🤠 Free Calculator

What did your last trade show actually cost?

Most exhibitors have no idea what they spent per lead, or per deal. Find out in 30 seconds.

No email required. Just real numbers.

Booth space, travel, hotel, shipping, setup, staff time
$
$1K$100K
Business cards, badge scans, sign-up sheets — everything
101,000
How many did your team actually contact after the show?
01,000
Deals you can directly trace back to this show
0100
Average revenue per closed deal from this show
$
$100$100K
How long ago was the show? Leads go cold fast.
Today90 days

Your Trade Show ROI

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Cost Per Lead
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Follow-up Rate
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Cost Per Deal
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Revenue Generated
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Net ROI
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Leads Gone Cold
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What this means

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The guide

How to calculate trade show ROI

Trade show ROI tells you whether a show earned back what you spent on it. The math is simple. The hard part is counting every cost and tracing deals back to the show, so here's how to do both.

The trade show ROI formula

ROI = (Revenue from show deals − Total show cost) ÷ Total show cost × 100Example: a $15,000 show that closes 4 deals worth $9,000 each brings in $36,000. ($36,000 − $15,000) ÷ $15,000 × 100 = 140% ROI.

Only count revenue you can trace back to the show. That's why it pays to tag every lead with the show it came from the moment you capture it.

What to count as show cost

Most teams undercount here, which makes a show look better than it was. Add up:

The four numbers that tell the real story

Cost per leadTotal cost ÷ leads captured
What each conversation cost you.
Follow-up rateLeads contacted ÷ leads captured
How many leads actually heard from you.
Cost per dealTotal cost ÷ deals closed
What it cost to win each customer.
Net returnRevenue − total cost
What the show made or lost, in dollars.

What's a good cost per lead?

There's no reliable, current industry benchmark, and you should be skeptical of anyone who quotes one. The most-cited research is from the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR). In 2010 it found it cost about $198 to find a prospect at a show versus $450 without one, and about $2,224 to close a sale from a show lead versus $3,153 without.

Those numbers are old, so use them as context, not a target. The better benchmark is your own: compare each show to your last one, and to what a lead costs you from your other channels.

Why follow-up decides your ROI

Once the show ends, the cost is locked in. The only number you can still change is how many leads you follow up with, and how fast. Every lead you never contact is money spent with no chance of a return.

That's why the follow-up rate matters as much as the lead count. A team that captures 100 leads and follows up with all of them usually beats a team that captures 200 and gets to half.

How to raise your ROI at the next show

Trade show ROI FAQ

What is a good ROI for a trade show?

Any positive ROI means the show paid for itself. Beyond that, compare each show to your other shows and to your other sales channels. B2B deals often close months after the show, so check your number again at 6 and 12 months before you decide a show didn't work.

How do you calculate cost per lead for a trade show?

Divide your total show cost by the number of leads you captured. A $15,000 show with 200 leads is $75 per lead. Count every cost, not just booth space: travel, hotel, shipping, graphics, giveaways, staff time and lead capture tools.

How soon should you follow up after a trade show?

As soon as you can, ideally within the first few days. The longer you wait, the less your lead remembers your booth and the more likely a competitor reached them first.

What costs should be included in trade show ROI?

Booth space, booth build and graphics, shipping and drayage, travel, hotel and meals, staff time, giveaways and printed materials, and any lead retrieval or scanner rental fees.

How long after a show should I measure ROI?

Take a first read right after the show using leads and cost per lead, then measure real ROI once deals close. For most B2B teams that means checking at 3, 6 and 12 months.

Capture on the floor. Close at the desk.

LazzoLead scans business cards in about 5 seconds, tags every lead to the show, and drafts your follow-ups. First 25 leads free.

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