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Effective Trade Show Marketing A plan to identify qualified leads and generate increased sales Shawn Tennyson Director of Resources marketing + technology 701.235.5525 | 888.9.sundog | fax: 701.235.8941 2000 44th st s | floor 6 | fargo, nd 58103 www.sundog.net
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Effective Trade Show Marketing - Sundog Trade Show Marketing | Shawn Tennyson 2 Too much information on your booth will obscure your marketing message and look cluttered, not encouraging

Mar 23, 2018

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Page 1: Effective Trade Show Marketing - Sundog Trade Show Marketing | Shawn Tennyson 2 Too much information on your booth will obscure your marketing message and look cluttered, not encouraging

Effective Trade Show MarketingA plan to identify qualified leads and generate increased sales

Shawn Tennyson Director of Resources

marketing + technology

701.235.5525 | 888.9.sundog | fax: 701.235.89412000 44th st s | floor 6 | fargo, nd 58103www.sundog.net

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Too much information on your booth will obscure your marketing message and look cluttered, not encouraging prospects to stop. Save the brochure-type details for when they enter the booth and show interest in your company.

Mike Thimmesch of Skyline Displays reiterates this point “the job of your exhibit is to get people’s attention and reinforce the brand, NOT tell your entire story.Sometimes when a trade show exhibit is designed, it can be mistakenly designed from the company’s perspective, NOT the attendee’s perspective. What causes this is:

• The product managers want to show every product

• The marketing director wants to list all the competitive advantages

• The sales director asks for a graphic to recruit new dealers

• Your partners want their logos on your booth

• Other stakeholders want to have their own say about what is in and on the booth

So your exhibit gets overstuffed. And you get blah… instead of bold. You get visual clutter that prevents your booth from quickly communicating why attendees should visit you.”

“The Connection” booth is an example of a brochure-type design. There is too much copy that would be better utilized in a brochure or hand-out to prospects.

I used to work for a company that tried really hard to get recognized at trade shows and business after hours events. Our “spin the prize wheel to win a mouse pad or a candy bar” was a huge success, we had people lined up at our booth 20 deep. Problem was, we were so busy handing out prizes to everyone that we never focused on selling our services to potential customers. No new leads, no new business, and a negative return on investment was the result. We needed a plan.

The purpose of this document is to help you develop that plan. The ultimate goal being to identify qualified leads that will foster new business relationships and generate increased sales for your company.

Before the Show

Identify your audienceEvery trade show is an opportunity to start a conversation with a potential customer. Who is that customer and what problem can you help them solve? Focus your trade show marketing plan on how your business can provide solutions for that customer and then tailor every communication to them, from before the show to post-show follow-up, with a consistent marketing message.

Marketing materialsThese should be as simple as a single sheet identifying who you are and what solutions your company’s products or services can provide. The products and services should be presented as an overview only to keep the handout simple and inexpensive. Greater detail will be provided by more extensive materials and proposals once you have qualified the prospect. This approach will save you precious marketing dollars by only distributing the detailed materials (that are more expensive to produce than a single sheet) to qualified prospects as opposed to everyone.

Trade show graphicsDesign for a billboard, not a brochureWhen you have just a few seconds to stop trade show attendees and attract them to your booth, the design needs to function more like a billboard than a brochure.

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Your trade show booth design, just like a billboard, should consist of just three elements:

1. Marketing message - Simple and at the top of the display (see example of Viking River Cruises “Exploring the World in Comfort”).

Marketing messages that are below the top one-third of the booth can be obscured by people or furniture, etc. (see Allmax example below).

2. Company logo - At the top of your display so everyone can see who you are.

3. Graphic to attract attention - Simple, yet bold and eye-catching. One image is usually better than multiple images that create clutter. The MonsterMedic display is a perfect example of trade booth graphics executed correctly.All images courtesy of Skyline Display (www.skyline.com)

Now that you have the three basic elements in your booth design (message, logo and graphic), it’s time to turn up the volume and make your booth stand out. These additional elements can enhance your booth design, as long as you remember to keep things simple and uncluttered.

• Video - Video screens that show your product benefits can attract attention and inform prospects.

