I just returned from speaking in Las Vegas at Surfaces, the world’s largest conference of floor covering professionals.

There I was, one of 40,000 attendees walking through 500,000 square feet worth of flooring exhibits.

And there they were, 1,000 exhibitors showing off the latest in carpet, hardwood, tile, marble,  laminate, rugs, accessories and a whole lot more.

I could only wonder how many of those exhibitors would follow up on the contacts they made.

More than half of the companies that exhibit at other design trade shows — High Point, Neocon, the International Window Covering Expo and the others — fail to adequately follow up when the shows are over.

Crazy, don’t you think? Millions  of dollars and thousands of hours go into preparation for these events.

Hundreds of business cards are collected on the show floor. Yet, most company reps drop the ball when it comes to recontacting prospects in a timely fashion.

Exhibitors should recontact each top trade show prospect within two days after meeting them. Often it pays to send a followup package, with a cover letter, additional marketing materials and product samples.

Trade show exhibitors can make mega deals with and sales to key prospects after the show.  But they leave big money on the table when they fail to follow up when and how they should.