tradeshows to get leads and make connections. Here’s the problem: there are tons of people and only some of them are going to be a good fit for what you are selling. 

Here’s the other problem: you have to compete for these people’s attention with everyone else at the trade show. So, how is it done?

In this article, we talk about how you can attract trade show leads. 

A trade show booth operator and potential lead shake hands

Greet Potential Trade Show Leads

Having a greeter at your booth accomplishes a couple of things:

  • It’s friendly and attention-grabbing. At the very least, you will make an impression on everyone who passes by if you take a moment or two to say hello and introduce yourself. 
  • You get a feel for who is passing your booth. The greeter is also in a good position to parse out what people might be considered “leads” (individuals who fall into your customer profile) and people who probably aren’t a good fit. 

Why is this important? Once you identify your leads, it’s much easier to focus your efforts on the right people. Rather than simply hoping that the individuals stepping up to your booth have the potential to become customers, you benefit from at least a small degree of certainty that the potential for a sale is there. 

It’s also worth keeping in mind that, as attention-grabbing efforts go, having a greeter on hand is about as affordable and easy as you are going to get. 

Offer Incentives

Many successful trade show booths have some sort of grab: a giveaway of some kind. Many booths will show up with drink koozies or stress balls that bear their company logo. There is merit to this strategy, to be sure. At the very least, it leaves an impression. 

But How Much of One? 

Think of it this way: do you really value the stress ball that came from a company you’ve never heard of? Probably not. It goes in a desk drawer and gets thrown away the next time you clean your office. 

Instead, consider giving out coffee or donuts. This will bring people in, and give you enough time to chat with them as they consume their treat. 

While there is an upfront cost to this tactic, it’s relatively modest in the grand scheme of lead generation, and it has the potential to feature a high return on investment. 

Make it Fun

There’s also plenty of merit to drawing leads in through fun opportunities. Set up a raffle. Let people spin a trade show prize wheel. These opportunities require little in way of setup and can serve to get people at your booth long enough to have a productive conversation. 

As with our last point, there is a small upfront cost—primarily in the form of whatever prize you decide to offer. However, since the main attraction here is the fun of your game, you can get away with keeping your cost fairly low by offering affordable prizes. 

Trade Show Leads Conclusion

No matter where it takes place, lead generation is just a matter of grabbing people’s attention. At tradeshows, it just happens in real-time, right in front of your eyes.

Remember, the idea is always just to bring people in. Games and giveaways are a great way to get someone to your table. When they arrive, it’s important to be ready. Have a good, quick-hitting pitch. Trade shows move very fast. By keeping things lean and mean, you increase your odds of standing out, and making conversions. 

Duelbox has a number of games that have successfully generated leads for our customers. Spin Wheel, Live Trivia, Scavenger Hunt, and Race Game are just a few of our options. Register for a free trial today to test out these games and more for yourself.

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