Trade show lead capture: 4 touchscreen ideas that beat the fishbowl
Four ways to use a booth touchscreen to collect leads your sales team will actually follow up on, plus the form, follow-up, and setup details that make them work.
The fishbowl of business cards still shows up at a lot of booths. It works, sort of. You get a stack of cards, no idea who actually cared about your product, and a week of typing.
A touchscreen at the booth can do better. It gives people a reason to walk in, and it collects a lead at the moment they’re interested, with a note about what they were interested in. Here are four ways to set one up.
1. A quiz with a score at the end
Why it works: People can’t resist finding out how they did. A short quiz pulls in passersby, and the score screen is the natural moment to ask for an email.
How to set it up:
- Five to eight multiple-choice questions. Fewer feels too quick, more and people wander off.
- Make the questions about the problem your product solves, not your company history. “How much torque does it take to drive a 3-inch lag screw?” beats “What year was Halvard founded?”
- Show a one-line explanation after each answer, so even wrong answers teach something.
- Turn on the lead form after the score, with a reason to fill it in: a prize drawing, a spec sheet, or a follow-up call.
Good for: booths where you want to educate as much as collect.
2. A prize wheel
Why it works: It’s loud, fun, and visible from the aisle. Nothing draws a crowd like someone else winning something.
How to set it up:
- Pick 6 to 10 slices. Mix a few big prizes with plenty of small ones.
- Set the odds for each slice so your inventory lasts the whole show. The headline prize can show up on the wheel without coming up every fifth spin.
- Put the lead form before the spin. People happily trade an email for a turn.
- The prize each person won is saved with their entry, so you know who to hand what.
Good for: high-traffic shows where getting people to stop is the hard part.
3. A product showcase with a “Send me info” button
Why it works: This one collects the best leads. Instead of “someone stopped by,” you get “someone looked at the impact driver, checked the specs, and asked for info.”
How to set it up:
- One card per product, with a large photo and numbered hotspots on the features that matter.
- A spec list for the people who want numbers, and a short video if you have one.
- Turn on the “Send me info” button. When someone taps it, their entry records which product they asked about.
- When nobody’s touching it, it cycles through your products on its own, so the screen keeps selling from across the aisle.
Good for: booths with several products, and sales teams that want to know what to follow up on.
4. A simple sign-up screen
Why it works: Sometimes you just need a clean, fast form. A dedicated sign-up screen beside a demo, at the end of a talk, or at a busy booth corner keeps the line moving.
How to set it up:
- A clear headline that says what they get: “Get the full catalog,” “Book a demo,” “Enter the drawing.”
- Name and email, with company and phone optional.
- Your logo and colors, so it looks like part of the booth.
Good for: booths that already have a demo or a speaker drawing people in.
Get the form right
Whichever idea you pick, the form does the real work. A few rules:
- Ask for less. Name and email are enough for most booths. Every extra required field costs you finished entries.
- Ask for permission. Include a checkbox so visitors agree to hear from you. Tellcase includes one on every lead form.
- Make typing easy. On a kiosk, an on-screen keyboard appears, so you don’t need a physical keyboard at the booth.
- Say what happens next. “We’ll email the spec sheet today” sets expectations and gets more honest emails.
Plan for convention center Wi-Fi
Booth internet is famously unreliable. Make sure your setup doesn’t depend on it. With Tellcase, a connected kiosk that loses Wi-Fi keeps playing and saves new entries on the device, then sends them once it reconnects. If the booth has no internet at all, you can run the whole thing from an offline package and connect the computer afterward to deliver the entries.
Follow up while they still remember you
The best lead in the world goes cold in a week. Before the show, decide:
- Who downloads the leads each night (Tellcase exports them as a CSV spreadsheet your CRM or email tool can import)
- What each group gets: quiz players, prize winners, and “Send me info” requests deserve different emails
- When the first email goes out. Within a day or two of the show is a good target.
A touchscreen gets people to stop. A short form gets you their name. Fast, specific follow-up is what turns either one into a sale.
Want to see all of these at a booth? Take a look at Tellcase for trade shows.
Quick answers
What is the best way to capture leads at a trade show booth?
Give visitors a reason to stop, then ask for a short form at the moment they're most interested. A touchscreen quiz, prize wheel, or product showcase with a "Send me info" button collects leads that come with context, like what product someone asked about.
What should a trade show lead form ask for?
Keep it short. Name and email are enough for most booths, with company and phone as optional fields. Every extra required field means fewer people finish the form.
Do I need internet at the booth to collect leads on a touchscreen?
No. With Tellcase, a kiosk that loses Wi-Fi saves entries on the device and sends them once it reconnects. You can also run the whole exhibit from an offline package, as long as the computer gets online at some point afterward to deliver the entries.
How do I get leads from a touchscreen into my CRM?
Tellcase lets you download your leads as a CSV spreadsheet, which most CRMs and email tools can import. It doesn't connect directly to CRMs yet.