• Lights - Don’t rely on exhibit hall lighting to illuminate your booth. You’ll be left with dark shadows and an unwelcome mood. Splashes of color provided by LED lighting, a recent advancement in booth design, allow the use of multiple colors and the ability to highlight key areas of your booth.

• Motion - Revolving signs, motion lights or any type of movement that attracts attention, without degrading the professionalism of your company.

“Display fewer, larger visual elements in your exhibit to cut through the clutter to get your prospect’s attention. Cram too much into your booth and you risk looking like a flea market,” says Mike Thimmesch of Skyline Displays. “Because, contrary to what some people think, it’s not the exhibitor with the most messages and/or products that wins. It’s the one who creates the most visual impact and the most welcoming environment.”

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Generating the right traffic to your boothThe booth space is booked, the booth graphics are designed and all the handouts are printed. So, how do you insure that the right people – your clients and top prospects – will be attending the show? The following are different channels that can generate booth traffic at your next trade show:

• Trade show directory listing: Take advantage of these directories when you can. Listings usually allow for 50 - 75 words about your company.

• Special trade show editions of trade publications: Place an ad or submit an article about your product or service in these publications. Ads unique to the trade show will get more notice than just slapping a star burst that says “see us at booth 100” on an existing ad. Tease possible trade show attendees with new product announcements, contests or special giveaways. These tactics will generate more booth traffic than running an ad your audience has probably already seen.

• Trade show website: Consider placing a banner ad on the trade show website to describe the benefits of your product or service and announce your booth number. Link the banner ad to your website or a unique landing page that has more information about your company, your booth at the trade show, new products or trade show specific offers. By linking to your website or unique landing page, you can also gather information about interested prospects, which can be used later to generate sales.

• Email: Sending a pre-show email to your prospect list is another way to generate traffic at your booth. Be sure to give the recipient a reason to attend the trade show and visit your booth. Offer a special gift to email respondents, a sample pack of your products for booth visitors, or a special offer on your services for those who visit your booth and present a copy of the email.

• Direct mail: Sending personalized direct mail to your customers and targeted prospects can also help generate booth traffic. Special offers, new product or service announcements, or V.I.P. event promotions for attendees are all examples of effective direct mail. Offer incentives by saying things like “Bring this card

to our booth for a special gift or a ticket to our V.I.P. event.” Direct mail can also direct the prospect to a landing page on your website for more information about the show or special offers. It’s another way to pre-qualify potential customers before the actual trade show.

• Your company website: In the months before the trade show, use your website to promote your booth, saying “See us at XYZ trade show, booth 100 and learn more about an exciting product announcement.”

• Your company newsletter: In your company newsletter, you could also include an article teasing a new product launch at the trade show or a special promotion that will only be available at the show.

• Facebook: If the trade show has a Facebook page, you may be able to link to your website or a special landing page by purchasing an ad. You can also establish your own company Facebook page to promote your trade show event and post updates on new product announcements for those unable to attend the show.

• Twitter: If you have a Twitter account (and a customer base that follows you), Twitter is an efficient way to announce trade show participation, new product launches, or special offers for trade show participants. If you are holding a contest or giveaway at your booth, Twitter and Facebook are great channels to announce contest clues, special giveaways, etc.

• YouTube: If you have a YouTube channel, a short video alerting your customers and subscribers to your trade show participation will also help generate traffic. YouTube can be used to post videos during the show about new product announcements for prospects or clients who can’t attend. Use Twitter and Facebook to announce your YouTube postings, so clients and prospects don’t miss learning about the benefits of your company’s products or services.

With the prevalence of social media, there is a multitude of ways to inform your current customers and future prospects of your upcoming trade show event. The most important point to remember is to have a targeted list first and then decide which channel will most efficiently reach

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your audience. The result will be more qualified prospects at your show with higher return on investment for your company.

Giveaways and prizesSWAG: Stuff We All Get, trinkets, tchotchkes, promotional knickknacks. Trade show trinkets come in all shapes and sizes.Sheree Zielke, in her article Trade shows: Get creative with swag, says this: “Trade show ‘swag’ or free goodies are fun to collect but swag also has a serious purpose: more business. It’s the creative swag that succeeds in landing more potential customers. The purpose of trade show ‘swag’ is two-fold. Firstly, great swag makes attendees seek out your booth and secondly, great swag makes your company memorable after the show ends.”

