Let's face it. It's tough to stand out at most trade shows. Your competitor might have a wall of flat-screen TVs showing some slickly-produced promotional video. Or maybe they've hired a fleet of silicone-enhanced spokesmodels to help hawk their business. Who can compete with that?

It's OK. Trade shows aren't really about flash and dazzle. Trade shows aren't even about how much foot traffic you get. They're about generating qualified leads, plain and simple.

So, are you getting the most out of your trade show experience? Are you turning your hard work and trade show investment into solid returns? Follow these steps, and you'll reap untold rewards at your next trade show.

1. Let your suppliers, clients and prospective clients know you'll be at the show.

Some of the most important steps for trade show success happen weeks before the show itself. Getting the word out is key. Create a page on your Web site dedicated to your participation at the show. Send out notification e-mails with links to your trade show page. Offer an incentive to stop by your booth. Prizes, contests and parties are great ways to lure potential customers. You can't afford to just hope they'll find you!

2. Get listed on the event's official Web site.

Before a show ever happens, it's valuable to get onto the radar of attendees by appearing on the show's official site. In most instances, you don't even have to bribe anyone to be included on the official site. Every show has a Web site that evolves as an event nears. Just ask. If you're going to be a speaker, even better. Make sure you have a bio that includes a link to your site. It's free exposure for you and your company. Free is good.

3. Make sure they call on you again by visiting your Web site.

Exploit the tools of the trade show trade! A small investment can create substantial returns when it comes to managing your leads. Invest in software that will allow you to swipe visitor badges (and make sure to confirm that the swiped information is valid, of course). E-mail address and Web site URLs are essential.

Make sure your system generates instant follow-up messages to thank visitors for stopping by your booth, and make sure your follow-up message includes links back to your Web site. A bit of prodding for the client to bookmark your site wouldn't hurt.

You'll find that it's a good investment of resources to develop a page on your site devoted to a specific trade show. It's an ideal way to reinforce your promotional messages, to post information on incentives offered to show participants, and it's a convenient jumping off point for other relevant information on your site.

And do take the time to introduce your visitors to your site by giving them a walk through: show them where relevant information is found and how they can access additional resources and connect with the right people during their decision making process.

Trade show attendees love this method of following up because it means they don't have to deal with a lot of collateral material, and they can explore what you have to offer at a time that's convenient-hopefully when they're in a frame of mind to sign on the dotted line, rather than just shopping for new partners.

4. Launch a new product.

Trade shows provide an ideal time and place to introduce a new product or service. Anything that's new, exciting, memorable or valuable is going to make you stand out from the crowd. The introduction of a new product turns an ordinary trade show appearance into an event.

Support your product launch with a page or section on your Web site that's devoted to the new product or service. Of course, optimizing your new product page for buyers and search engines is essential to this process. Working with experts in this area of online marketing and optimization will reap untold rewards.

Augment your trade show "event" with an online event as well. Devote the necessary time and resources to creating and distributing product releases, and exploit your newsworthy launch by making sure you have a high level of visibility in search engines and in online trade publications. Paid placement allows for lots of control over how your product launch will show up in the marketplace.

5. Have a solid plan to follow up leads immediately after the show ends.

Again, preparation is everything. You have four days before a potentially valuable lead turns into just some person with a stack of business cards on their desk that has no recollection of you or your business. Come up with a lead sheet to keep track of visitor profiles. Create a short prospect questionnaire, or even a follow-up script.

Time is of the essence! Before you ever get to the show, figure out your next step. What's the hook to get your customer thinking about your product or service?

When you reconnect with prospective leads, urge them to visit your Web site at every opportunity. Remember, decision-makers like to research on the Web before they act, so make it easy on these potential customers by anticipating their questions and concerns. Construct pages organized to address the needs of customers at various stages of the buying cycle.

The key to all great businesses, and all great Web sites, is to know your audience. What does your lead need to know if they're just starting the process of researching your product or service? If a customer is already ready to do business, make it easy to take the steps necessary to do business with your company.

6. Know your objectives. Weigh the cost.

Seems obvious, but lots of exhibitors feel their trade show experience was a failure even if they had no real clue what success would even look like! Decide, specifically, what your trade show objectives are in terms of leads and sales, and after the show assess your cost per sale. Some benefits of being at a trade show may have nothing to do with sales, so figure those benefits into the equation as well.

In the end, building a bigger booth, paying for that expensive four-color brochure may not bring you the benefits you seek at trade shows.

Instead, have a solid plan of attack, and take advantage of technology like the Web and lead management software to maximize your sales.

Oh, and bring along a pair of binoculars to your next trade show. Just in case the other guys still insist on hiring spokesmodels.

By Lawrence Johnson, the CEO of Indextree, Inc.

Indextree helps manufacturers and distributors dominate their markets by designing and implementing winning lead management, online marketing, search engine optimization and pay per click strategies. Call 1.800.670.9950 to speak to an Indextree Online Marketing Expert.