Why follow-up is where industrial fairs are won
An industrial buyer at a fair is gathering options. They talk to many suppliers, collect catalogues and go home. The decision often needs a plant head, a purchase head and sometimes a finance head. It does not happen at the stall.
So the fair gives you a first meeting, not an order. What you do in the next weeks decides whether the first meeting turns into a request for quotation. A request for quotation, or RFQ, is a buyer asking a supplier for a price.
Step 1: The lead sheet, set up before the fair
Build one sheet before the fair, and use it at the stall. A simple sheet, kept the same for every fair, makes follow-up easy. These are the columns we suggest:
| Column | What goes in it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Name, company, role | Who you met, and whether they can decide or pay. | A decision maker is graded higher. |
| Product or need | What they asked about, in their words. | Your first message repeats it. |
| Quantity and place | How much, and where it goes. | A request with a quantity and a place is worth more. |
| Time frame | When they plan to decide. | Sets the grade and the follow-up date. |
| Grade | A, B or C (see below). | Decides who gets a call first. |
| Owner | One person in sales. | A lead with two owners has none. |
| Next step and date | The next action and when. | Keeps the sheet moving. |
| Status | Open, quoted, won, lost, parked. | Lets you measure at 90 and 180 days. |
Take a photo of each visiting card and add it to the row. Cards get lost, and a photo keeps the detail you cannot type at a busy stall.
Step 2: Grade the lead before they walk away
- Grade A: a decision maker with a need and a time frame.
- Grade B: a need, but not ready yet, or not the decision maker.
- Grade C: a contact only.
Grade at the stall, because memory fades by the evening. Three questions help: what do you use today, what problem do you want to fix, and when do you plan to decide? Write the answers down in the sheet.
Step 3: A day-by-day plan
| When | Grade A | Grade B | Grade C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Same evening | Enter in the sheet, with the grade and the ask. | Enter in the sheet. | Enter in the sheet. |
| Day 1 to 2 | Call. Thank them, repeat what they asked, send what you promised, fix a next step. | Send a short, useful message with the catalogue or a specification sheet. | Thank them. Add to your list only with their permission. |
| Day 7 | Send the quotation or a visit plan, if asked. | Follow up once on the message. | Nothing. |
| Day 14 | Call again if there is no reply. Offer a demo or a plant visit. | Send one useful item, such as a short note on a problem buyers in your line face. | Nothing. |
| Day 30 | Review: still active, quoted or parked? | Move up to A if they replied with a need, or park. | Park. |
| Day 90 | Measure. Quotes still open stay a separate line. | Review and decide. | Review the list. |
Industrial deals can take months. The plan is built so that no lead is forgotten and no lead is chased every day.
What to send, and by which channel
- Call first for grade A. A phone call is quick and a buyer can ask a question.
- Email for anything a buyer must forward to a colleague: a specification sheet, a drawing, a catalogue, a quotation.
- WhatsApp for short, quick items, such as a catalogue PDF or a location. Ask first, and keep it to what they asked for.
- A plant visit or a sample, if the product allows it, once the buyer is serious.
A first message should repeat what the buyer asked, in their words, and say the next step. A buyer who sees their own question in your message knows that you listened. Ask permission before you add anyone to a list, and ask a lawyer about the consent rules that apply to you.
A qualified request: the line that matters
We call a request for quotation qualified when it names a product, a quantity, a delivery place and a time. It must also come from a buyer who can decide or pay. This is our own working definition, not an industry standard. It keeps sales and marketing talking about the same thing.
Our guide on how to generate B2B leads in India explains the wider picture, and the dealer meet planning guide covers the dealer side.
What goes wrong, and how to catch it
- Leads sit in a bag of cards for two weeks. Catch it: check the sheet on the evening of day one. Every card should be in it.
- Everyone follows up, so nobody does. Catch it: one owner per lead, shown in the sheet.
- A promise made at the stall is forgotten. Catch it: write each promise in the row, and check them at day 2.
- The message is a brochure, not an answer. Catch it: read the first message aloud. Does it answer what the buyer asked?
- Quotes are counted as orders. Catch it: keep one line for quotes open and one for orders won.
- The first review is at day 30, when little has happened. Catch it: set the review dates at 90 and 180 days in advance.
These are slips we plan against. They come from our own framing of B2B follow-up, not from a named company.
When we park a lead
Not every lead becomes an order, and chasing a cold one wastes the team's time. We park a lead when it has had three real tries without a reply: a call, a useful message and an offer of a visit or demo. Parked leads are not deleted. They get a short note every few months, and only if they agreed to be contacted. A reply moves them back to grade B or A.
What we measure
- Leads by grade, and how many got a reply in two days.
- Meetings or visits held.
- Quotes sent, and quotes still open.
- Orders won and the margin earned on them.
- Cost per qualified lead: total cost divided by grade A and B leads.
We read these at 90 and 180 days. At 30 days the numbers are too early to judge.
When to call us
Call us when you exhibit often but cannot say what the last fair gave you. Call when leads pile up and no one owns them. The first step is a free 30-minute call and a one-page plan, for projects we think we can help. Get a growth plan. See our work for industrial manufacturing and our events and exhibitions service.
