How to Get Leads (Not Just Lanyards) from Your Next Trade Show

Let’s be honest, most trade show booths fall into two categories:

1. A booth so boring even the free candy looks stale.

2. A booth that’s all flash but couldn’t track a lead if it slapped them in the face with a branded tote bag.

At Unalike Marketing, we’ve helped businesses across industries, from ag shows in the Prairies to national expos in BC, make every trade show dollar count. If you’re investing in event planning or event marketing, this guide is your blueprint to make it rain leads, not just handshakes.

So buckle up your branded lanyard. Here’s how to get the most out of your event spend.

Step 1: Start Before You Arrive – The Pre-Game Is Everything

Showing up and hoping for the best is a solid strategy, for losing. Trade show success starts months before you unroll your branded tablecloth. And just like tailgating in the parking lot before the big game, it’s the most important step to ensure the fun doesn’t end when the bill comes.

Define Your Goals

Are you looking to:

• Generate leads?

• Launch a product?

• Recruit talent?

• Build partnerships?

Pick your top 1–2 outcomes and plan backwards from there. Don't try to be everything to everyone. A focused booth beats a frantic one every time.

Choose the Right Trade Show

Not all events are created equal. Some attract high-value buyers. Others are just clever ways for salespeople to expense a trip.

• Ag shows like Canada's Farm Show or Ag in Motion in Saskatchewan are great for product demos and in-field conversations, but require a rugged booth and long-haul prep.

• Tech expos in Ontario thrive on glitz, screens, and fast talking.

• Industry-specific events (think seafood in Atlantic Canada, energy in Alberta, or education in BC) offer tight, niche audiences, ideal for targeted outreach.

Use past event data, attendee demographics, and organizer insights before you commit.

Step 2: Promote Like a Marketing Agency Would

Once you’ve committed to an event, it’s time to make strategic noise. It helps to have a strategic partner, like a marketing agency, but even if you don’t, your planning needs to follow suit.

Create a Landing Page

Don't just point people to your homepage. Build an event-specific landing page that includes:

• Booth location

• Show specials

• Booking form for meetings

• Giveaway signup

Make it trackable with UTM parameters so you know what worked.

Use Email + Organic Social + Paid Ads

Tease your presence across all channels:

• “Come see the latest [product] at Booth #215”

• “Book a meeting with our team before spots fill”

• “Win [prize] just for stopping by”

Bonus tip: create a short, branded video of what to expect at your booth, it boosts click-through and adds some human personality.

Step 3: Geotarget Like a Pro

This is where most businesses completely drop the ball. You’ve got a high-value audience in a single location? That’s marketing gold.

Geotarget the Event

One of the most overlooked strategies in trade show marketing is geo-targeting and when done right, it’s like putting your message directly into your prospect’s pocket.

Geotargeting is the practice of delivering ads to people based on their physical location. With tools like geofencing or radius-based advertising, you can serve ads to attendees within a defined area, It’s ideal for reaching people while they’re actively in event mode, walking the floor or between sessions.

Say you're exhibiting at Manitoba Ag Days, a multi-day agriculture event that attracts thousands of attendees who spend long hours on-site. You could run a mobile ad campaign that targets anyone with a smartphone at the trade show venue itself, nearby hotels, or even the parking lot.

Showing a message like:

“At Manitoba Ag Days? Stop by Booth 247 and get 10% off your first order!”

Better yet, because people tend to browse their phones during breaks or while waiting for their next session, this form of advertising has a high engagement rate. It’s a modern, low-cost way to stand out without relying solely on foot traffic.

Retarget After They’ve Gone

And the best part? You can continue retargeting ads to those same people after the event ends, including anyone who visits your site during the show window. Show them:

• A recap of the event

• Testimonials

• Follow-up offers

You already paid to get them to your site. Don’t let them vanish. Keep your brand top of mind long after the booths have been packed up.

