Trade Show Best Practices: 15 Tips for Exhibitor Success

Trade shows are expensive. Booth space, travel, hotels, time away from the office. It adds up fast. And by most estimates, 80% of trade show leads never get followed up on at all.

These 15 trade show tips for exhibitors separate top performers from teams who come home with business cards and nothing to show for it.

Before the Show

1. Set Specific Goals (Not “Generate Leads”)

“Get lots of leads” isn’t a goal. It’s a wish.

A real goal: Have 30 qualified conversations, book 10 demos, identify 5 hot opportunities.

Before the show, define “qualified” for your team. Company size? Title? Pain point? Budget timeline? If your booth team doesn’t know what a good lead looks like, they’ll treat everyone the same. They’ll waste time on the wrong people.

2. Research the Attendee List

Most events share attendee lists or at least the companies attending. Use it.

Pick 20-30 target accounts. Research their business, recent news, and pain points. Book meetings with high-value prospects before the show starts.

The best conversations happen when you know something about the person across from you.

3. Prepare Your Booth Team

Everyone working the booth should know:

• The 30-second pitch (problem-focused, not feature-focused)
• How to qualify a lead in 2-3 questions
• What “hot” vs. “warm” vs. “cold” looks like
• The discovery questions that work

Assign roles: greeter, qualifier, demo specialist, lead capture. When everyone knows their job, the booth runs smooth. When everyone does everything, chaos.

4. Plan Your Lead Capture System

Skip the event’s rental scanner. They cost $300-575 per event. You often won’t see your leads until after the show. See our breakdown of the best badge scanner apps and lead retrieval apps for better options.

Use a lead capture app that syncs to your CRM (customer relationship management tool) in real time. CRM sync is a paid feature on most tools, including BoothIQ. If you’re stuck with a CSV (spreadsheet) export, our free CSV formatter can match your columns to your CRM’s import format. Test your capture setup before the show. Nothing worse than a broken scanner when doors open.

More important: plan to capture context, not just contact info. A name and email is worthless if you can’t remember why they matter.

During the Show

5. Don’t Sit Down

Standing = approachable. Sitting = “don’t bother me.”

Walk any trade show floor. You’ll see booth after booth with people sitting behind tables, scrolling phones. They might as well hang a sign: “Not Interested.”

Need rest? Step away from the booth. Get coffee, walk the floor, sit somewhere else. At the booth, stand near the front and make eye contact. More on booth presence in our trade show booth tips.

6. Ditch “How Can I Help You?”

Everyone asks this. It triggers autopilot. “Just looking, thanks.”

Ask questions that make people think:

• “What brought you to the show this year?”
• “What’s the one thing you’ve seen today that lived up to the hype?”
• “Everyone’s talking about [Industry Trend]. Is it solving problems for you, or just noise?”

Break the pattern. Ask something unexpected and people engage. More in our Golden Minute Questions.

7. Qualify Before You Demo

Not everyone deserves a full demo. Your time is limited.

Before features, ask:

• What’s your timeline for making a change?
• Who else would be involved in this decision?
• Is there budget, or would we need to make the case?

Demo the people who can buy. Everyone else gets a quick overview and a promise to follow up.

8. Capture Context, Not Just Contact Info

A badge scan gives you a name and email. That’s table stakes.

What makes follow-up work is context: why they stopped, what they said, their problem, the personal detail that makes them remember you.

This is the Human Moat. Insight that makes a relationship hard to copy.

After each conversation, capture:

• The Vibe: Skeptical? Urgent? Just exploring?
• The Hook: What pain did they mention?
• The Moat: Personal detail (trip, hobby, something memorable)
• The Next Step: What did you agree to?

9. Use Voice Notes

After each conversation, record 30 seconds of voice notes.

Trying to remember 40 conversations at end of day is impossible. A week later? Delusional.

Voice notes are fast. They capture nuance. They give future-you the context to write follow-ups that get responses.

10. Work in Shifts

Eight hours of booth duty leads to burnout. In our experience, energy and conversation quality drop after about six hours.

Rotate: 2 hours on, 30-60 minutes off. Use breaks to:

• Send quick follow-ups while context is fresh
• Walk the floor and see competitors
• Actually eat lunch (not at the booth)
• Rest your voice and feet

Teams that pace themselves outperform teams that grind through exhaustion.

After the Show

11. Follow Up Within 24 Hours

Industry research suggests leads contacted within 24 to 48 hours are 60% more likely to convert than those reached after a week. Yet by some estimates, 38% of exhibitors take longer than six days to follow up.

Send your first follow-up before you leave the city. The talk is still fresh for both of you.

Yes, that means writing emails on the plane or from the hotel. It’s worth it.

12. Don’t Send Generic Templates

“Great meeting you at [Event]!” → Delete.

“As discussed, I wanted to follow up…” → Delete.

“I hope this email finds you well…” → Delete.

Your follow-up must reference something specific. The pain point they mentioned. The question they asked. The personal detail you captured.

If your email could have been written by someone who wasn’t there, it will be ignored. Follow-up templates that work.

13. Segment Your Leads

Not all leads deserve the same follow-up:

• Hot: Ready to buy, clear pain, decision-maker. Book a call this week.
• Warm: Interested but not urgent. Nurture over 2-4 weeks.
• Cold: Wrong fit or just browsing. Quick follow-up, then move on.

Different segments need different cadences. Don’t blast everyone with the same sequence.

14. Track Your ROI (Return on Investment)

After the show, calculate:

• Total cost (booth + travel + time)
• Number of leads captured
• Number of qualified opportunities
• Revenue from show leads (track over 6-12 months)

Know your cost per lead and cost per deal. Industry research suggests converting a trade show lead is 38% cheaper than sales calls alone. But only if you follow up.

15. Debrief With Your Team

Before everyone scatters, spend 30 minutes debriefing:

• What messaging resonated? What didn’t?
• Which questions opened conversations?
• What would we do differently?
• Which leads need immediate attention?

Document this. Six months from now, you’ll be glad you did.

Trade Show Best Practices Checklist

Before the Show

• [ ] Goals defined with specific numbers
• [ ] Target accounts identified and researched
• [ ] Team trained on pitch and discovery questions
• [ ] Lead capture app tested
• [ ] Roles assigned (greeter, qualifier, demo, capture)

During the Show

• [ ] Team rotating in shifts
• [ ] Context captured for every conversation
• [ ] Hot leads flagged for same-day follow-up

After the Show

• [ ] Follow-ups sent within 24 hours
• [ ] Leads segmented by priority
• [ ] Team debrief completed
• [ ] ROI tracking set up

FAQ

What should you not do at a trade show?

Don’t sit down. Don’t check your phone while “working.” Don’t lead with features. Don’t collect badges without context. Don’t wait a week to follow up.

How do you stand out at a trade show?

Ask better questions than “How can I help you?” Capture personal details so your follow-up feels human. Be curious about their problems. Don’t be eager to pitch.

How many leads should you get at a trade show?

Quality over quantity. 30 qualified conversations with context beats 300 badge scans with no notes. A lead without context is just a name in a spreadsheet.

References

• “150+ Trade Show Stats.” Trade Show Labs. tradeshowlabs.com
• “Trade Show Statistics 2025.” Cvent. cvent.com
• “Lead Retrieval Pricing.” NACS Show. nacsshow.com
• “Sales Follow-Up Statistics 2025.” Martal Group. martal.ca

Try BoothIQ free at your next event.