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Free practical guide

What sales strategy should you adopt at a trade show?

A clear "before • during • after" method so you no longer rely on luck. Prospecting ahead of time, a customer journey planned down to the meter, a greeter, host and salesperson trio, a simple pitch and respect for consent. The goal: more real conversations, more sales.

Did you know? According to CEIR (Center for Exhibition Industry Research), 81% of trade show visitors have purchasing authority.

Source: CEIR - The Power of Exhibitions

  • ✓
    How to handle prospecting ahead of time
  • ✓
    Sample maps of a typical visitor journey
  • ✓
    The winning trio at the booth: roles and scripts
  • ✓
    The sales pitch that hooks in 90 seconds
  • ✓
    How to pick up the right signals and measure what matters
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Sales strategy visual

What's inside this guide

Chapter 1: Prospecting ahead of time (ambassadors, customers, targeted offers and flyers).

Chapter 2: Building the customer journey (key steps and making the most of your booth space).

Chapter 3: The sales pitch, the HDC method and proven techniques (FABS, SONCAS, SPIN…).

Chapter 4: The human connection (the greeter, host and salesperson trio, and respecting GDPR consent).

🔗 Go further: A successful trade show depends on your team's ability to start an interesting conversation with a passerby in a hurry. Download our ready-to-use template to convert quickly with a simple, effective sales pitch.

Conclusion: Orchestrating the before, during and after for a visible return on investment.

Don't waste the post-show period

One statistic hurts in our industry: according to Exhibitor Magazine, 70% of exhibitors never follow up with their contacts after a trade show. All that budget spent for nothing, simply for lack of method and tools.
Source: Exhibitor Magazine - Trade Show Follow-up

If centralizing data and post-show follow-up interests you, we invite you to read our detailed blog article. You'll find out why centralizing your sales management always pays off.

And to go further in automating your follow-ups, take a look at our page explaining how to use AI as an expert to boost your sales.

They put it into practice

Real results after setting up the journey and the trio method.

Camille R.
Trade Show Manager

“Targeted invitations + a special customer offer = a full booth from opening time. The rest followed naturally.”

Lucas M.
SME Business Owner

“By clearly separating the roles (greeter, host, salesperson), we doubled the useful conversations without wearing out the team.”

Sonia T.
Marketing Director

“The HDC pitch made conversations flow. More qualified meetings booked, fewer monologues and less wasted time.”

🔗 Go further: A trade show is a costly investment, so you need to attract the right people. Before writing your opening lines, make sure you're targeting your ideal prospects. Read our advice on how to build a persona that's actually useful.

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Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

Short, actionable answers grounded in field reality.

Structure the before, during and after: targeted invitations, a booth journey broken into steps, a trio of defined roles (greeter, host, salesperson), a clear pitch, and automated follow-up at D+1 / D+3 / D+10. Always measure your qualified leads and booked meetings.
Work on the entrance with a readable hook at eye level. Plan an opening action (quick demo, sample) and assign a dedicated "greeter" who stays at the edge of the aisle to catch people's eye and bring in traffic, without sitting behind a table.
Split the roles to avoid burnout and colleagues clustering together: the Greeter draws passersby in from the aisle, the Host answers first questions and qualifies the need, and the Salesperson takes over to close or set a formal meeting in a quiet spot.
Don't stop at the number of business cards collected. Track booth traffic, the number of qualified leads (real needs identified), firm meetings booked on site, the post-show no-show rate, and analyze the revenue generated at 30 and 90 days that is directly attributable to the event.