--- title: Trade Show ROI · Revenue Engine Workshop --- Revenue Engine Workshop · Exercise 6 Trade Show Science Evaluating Your Trade Show Strategy Distribute Stage Measure Stage The Framework ## Prove It. Don't Just Feel It Trade shows are one of the best tools you have to share good news, generate leads, and show leadership what marketing is actually worth. Most teams walk the floor, stack up business cards, and call it a win. That's a feeling, not a number. Trade Show Science turns a conference booth into a measurable GTM channel. Before the show, you set targets. During the show, you track the right metrics. After the show, you run the math and hand your CEO a number, not a vibe. There are two formulas. The simple one gets you a fast, defensible number in five minutes. The full one accounts for the value most teams leave on the table: press interviews and time spent with current customers. Fast & Defensible The Simple Formula Use this on the plane ride home. It only requires one number you probably already have. New Opportunities × ARR per Opportunity = Trade Show ROI Complete Picture The Full Formula Adds the value most teams never count: press coverage and existing customer touchpoints. (New Opps × ARR) + Press Value + (Customer Value × Interactions) 🎯 **Set the target before you fly out:** pull your TAM list and pre-set meetings with named accounts before the show opens. A booth full of walk-up traffic feels busy. A room full of pre-set meetings with your actual TAM is a pipeline. Here's the part most teams skip: current customer interactions have value too. Every renewal conversation, every expansion opportunity, every reference you line up at the booth is real dollars, even if it never shows up as a "new opportunity." Your Turn ## Run The Numbers Think about the most recent trade show your company attended. Pull the real numbers if you have them, or your best honest estimate if you don't. 01 Log Your Show Metrics The raw numbers from the floor. These feed the ROI calculation below. Total Attendees Total TAM Accounts (Our Targets) # of Pre-Set Meetings with Targets # of New Business Cards Collected # of Press Interviews # of Current Customer Interactions # of New Logo Opportunities This is the number that feeds "New Opportunities" in both formulas below. 02 Calculate Your Trade Show ROI Assign dollar values, then watch both formulas update as you type. ARR per Opportunity ($) Value of Press Opportunities ($) Value per Customer Interaction ($) Simple Trade Show ROI $0 New Opportunities × ARR per Opportunity Full Trade Show ROI $0 Adds press value and current customer value 03 Rate Yourself Honestly How well did you execute your trade show strategy? Pick the one that's actually true, not the one that sounds best in the recap email. I'm Crushing It Clear strategy, clean execution, measurable results that impressed leadership. I Have Things to Work On Solid job, good leads and interactions, but the strategy wasn't fully optimized. I Have No Strategy, Don't Tell My CEO No clear plan going in. Maybe some wins happened anyway, but you know it wasn't as good as it could've been. 04 Reflect on Your Last Trade Show Objectives, planning, execution, outcomes. What actually happened? Your Takeaway ## Your Trade Show ROI Card This is the number your CEO actually wants. Copy it, attach it to the post-show recap, and run this same math after every show so you can compare one event to the next. My Trade Show ROI Total Attendees — Total TAM Accounts — Pre-Set Meetings with Targets — New Business Cards Collected — New Logo Opportunities — Press Interviews — Current Customer Interactions — Trade Show ROI Simple: $0 Full: $0 Reflection Notes — Copy My Trade Show ROI The Revenue Engine LeadCoverage Workshop The Revenue Engine · LeadCoverage Share Good News  •  Track Interest  •  Follow Up