The Dreaded SLBH If you're like most exhibitors, your first day back in the office after a trade show contains a myriad of competing priorities. Messages from current clients who need you beckon, the list of daily to-do's has piled up for several days, and business-as-usual marches on. Now's the time NOT to let the trade show leads that you worked so hard to get (not to mention spent so much money getting!) fall into the infamous SLBH - the Sales Lead Black Hole.

What is the Sales Lead Black Hole? It's where 80% of all trade show sales leads end up...it's the no-follow-up-zone...it's lost sales...it's lost trade show investment...it's a crying shame! But it's a hard, cold fact. Why? Because most companies don't make as much of a post-show commitment as they did a pre-show commitment. The first step in avoiding the SLBH is to Organize & Prioritize.

Organize & Prioritize Ok - so you have competing priorities on day one back at the office. Take a few minutes to evaluate those priorities, and organize them for follow-up. Take care of emergencies and current client urgent requests first - your current clients should always come before prospects.

Once that is done, your next order of business should be to sort your trade show leads, and follow-up with your "hot" or "A" leads right away. Your hot leads should be followed up within one or two days of show close. Any more time, and you risk that lead forgetting they even met you! These follow-ups should be by phone (unless they have requested otherwise).

How to Follow-Up Hot Leads - During the show, you no doubt took copious notes on those lead forms - your handwriting is legible, and you know exactly what this hot lead needs (right?). If you did, you will know exactly how to follow up - your notes may say "Call on Tuesday - needs immediate help with X", or "Send new product brochure and pricing." If you didn't, shame on you because the probability of a sale just went down, but all is not completely lost. For all of those sketchily detailed hot leads, your best bet is to re-connect by phone. Re-qualify the lead, gauge the interest level, and rank the probability of a sale. Then take those copious notes you forgot to take at the show, and follow up accordingly.

Warm and Cold Leads - After you make your way through the hot leads, don't forget about your other leads - those not-so-hot leads - they are still potential clients! Follow-up with them within one week of the show, either by phone, mail or e-mail. Keep them in your system and stay in touch with them throughout the year. You never know when a circumstance will quickly move a cold lead to a hot lead!

Follow-Up Your Follow-Up Your sales team is generally the first line of follow-up post-show. They may partner with marketing communications to send materials, but the initial contact should be personal, and with the intent of an appointment, a presentation or placing an order. This may be the first time this hot lead hears from you, but it should by no means be the last.

Any contact that results in an appointment, a presentation or an order will remain with the sales team, but for those that don't, for heaven's sake, don't throw them away! If your sales team has the time to continue to work these leads, great, but often times they do not, and that's ok. These leads should then be handed off to your marketing team for continued follow up. Add them to your mailing list, your e-mail list, your holiday cards list - whatever means of consistent communication your company does. Even though these prospects have not purchased yet, they should still be considered good potential clients - they know about your company, your products, and they have had some sort of face-to-face contact with you.