Step 4: Train Your Staff Working the Booth Like It’s Game Day

Your booth might catch eyes, but it’s your people who close the deal. Make sure you’re sending the right team, folks who are approachable, know your product inside and out, and are comfortable striking up conversations with strangers. Before the show, train everyone on what success looks like (Is it booked demos? Scanned leads? Meetings set?) and ensure they’re fully up to speed on any lead capture tools you’re using. A confident, informed, and engaging team will always outperform a flashy booth with no follow-through.

Script the Conversations

You don’t need word-for-word scripts, but everyone should be aligned on:

• The 3 key messages

• How to qualify a lead

• When to scan a badge vs. schedule a meeting

Use Lead Capture Technology

Ditch the fishbowl of business cards. Use:

• QR code forms

• Lead retrieval apps

• Instant meeting booking tools

Pro tip: Have a tablet with a giveaway entry form that feeds directly into your CRM. Boom, qualified contacts.

Step 5: Don’t Just Network - Document Everything

Most businesses treat trade shows like a series of quick conversations, but savvy marketers know they’re also a goldmine for content. Every handshake, product demo and awkwardly enthusiastic pitch is an opportunity to capture social material to fuel your marketing long after the event ends.

Capture Real Moments

Take photos of:

• Your team in action

• Visitors interacting

• Behind-the-scenes setup

Shoot short video clips of live demos, fun conversations, or someone who’s really into your branded stress balls.

Use It for Post-Event Marketing

Turn the footage into:

• Instagram Reels

• LinkedIn carousels

• “5 Takeaways from [Event Name]” blog

At Unalike Marketing, we often turn one 3-day event into a 30-day content strategy. Don’t let your effort end when the trade show lights dim.

Step 6: The Follow-Up Plan That Actually Works

You know what happens to 90% of trade show leads? They die in a branded tote bag under someone’s desk.

Follow-Up Within 48 Hours

Leads go cold fast. Before you even attend the show, set up your follow-up sequence:

1. Day 1 Post Show – Thank-you email + call to action

2. Day 3 – Case study or offer

3. Day 7–10 – Personal reach-out with booking link

Bonus: Segment leads based on how hot they were. “Nice to meet you” isn’t the same as “Send me a quote.”

Clean Your Data

Don’t load in 500 contacts with no notes. Tag each with:

• Event name

• Type of inquiry

• Follow-up type

Use this data for future campaigns and to prove ROI.

Step 7: Know If It Was Worth It

Too many companies treat trade show and events like a sunk cost or a “brand awareness” play, but if you're serious about event marketing, you need to measure your ROI like any other campaign. Get everyone in a room and ask everyone who attended, from executives to event staff, what worked and what didn't.

Start by looking at the tangible metrics:

• # of leads collected

• # of meetings booked

• # of sales closed (and deal size)

• Website traffic during the show

Don’t forget the soft wins too:

• Strategic partnerships

• Industry exposure

• Email list growth

At Unalike Marketing, we help our clients measure ROI not just by leads, but by conversion momentum. A good event can spark growth for months to come and our goal with events, like anything is 200% return on your investment.

Bonus Tips to Stand Out (Because We’re Extra Like That)

Let’s be blunt: the average trade show booth blends into a sea of pull-up banners, plastic tables, and tired giveaways. If you want to get noticed, you need to give people a reason to stop and stay, not just glance and keep walking.

At the most recent show I attended, it felt like every second booth was giving out a tote bag or running a game of cornhole. Great if you’re planning a backyard BBQ, less great if you're trying to be remembered by serious buyers. In a world of sameness, your booth needs to do more than just show up. It needs to show off.

Take signage, for example.

Everyone seems to default to the same feather flags and collapsible banners. At a recent home show, we saw one of the only booths getting real foot traffic—why? They had an inflatable mascot two stories tall. It towered over the crowd and acted as a beacon for everyone who forgot where Booth #301 was. You don’t need to go full Macy’s Day Parade, but height, movement, and novelty, like a big-ass TV, will win eyeballs every time.

