Following up at a tradeshow is the ultimate way to paving the success of the show. You may have not made everycent that you were looking forward to making and maybe there was a smaller attendance than expected. Maybe one of your banners or employees didn’t show up. Or maybe the show was a blazing success and you would appreciate even more business to come from it. Well the point is, in any case, you should be following up with contacts made at a tradeshow, promising or not.
Plan ahead
Sit down and make sure that you have your list in order. Get your contacts, the little notes that you scribbled on the back of their cards that states who they are and what you talked about (an important thing to do at a tradeshow) and decide if you are going to phone or email them. Possibly you will do both but will do one before the other. Either way, get a plan of action in your hands that can set you up for success.
Immediacy is Key
The longer you wait to connect with a contact made at a show, the longer you risk losing a possible sale. Make sure that the people that you have connected with and that you have got all excited and jazzed about your products has a chance to actually buy what you are selling! The immediacy factor not only shows that you value their business and time, but also shows that you want their business in the first place and more importantly it displays how you do business.
Separate, move on and start over!
As you call, you may have ‘maybes’ and ‘absolutely not’ or even ‘call back when my manager is here’ all of these responses should get you dividing the calls into separate lists. Separate into Hot Leads, Call Backs, and NO. Change the types of lists to whatever you prefer to call them, but the moral of the lesson is: make sure that you are dividing and conquering your lists so that you are eventually getting smaller and smaller lists that you can later divide amongst your staff. Also, pay attention the important Hot Leads list and get the money that you are looking for. After you are done, go over it again until you have no one left to call….this may take some time 
.
No you say? Well instead…take….
When you get an “absolutely not” it is important to keep them connected and to stay professional at all times. Make sure that you extend yourself in some way–web cast, newsletter or email blasts–to show your appreciation for their time; something that will give their time or company value…free.