How to book meetings before a trade show starts

Most teams treat a trade show as something that happens on the floor. The teams that get the most from an event treat it as a campaign that starts weeks earlier, with a list of the people who will be in the room.

This is the playbook I’d hand any sales leader who’s about to spend serious budget on a booth.

1. Get the list before anything else

Everything below depends on knowing who’s coming. Event apps usually show something, like names, maybe a title and a company. But that data is hard to filter, can’t be exported, and often comes with a cap on how many people you can message.

What you actually want is one file with every attendee, exhibitor and speaker, and enough context on each person to decide whether they matter:

Current job title and seniority
Company, industry and company size
LinkedIn profile
A work email, where one can be found

Exhibitors deserve their own look. That’s where you’ll find your competitors, and also partners, resellers and integration targets you didn’t know were going.

2. Tier the list against your ICP

Don’t try to reach everyone. Split the list into three groups:

Must-meet: named accounts, open opportunities, and buyers at companies that match your ideal customer profile.
Worth a conversation: good-fit companies where you don’t yet know the right person, plus partners.
Everyone else: they’ll get your general event message, if anything.

A list with 3,000 names usually shrinks to a few hundred must-meets once you filter by title and company size. That’s a number an SDR team can actually work.

3. Start outreach two to three weeks out

Calendars at big events fill early. A short sequence that starts a few weeks ahead works well:

First touch: say you’ll both be at the event, and give one specific reason to meet that’s tied to their role.
Second touch: offer two concrete time slots and a place, like your booth or a coffee spot nearby.
Last touch, the week before: a short nudge. People plan their days right before the event.

Personalisation is what makes this work. When you know someone’s title, company size and industry, a message can be specific without taking ten minutes to write.

4. Brief the team on who’s in the room

Before the doors open, every rep on the booth should know:

Which meetings are booked, and the context behind each one
The must-meet names who didn’t reply, so they can spot them on the floor
Which competitors are exhibiting, and how to position against them

5. Follow up while the event is still fresh

The list you built before the event is also your follow-up list. Import it into the CRM, tag everyone you met, and follow up within a few days, before the conversation goes cold.

If you attend several events a year, keep the lists. People you keep seeing at different shows are often your warmest leads, and having that history makes the next conversation much easier.

If you have an event coming up and want the attendee list without the manual research, send me the event and I’ll show you what’s available.