So how do you separate potential customers from those just there for the free stuff? Lain Ehmann, The Secret Of Swag - Industry Trend or Event, has this to offer: “...if the item is given out simply because the trade-show masses expect it, a giveaway can do more harm than good. Finding the proper balance between the occasion, the object, your company’s budget and brand is tough. No one wants to be known as the cheap outfit that handed out the dumb plastic yo-yos.” One suggestion is to have a small branded gift for the trade show scavengers in a bowl out front. And better, more creative gifts for potential customers revealed only after they discuss your product or service with you. More of a special gift for a true lead. It could be entering their name in an exclusive drawing for a high-end gift such as a Blu-Ray player, digital camera or HD TV or simply a gift (thermal coffee mug, stainless water bottle, etc.) that they receive after you qualify them as a potential lead. Either way, the gift should represent your company’s product or services and be memorable, not landfill fodder.

Susan Friedmann, 4 Tradeshow Giveaway Essentials to Increase Your Company Recognition, suggests these things to keep in mind with trade show giveaways:“The purpose of a giveaway is to increase recognition of your company. Make your giveaways memorable and effective by considering these four essentials:1. What your target audience wants2. What will help them do their jobs better

3. What they can’t get elsewhere4. What is product/service relatedDon’t be afraid to think far outside the box – You want attendees to remember the giveaway AND your name!”

Giveaways warrant serious consideration before your next big trade show opportunity. Consider the cost and how the product will represent your company. Will it be memorable and a reminder for future business, or discarded with all the other key chains, pens, stickers, etc.?

At the Show

Sales message and personal appearanceEating lunch, texting or talking on a phone, reading a magazine, talking to a co-worker, or tidying up sales materials. These are all things that tell potential customers you have no interest in talking to them. The primary goal of staff at trade shows should be selling: engaging potential customers and relaying the benefits of your products or services. According to Jerry Eisner’s “First Impression Selling At Trade Shows,” you have between five to seven seconds to make a good first impression.

Eisner states, “psychologists advise a person forms 11 impressions about you and your organization in the first seven seconds of contact. It’s called the 7/11 Rule. The 11 impressions formed in those first seven seconds relate to:• Credibility• Appearance• Knowledge• Empathy• Helpfulness• Responsiveness• Friendliness• Confidence• Professionalism• Presence• Courteousness

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“Particularly noteworthy about the 7/11 Rule is that a visitor’s impression of you and your organization can be made 10 to 15 feet from your booth. As visitors walk the show floor – even before they’ve arrived at your space – they’re deciding whether or not they’ll talk to you. Their decision is based on nonverbal clues called body language.”

What is the appropriate body language to be speaking? Friendliness and professionalism. Smile when you talk to potential customers, make eye contact and shake their hand when the conversation concludes. All are personal engagement techniques that say you care about them and they can trust what you are saying. Good grooming practices and clean business attire also convey trust and professionalism.

Make sure that your booth is clean and well organized. Booth shipping containers and boxes of brochures stacked in the background, empty coffee cups, etc. look unprofessional. If you are the sales manager, send your best people not just the ones that are available. And if possible, send two. That gives them the opportunity to eat lunch (away from the booth), use the bathroom, and take a break (so they don’t appear tired and uncaring) while the other person is handling customer contact at the booth.

The sole reason to attend trade shows is to establish a positive rapport with potential customers that leads to future sales and long-term relationships. Appropriate body language will build the foundation for that success.

Capturing LeadsWas your trade show a success because you have a pile of anonymous business cards to call? Or did you determine what lead qualifiers are important to your business prior to the show and have a short list of sales-ready leads to follow-up? Is it budget or immediacy of sale that is important to your business? Those and other qualifiers will help sales staff determine if the leads are sales-ready (hot) or require more nurturing (not).

How do you determine what is hot and what is not?

One method is to record trade show leads with the lead retrieval device (scanner) that records an attendee’s badge or card. Scanners usually have a set of customized codes the exhibitor can use to further qualify the lead. All of the information is then saved to a memory stick or can be printed out for later follow-up. These devices are a good start, but more and more attendees are limiting the amount of information on their badges or identity cards. It’s a good idea to contact the trade show prior to the event and determine how much information will be recorded before paying for scanner rental.

