individual’s interests. Mail only a few pieces at a time; otherwise everything
goes into the read-later pile. At this time, a personal follow-up call is critical.
Reintroduce yourself and remind your prospect/customer of the com-
pany you represent. Then ask if this is a good time to talk for a few minutes.
Ask what they liked best about the information you sent. If they haven’t
looked it over yet, set up a definite follow-up time. Ask if there are any ques-
tions and answer them. Then ask for the order. Follow-ups on this are similar
to what your procedure is currently.
Some of the research on shows says that you need seven contacts in the
next year. We have three immediately, two before the show the next year, and
a drip campaign with information of interest throughout the year. We use tra-
ditional mail, phone, fax, and e-mail to communicate periodically with these
prospects. For those people who use e-mail it is a simple and effective way to
communicate. We send out newsletters with pertinent information to these
leads, usually on a monthly basis if they have e-mail. We periodically mail
pertinent information to leads, and also make occasional follow-up phone
calls. We generally categorize the prospects into A, B, or C leads. We have less
follow-up with the C leads.
We place our leads into a database manager in the computer. Very often
we take our laptop to the show and enter the leads in the evening or on the
plane home. By the time we get home, we are ready to do a mail merge and
print letters and envelopes.
Occasionally, we will have others wishing to generate leads share in the
cost of the booth, even though they have not attended the show. When that
happens, we share the leads equally. Everyone gets the same number of A
leads, B leads, and C leads. When we are working the show in this manner,
we explain that our business partner, Jane Doe, may be calling them to follow
up. In those cases, we have follow-up stationery and business cards with all of
our names on them. This avoids confusion for the prospect. For shows that
require air travel and hotel costs, this method of sharing expenses serves to
control the budget.
Sharing a booth with people in another downline can present some
challenges. Make certain that each individual gets their share of contacts
and no one person takes over a space in the booth. For booths with multi-
ple participants, set up a schedule that outlines each participant’s scheduled
times.
Niche market trade shows are a great way to develop a customer base in
a specific market. All of the professional organizations have shows through-
out the United States and often worldwide. We have found that many times
the smaller meetings are much more profitable. If your product line fits into a
niche market, these shows are usually very successful.
There are also regional shows such as county and state fairs. Often local
chambers of commerce sponsor fairs for their members to tout their busi-
238 THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO NETWORK MARKETING