The entrepreneurial spirit has been one of the most important and unique facets of American history. The value of small business owners, the ingenuity of people who are able to provide a good or service of value to their community, occupies a prominent place in the American value system that it does not enjoy anywhere else in the world. The importance of the entrepreneurial spirit has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, and an ever-increasing number of people are wondering exactly how the process of building a business works.

As these people research the process by which they start a business, they tend to inevitably skip a few steps that are of course the most important, difficult and foundational aspects. An effective, thorough business plan, for example, and developing a proof of concept through manufacturing prototypes and generating small-scale sales are perhaps the least glamorous aspects of building a business. Many people want to skip ahead to how large numbers of sales are generated. And learning about the sales process is still an important and worthwhile investment of time. One of the ways businesses at all stages of development, particularly at the early stages, build a customer-base is through trade shows. Just as building a business is a more complicated process than it first appears, so too is the process of effectively capitalizing on the business opportunities of a trade show. Here is a look at some aspects of trade shows from the perspectives of the business owners and event organizers.

Sales

On the surface, the potential sales generated at a trade show are the most obvious aspect of the event. Trade shows are an opportunity for businesses to sell their product to a customer base with a demonstrated interest in the type of product they are selling. For example, a business selling a new type of coffee maker is much more likely to have success with the average person attending a coffee-related product tradeshow than with the average person in general. Beyond the increased revenue stream that these sales can generate, the evaluation of these sales vis-à-vis the other businesses selling their product at the trade show, can be a valuable insight for business owners about their standing in their particular market. For the trade show organizer, the amount of sales generated is also an important metric as a means of preserving their own standing in the market and their own ability to attract top vendors in the future.

Sales Leads

While selling directly at a high volume is obviously a welcome outcome for exhibitors at trade shows, generating sales leads has become just as, if not more so, important a part of the event. The interest of the customer pool at a trade show, as mentioned above, is at a higher level than that of the general public. As a result, the sales leads that come from a trade show are of particular value to its vendors and organizers. In recent years, many different and increasingly effective methods for tracking these sales leads have been developed. There are several different apps that have been developed to allow exhibitors to track their leads using their phone. More and more vendors are also choosing to use a tradeshow scanner for the purpose of tracking leads. These small, handheld scanners are rented by vendors and are able to scan barcodes and transfer them immediately to an online database. Some trade show organizers choose to make these available for their vendors on-site.

Marketing

Of course, beyond sales and sales leads, a trade show is obviously a valuable opportunity for a business to market their product and build their brand. This marketing and branding is a constant process, and trade shows can serve as a valuable reminder that short-term sales struggles, even in a setting like a trade show, do not necessarily mean that a business is not cultivating long-term success.