Another, more custom, method to qualify leads is offered by Chris Tremblay at Event Technologies. Their method uses a custom score card to rank leads by individual qualifiers: Budget, Role, Need, Time Frame, Action and Opportunity.

“To get the total score for each lead, you multiply the weight of the question by the value of the selected answer. You do this for each question, and then add up all the values to get your total score. This total score is compared to the rating scale to get the rating. An example of a rating scale is: 0-125 Cold, 126-299 Warm, and 300+ Hot.”

Once you determine your company’s criteria for qualifying leads, the score card can be a great method for determining “hot or not” trade show leads. The prospect’s business card or scanner data can also be attached to the score card for future reference. Trade show leads get cold quickly, so it’s important to follow-up with a thank you email and additional sales materials during or immediately after the show for your hottest leads.

If you’re holding a drawing or giving away any type of free gifts to generate booth traffic, it’s also important to separate that contact information from “hot” leads. If a

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prospect is interested in your products or services and not just the SWAG, hand them off to another sales person for more information about your company’s products and for the opportunity to qualify and record the lead. That way, post-show, you will have a list of qualified leads to follow-up that isn’t contaminated by people who are simply looking for a free gift.

Whatever method you use to qualify leads, it’s important to:

• determine your criteria before the event

• train your event staff to ask the right questions

• follow-up immediately before your competition

After the Show

Beyond the Business Card: Lead Follow-upAccording to trade show research, 80% of leads gathered at trade shows are never followed up by the sales staff. You need more qualified information than a business card can provide. Is the lead ready to buy or just doing research? Do they have purchasing authority or are they only able to make suggestions? Consulting your lead qualification scorecard can provide the necessary short-list that warrants immediate follow-up.

The sooner you follow-up a lead, the better. The longer you wait, the colder the lead gets and the greater the chance that you’ll be forgotten or beaten by your competition. To follow-up when you return to the office may be too late in this instant gratification world.

This is also a great time to follow-up with prospects that weren’t able to attend the trade show. Prospects that may have contacted you in response to pre-show direct mail or email, website announcements or a landing page, or ads that you placed in trade publications.

Following are three types of lead follow-up that will help your company stay fresh in the minds of potential customers.

EmailEmailing hot prospects the night of a trade show to say thank you, or to respond to product inquiries is a great

first step in building a relationship. Kevin Ehlers, Event Technologies, suggests these five points when sending a follow-up email:

1. Stand Out - Because email is such a standard form of communication, we all receive a lot of messages every day. If you send a long-winded email, people may delete it and move on. Use eye-catching graphics and try to keep the most relevant parts of the message at the top so they show up in the preview pane.

2. From/Subject - Use the From and Subject lines to brand your company. Even if they don’t read the whole message, your company still “registers” with the prospect.

3. Timing - Sending the email directly after the show is imperative while your company is still fresh in your prospects’ minds. Keeping your name in front of them will help increase trade show sales.

4. Use a Call to Action - Present an offer or entice them to contact you in some way (15% off their first order or free ground shipping).

5. Send a relevant message - If you use a lead scoring system, send a different message to the hot, warm and cold leads. If you use lead retrieval software, send them product specific messages based on their interest on the show room floor. Including their local sales rep’s contact information is a nice touch, too.

MailAlan B. Isacson, A. B. Isacson Associates Inc., New York offers this option for lead follow-up via mail: “Hot prospects cool quickly. One way to prevent them from becoming lukewarm is to send follow-up information during the show. Prior to the show, prepare product information packages at your office, and either leave them with an assistant or transport them to the show. At each day’s end, address your packages to those hot prospects and drop them in the mail. Or, forward the prospects’ addresses to your office assistant for immediate mailing. When your red-hot prospects return from the show, your information will be waiting on their desks.”

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PhoneContact by phone is a great method to follow-up hot leads, particularly if the prospect asked for a price quote or additional information. Whether that information is sent via email or traditional mail, a phone call to verify the information arrived is an excellent way to stay engaged with a prospect. “Did you receive the information?” “Can I answer any additional questions?” “Is this the solution you were looking for when we spoke at the trade show?” All of these questions tell the prospect that you care, and want to help them solve their problem.

