Trade shows for logistics professionals seem to be on every corner these days. Many sales professionals will attend at least one, often more, each year. While shaking hands, exchanging smiles, and collecting business cards are essential, let’s be honest: you still can’t eat those.
If you’re serious about converting trade show efforts into actual revenue, then what you do after the event matters far more than what you did during it.
In this article, I’ll discuss some of the most important strategies for ensuring that your trade show investment delivers real business growth.
P.S. If you’re reading this and will be attending TransportLogistik in Munich and looking for ways to speed up new business development for you or your team, drop me a message on LinkedIn or through our website, and let‘s set up a time for us to talk.
What Happens at a Trade Show… Shouldn’t Stay There
Trade shows are fun, bring a buzz to your team, give you visibility, and make you feel like you’re in the center of the industry. But the real work and the real return begin when you leave the venue.
And here’s the hard truth: most professionals get little to no return from the trade shows they attend.
It’s not because trade shows don’t work. Most teams have no clear strategy for what happens after the show. They celebrate the quantity of business cards instead of focusing on the quality of relationships. They return to the office, dive into urgent client issues, and let the leads go cold.
If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. But it’s fixable.
You Need a Post-Show Game Plan
The companies and profesionals that get results from trade shows treat them not as events, but as pipeline acceleration tools. They know that the real ROI comes from disciplined follow-up, lead nurturing, and smart use of marketing and sales resources in the following weeks.
Here’s what that looks like in practice.
- Don’t Wait — Follow Up While You’re Still Top of Mind
You have a 48-hour window where people still remember your face, pitch, or booth. Once that window closes, your message starts competing with 300 others they heard that week.
So your first priority when you get back to the office? Follow up. Fast.
But this isn’t just about sending a “nice to meet you” email. It’s about making your outreach feel like a continuation of your conversation, not a sales pitch.
Mention something personal from your meeting. Refer to a challenge they shared. Send them a helpful insight or a relevant article. Make it about them, not about you.
And always invite the next step, a short call, a discovery meeting, or even just a connection on LinkedIn with a message that shows effort.
Many follow-ups fail because they’re vague. “Would love to reconnect” or “Let’s catch up” just doesn’t cut it anymore.
Instead, offer something concrete:
- A 20-minute audit of their current transportation costs.
- A benchmark comparison with similar companies.
- A brief consultation on how to fix a common issue (like LTL delays or customs handling inefficiencies).
In logistics, time is money. Show that you’re ready to save them both.
One email won’t do it. Build a multi-step follow-up system:
- Day 2: Personalized thank-you email with context
- Day 5: LinkedIn message with a value piece (insight, article, stat)
- Day 10: Follow-up call
- Day 15: Case study or testimonial with an invitation to talk
- Day 30: Email with a soft CTA
- Meet With Your Pipeline, Not Just Your Leads
Too often, trade show follow-up is treated as an isolated list of contacts. But if you’re in sales or business development, you already have a pipeline. Use the trade show as a reason to reconnect with your entire pipeline.
Reach out, ask if they will participate, and invite them to meet there. This approach works like a miracle because it doesn’t come across as cold outreach, but it feels timely and relevant.
Frankly, if I were the one leading your sales department, I wouldn‘t allow you to attend a trade show without a developed pipeline and some meetings arranged from it.
- Book a “Post-Show Pipeline Review” Meeting
This is where real conversion happens, but it’s often skipped.
Set aside time (individually or with your team) to go through every hot lead from the event.
Ask yourselves:
- Who are the top 10 highest potential targets?
- What’s our next move for each of them?
- What specific information do we need to progress?
This turns passive notes into active opportunities.
- Marketing Doesn’t Stop at the Booth
Many logistics companies assume their marketing efforts end once the booth is packed up. However, the most innovative teams use the post-show period as a launchpad for visibility and positioning.
Your goal now is to amplify the attention you captured.
Here’s what works:
- Send a thank-you newsletter to those who visited (and those who didn’t but are in your network).
- Share your takeaways on LinkedIn, mention trends, tag key contacts you met, and invite further conversations.
- Sign up leads for your newsletter.
- If available, run retargeting ads to event attendees using the show’s data or your collected emails.
- For top leads, arrange an account-based or decision-maker-based marketing campaign.
Your booth was a conversation starter. Marketing is how you keep the conversation alive.
- Use “Second Contact Points” to Re-Engage
Not every first message will get a reply, and that’s okay. But most companies stop there. The best teams don’t.
Instead, they find a second way in:
- Ask someone else from your team to follow up from a different angle.
- Like or comment on their LinkedIn posts to warm up the relationship.
- Share their company news and mention them.
- Attend a webinar or podcast they’re involved in, and use it as a soft touchpoint.
- DM them a thoughtful note based on their recent update.
In logistics sales, relationships often start with persistence, not the perfect pitch.
Final Thoughts
Trade shows are expensive in time, energy, and money. But they’re also one of the few opportunities to get dozens of qualified buyers, influencers, and potential partners in one place.
The question isn’t whether trade shows work. The question is whether you’ll do the job after.
So don’t just collect business cards. Convert them.
About the Author:
Thomas Ananjevas is a seasoned supply chain professional with 15 years of experience in purchasing and selling logistics services and building supply chains from the ground up. He founded a consulting, training, and marketing services company dedicated to the logistics industry. Thomas specializes in helping logistics companies implement necessary changes to ensure business growth and continuity.
If you want to speed up new business development, stand out from the competition, and implement the latest sales and marketing strategies and technologies to support them, click here to schedule a discovery call with Thomas.