Here are the three keys to a booth that stands out:

1) Height (be taller than the rest)

2) Movement (draw those eyeballs)

3) Novelty (crazy and out of place is best)

Then there was the drone giveaway at a recent agriculture show.

A cool idea, who wouldn’t want to win a drone? The problem was execution. One small sign was taped to a pallet at the front of the booth, while the team sat 50 feet back under a tent. The result? People walked by, didn’t see a soul, and kept going. If you're doing a giveaway, integrate it fully into your booth experience. Make it clear, loud, and engaging. We’ve helped clients run live draws, scan-to-enter contests, and social media engagement challenges that generate both foot traffic and follow-up lists.

Interactive experiences are another smart way to grab attention.

Digital spin-to-win wheels, touchscreens with trivia games or “scan your badge and see what you win” activations keep people engaged longer. The longer someone stays in your booth, the more likely they are to remember your name and become a lead.

Want to make people actually smile? Serve something surprising.

Coffee is a classic, but if the venue allows, we’ve seen branded smoothies, mini ice cream bars and even a 4pm cocktail hour with great success. These are especially popular at longer shows or events where attendees are on their feet for hours.

And finally, if your signage reads like a PowerPoint slide, we need to talk.

Your booth should be a magnet, not a mission statement. Try a headline like: “Finally—[solution] that actually works.”

Or maybe:

“You walked all this way. Let’s make it worth it.”

People don’t read paragraphs at trade shows so treat it like a billboard, 7 words or less.

What Unalike Marketing Brings to Your Next Trade Show

We know trade shows are expensive. The travel, the build, the staff hours, the branded stress balls. It adds up. That’s Unalike Marketing helps you own the floor with a full-service approach to event marketing. We start by understanding your goals and selecting the right show for your audience. From there, we build everything you need to stand out:custom signage, pre-event landing pages, lead capture systems and even staff training to help your team close on the spot.

Before the show, we’ll help you create the kind of buzz that gets you on the attendee’s must-visit list. From LinkedIn connections to Google ads that follow your targets around the internet.

During the show, we’ll make sure your booth attracts the right kind of attention, not just swag hunters.

And after it’s over, we’ll guide your follow-up strategy to make sure every warm lead doesn’t just sit in your CRM gathering digital dust.

We’ve worked with everyone from software startups to ag retailers, and we’re ready to make your booth the one everyone talks about (and buys from).

Skip the Handshakes. Get Results.

Let’s recap. If your current trade show strategy is:

• Show up

• Smile

• Hand-out pens

• Hope someone follows up

You’re leaving money on the table. Instead, partner with Unalike Marketing and get:

• A custom-built game plan tied to your sales goals

• Pre-show promotion and geo-targeted advertising

• A show-stopping booth experience that gets people talking

• A lead capture process that flows right into your CRM

• A post-show strategy that actually converts

Whether you’re new to trade shows or just tired of getting “meh” results, we’ll help you finally get more out of your event marketing spend.

Ready to Level Up Your Next Trade Show?

When it comes to bringing your trade show booth to life, we’ve partnered with the experiential pros at Spark Bookings & Creations out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. From branded emcees and live draws to fully-scripted booth hosts who can capture a crowd and qualify leads while cracking a smile, Spark turns passive foot traffic into real-time engagement, and has been doing so for over 15 years. Together, Unalike Marketing and Spark Bookings & Creations deliver the full package: strategy, creative, execution, and personality. If you want your booth to have both brains and charm, we’ve got you covered.

Let’s make your booth or event, the one people remember, for all the right reasons.

Reach out to Unalike Marketing, Saskatchewan’s sharpest marketing agency for event planning, event marketing, and brand-led strategy. We’ll bring the creative, the logistics and the momentum. You just bring the badge.