If the prospect requested a price quote and a sample kit from three vendors and only one delivered, who gets their business? Make sure to take notes on the lead card and follow-up as quickly as possible with what you promised via email, mail or phone. Rapid engagement and delivering on your word is key to turning a hot trade show lead into a long-term relationship.

Other Considerations

The Virtual Trade Show OptionFor a company to participate in a real-world trade show, the cost can range from $12,000 - $25,000 for a booth, pre-show promotion, lodging and travel. Virtual trade show fees can run as little as $3,000 - $8,000, a fraction of the cost. Companies like GoExhibit (www.goexhibit.com), ON24 (www.on24.com), and INXPO (www.inxpo.com) offer virtual trade show services. ON24 has an interactive demo that allows you to experience a virtual trade show just as your customers would, so you can try before you buy.

Virtual trade shows offer many advantages for the customer as well. They are cheaper to attend, offer the customer the ability to download information and seminars on their schedule, and interact socially via IM without the pressure of a salesperson. For the earth-conscious, virtual trade shows have green appeal. With no travel, booth production or brochure printing, virtual trade shows are very “green.”

What are the drawbacks? Promotion and user experience are two of the most obvious. You still have to let your customers know you’ll be at a virtual trade show, just like a physical one. Facebook, Twitter, email marketing, and direct mail are great ways to inform your customers of an upcoming virtual trade show. The user experience can also be frustrating if the client’s hardware is lacking. Virtual trade shows are tech-heavy, requiring the latest plug-ins, a fast Internet connection and an online savvy clientele. If your customer is frustrated with having to load additional software or has a sluggish experience due to an old computer or a low-bandwidth Internet connection, they’ll leave the online show. And, more importantly, your customers don’t get the chance to touch your product or have a face-to-face conversation with you.

Is the virtual trade show an effective way to reach your customers? The virtual experience does allow trackable methods to calculate your return on investment. Reports that list booth visitors, duration of visit, areas visited, downloaded information and contact information are all available after your customers attend the show.

Melanie Lindner from Forbes magazine, How To Tackle A Virtual Trade Show, details a nine-step process to engage in the virtual trade show experience.

Step 1: Find an EventStart by trolling trade publications and industry websites. If you hear about an upcoming show but haven’t received an invitation to set up a booth, call the show’s host directly. Another option: Contact the big virtual-event design companies like GoExhibit, ON24 and SecondLife to find out what shows are in their pipeline. “You can find physical shows that are switching to a hybrid physical-virtual model, or have gone entirely virtual,” says Denise Persson, chief marketing officer for ON24, which designs about 500 virtual events per year.

Step 2: Craft a Clean, Comprehensive Presentation StrategyHave no fear of burdening booth browsers (and depleting the forests) with too much paperwork. Online, you can put all the information about your company at their

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fingertips--including links to your website, as well as to audio and video primers on your company. You also can track what materials are downloaded by each attendee, to get a better sense of which messages resonate and which don’t. Attention spans are a lot shorter online, so be sure the information is easy to surf.

Step 3: Test the WatersBefore you invest a dime in showcasing at a virtual trade show, get a feel for the environment. (Most shows are free for attendees.) You can also contact the show designer for a demo walk-through. Most virtual trade shows are built to look and function like a conventional center, with a lobby, exhibit hall, seminar room and socializing cafe. “Browse” the booths and listen to a few seminars to get a feel for style and length of presentations.

Step 4: Set Up Your BoothUnlike in the physical world, setting up a booth eats all of 30 minutes and takes no sweat. Designers like ON24 will do the booth construction free of charge. All it takes is a brief phone call to layout the general set-up; you’ll also have to send them your materials (white papers, audio and video clips, logos) for formatting. If you’d rather do it yourself, you can log on to the designer’s website and work within a template wizard that walks you through the process. As for placement, “It absolutely helps drive attendees if you pay for prime real estate in the virtual exhibit hall,” says Paul Scroggs, founder of Huntley, Ill.-based GoExhibit. Generally, attendees “enter” the exhibit hall from one main doorway, so getting near that portal is important. Prime placement could run a few thousand dollars more, but it’s still significantly cheaper than a bad spot at a physical show for $25,000.

