You’ve attended a trade show and leave with a bag of business cards, samples and pamphlets. What should you do with them? How should you proceed?

What You Need Is A Structured Business Process

We all get them at every trade show we attend: Those beautiful, shiny plastic bags filled with business cards, free samples and pamphlets. “This document imaging idea is great!” you think. “The vendors I met at that last booth will really help me improve my bottom line!” you say.

Then you get back to your hotel room—bag in hand—and drop it on your bed. Now what? Take a step back and remember how this trip happened:

1. You paid for a plane ticket.

2. You paid to attend the trade show.

3. You paid for a hotel room.

4. If you’re an exhibitor, you paid to have a booth on the showroom floor.

5. You paid for cocktails with friends after the tradeshow.

You paid for a lot of things, and now that shiny plastic bag filled with business cards and the like is sitting on your bed. The next step: Following this process to get the results you’re looking for:

SORT. Toward the end of the show (preferably on the nigh before you leave to go home), empty the contents of your goodie bag and put them into product categories: traditional products, new/innovative products, consumables and business ideas.

ORGANIZE. What stands out to you? What looks interesting or promising? Put these business cards into a special envelop and mark it for follow-up. Throw out any business card that is of no interest to you. Pack this envelope safely in your luggage for when you’re back in the office.

SCHEDULE. Once you’re back at the office and have taken care of voicemails, e-mails and other responsibilities, pencil-in a time (before normal business hours is best) to review the business cards you thought were worthy of follow-up. Don’t spend more than one hour on this.

FOLLOW UP. Start earning ROI from the tradeshow. Place phone calls and send e-mails to the vendors you found interesting or useful to your business. Cultivate a relationship with them, ask for more materials to help you make decisions.

When you look at your attendance at a trade show, looking at it from “20,000 feet” gives you perspective. Take advantage of the contacts you make at tradeshows, and make use of your bag of goodies. And it’s easy: All you need is a process.

Would you like more information about developing a process to make the most out of tradeshows? Contact SPIA Inc.. Check out our website to see what we can do for you, reach us at info@spiainc.com or by calling (978) 640-0803.

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