Whoohoo! It’s over! Another trade show has come and gone. Thank God! Sales has the leads. They’re working them hard and making the most out of the few thousand dollars (or in some cases – hundreds of thousands of dollars) you spent. You know it was worth it.

The accolades have come pouring in, and you’re feeling good. What do you do now?

#1: Enjoy your virtual (or actual!) vacation.

You invested early in a CRM, and all the data is already in there. You can check back in and run some reports when you’re back from your trip. You’ve got a leg up there. Whether or not you can actually get time away, it’s time to decompress a little. Linger a longer at the water cooler. Leave a little early for a movie… You’ve earned it.

On the off chance you don’t have that CRM up and running –

Get it going now. Before you leave. Saleforce isn’t the only horse in the race. You can get started today for free (yep FREE!) with solutions like Zoho.com and import your leads with lead source and lead status in less than 20 minutes. Do this quickly today or tomorrow over a cup of coffee before you leave. You can’t afford not to.

#2: Trust your sales team, and give all the follow-up to them.

You have an amazing group. They are diligent. Excellent follow-through. Really, you can’t believe you were so lucky to land at a company with such an incredible sales team. You know they are already busy doing the hard lead follow-up work. Even though all of the other competitive sales groups are following up too, you know your guys and gals stand above the pack and know how to make sure their follow-up breaks through the noise. You trust them to do what they do best.

On the off chance they need a little bit more back-up –

Make sure you’ve segmented your leads and contacts based on the stages in your sales funnel. Information needs vary, and you’ll want to adjust content marketing strategy and follow-up activity based on these stages. You know all about this already but just in case you need a little more background, you can learn more here.

#3: Get started on the next item on your “to do” list.

RSNA? Your next product launch? Webinar?

Your marketing plan is baked. You know exactly what do to next because you have really tight strategy planning. You know what you need to do to move the needle. You have the budget, and you know how to execute. You’re a pro and you keep it moving. A lot of companies use email marketing as a follow-up to trade shows. You do too, and you have it all tee’d up.

On the off chance you haven’t thought much about this plan –

Think about it now. The same tired ‘thanks for stopping by our booth…’ email just screams mediocrity. Picture your in-box with 20 of those days after the show…

Channel your inner flamboyant creative agent, and come up with a slightly different strategy for each stage of the sales funnel and a compelling call-to-action. These days, ‘For more information…’ or ‘to learn more…’ just doesn’t inspire action — unless the desired action is ‘delete’. ‘Download our free white paper’, ‘request a custom business plan’, ‘try our pilot risk free’ — these are types of CTAs that stand out.

And don’t forget – direct mail is not dead either!

Enjoy your post-show glow and make your follow-up count!