Step 5: Mingle at the Networking CafeMost virtual trade shows feature a lounge where attendees and presenters can mingle in cyberspace via one-on-one instant messages and chat rooms. When you’re in the networking room, you can see the avatars (digital representations) of the other people there. By hovering a cursor over their avatars you can view basic information about them, like their name, company and title. As for those who don’t prefer to use a digital proxy, their names are listed in a sidebar so that users know

who is in the room. Says Sourabh Kothari of ON24: “Sponsors and attendees can have candid chats about their industry and often there are scheduled chats on designated topics.”

Step 6: Pay for Premium AdvertisingMost virtual shows allow participants to advertise in the form of banners in the lobby, networking cafe and exhibit hall. When users click on the banner, they are directed straight to that company’s booth. (Expect to pay at least a few thousand dollars extra for premium placement.) Often, the host guarantees a certain number of lead generations for premium advertisers; if the guarantee is not fulfilled, you get a portion of your money back, per terms of the contract.

Step 7: Man Your BoothDuring designated show days (some events run for three days, others go on for months), have a representative from your company logged in and prepared to engage booth visitors. When an attendee visits your booth, her name appears in a sidebar list of all the people present, and you can greet her in the form of an instant message. When you IM others, they immediately see your name, company and title; for more information, they can click on your name to view your profile. “Last month I worked my booth while on a flight from Atlanta to Portland,” says Jeff Pedowitz, chief executive of Alpharetta, Ga.-based marketing firm the Pedowitz Group. Pedowitz recently paid just $5,000 for his virtual booth at the B-to-B Magazine show, where he says he ginned up some 50 leads for his marketing services.

Step 8: Follow-up With AttendeesMost shows ask attendees to submit the name of their company and contact information when signing up. This isn’t a license to spam, but a chance to mine the data provided by the show designer--including how long visitors stayed, whether you chatted with them and what materials they downloaded. Follow up with the most engaged of the bunch.

Step 9: Be Your Own HostImplausible as it is in the real world, running your own trade show is a snap online. You can draw attention to your products and collect hosting fees to boot.

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Site builders like GoExhibit charge just $179 a month to let users build their own virtual environment accessible from their website. Now, that small fee only gets you one simple, virtual “room” rather than a tricked out virtual convention center. Another revenue model for hosts: Give booth “space” away free and charge participants for any personal information gathered from visitors to the show.

The virtual trade show won’t be replacing the traditional model anytime soon. However, it is a great alternative for companies with limited marketing budgets to introduce their products or services to the world in a format that is interactive and trackable.

Conclusion

Whichever trade show method you choose, physical or virtual, it’s important to identify your audience, develop a plan to communicate with them, and then utilize the appropriate tools to reach that audience. And once you have made contact, have the mechanisms in place to follow-up and nurture those leads. With that plan of attack, you will be an effective trade show marketer and have the return on investment (increased sales) to prove it.

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References

www.skylinetradeshowtips.com/double-stuff-cookies-not-your-trade-show-exhibit

Trade shows: Get creative with swag http://www.helium.com/items/292812-trade-shows-get-creative-with-swag

The Secret Of Swag - Industry Trend or Event http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HWW/is_30_3/ai_66678737/?tag=content;col1

4 Tradeshow Giveaway Essentials to Increase Your Company Recognition http://thetradeshowcoach.com/2009/10/4-tradeshow-giveaway-essentials-to-increase-your-company-

recognition/#more-263

http://www.amazon.com/First-Impression-Selling-Trade-Shows/dp/B00006ISTK

Generating Sales Ready Leads.pdf by Chris Tremblay, Event Technologies http://event-techs.com/Download_LeadGuide.html

http://tradeshowleads.blogspot.com/2010/10/trade-show-follow-up-email.html

http://www.exhibitoronline.com/tips/tip-display.asp?counter=354

GoExhibit - www.goexhibit.com

ON24 - www.on24.com

INXPO - www.inxpo.com

www.forbes.com/2009/07/28/virtual-tradeshow-steps-entrepreneurs-technology-tradeshow.html