The shortest trade show lead form that still qualifies.
Last updated
6 min readIn short
Ask for a name, a work e-mail address, a company, one qualifying question and a consent box. Everything else is optional or belongs in the rep's one-line note. Every extra field costs completions, so add one only if you will act on the answer.
Every extra field costs you completions.
A visitor at your stand gives you about as long as it takes to say goodbye. They are standing, holding a bag, with a phone in one hand. As a rule of thumb, treat the form as having a budget of 30 seconds. Name, e-mail and company use most of it.
Before you add a field, ask three questions. Will we act differently depending on the answer? Can the rep find out in a sentence of conversation? Would we be comfortable explaining why we asked? If the answer to the first is no, the field is cost without benefit. The same test is part of data minimisation, covered in GDPR-compliant lead capture at events.
The five fields that earn their place.
- Step 1.
Name, so the follow-up can be addressed to a person.
- Step 2.
Work e-mail, because that is where the follow-up goes and where the company domain comes from.
- Step 3.
Company, to tell an account from an individual.
- Step 4.
One qualifying question, to sort the list before anyone calls.
- Step 5.
A consent box, so you can show later what the person agreed to.
Put the consent box last, directly above the button, in plain words. Its wording is covered in GDPR consent wording for lead forms.
Ask one qualifying question, and make it a tap.
B2B qualification comes down to three things: when, how big and what they use now. Pick the one that changes your next step most and offer answers to tap instead of a box to type in. Typing on a phone at a busy stand is the step people abandon.
| Topic | Wording | Answers | What you do with it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project timeline | When are you looking to decide? | This quarter, in 6 months, just looking | Call 'this quarter' first |
| Team size | How many people would use it? | 1 to 5, 6 to 25, 26 or more | Route 26 or more to a senior rep |
| Current tool | What do you use today? | A spreadsheet, a named competitor, nothing yet, other | Tailor the first sentence of the reply |
Avoid the tone of an interrogation. Say 'so we can send the right thing' on the form, not 'required for qualification'. Never ask for a budget up front. A visitor who has met you for two minutes will not give you a number, and may give you a wrong one to end the conversation.
Phrase it like a colleague, not an auditor
| Sounds like an interrogation | Sounds like a conversation |
|---|---|
| Purchase timeframe (required) | When are you looking to decide? |
| Number of employees | How many people would use it? |
| Incumbent vendor | What do you use today? |
| Budget authority | Will anyone else join the conversation? |
Always include 'just looking' or 'not sure' as an answer. A form that forces a date makes visitors invent one, and your hot list fills with guesses.
Keep the rest optional, or record it by hand.
A phone number helps when a rep wants to call, but it should be optional. Making it required means some visitors will type a fake one, which is worse than none. Tell people what you will use it for. The one thing a rep should always record is the reason, in one line.
- Included: Good: 'Wants pricing for 20 reps, decides in March.'
- Included: Good: 'Asked about the API, has a developer in-house.'
- Not included: Too thin: 'Interested.'
- Not included: Too long: three sentences nobody will read on Monday.
Use a short list for the role instead of a free text job title. 'Head of Sales', 'Sales Director' and 'VP Sales' would otherwise become three values you cannot filter. A role field is best as a tap on a list of three to six choices that match your own buyers. Free text suits the note, where variety is the point.
A sample form, field by field.
| Field | Type | Required | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Text, autocomplete name | Yes | Address the reply to a person |
| Work e-mail | E-mail keyboard | Yes | The follow-up address and the company domain |
| Company | Text, autocomplete organisation | Yes | Account, not just person |
| When are you looking to decide? | Three buttons | Yes | Sorts the list in one tap |
| Phone | Phone keyboard | No | Only if they want a call |
| Note | Text area | No | What they want from you, in their words |
| Consent | Checkbox, unticked | Yes | Proof of what they agreed to |
Seven fields, and only five are required. A rep can fill it in with the visitor in under a minute when the visitor would rather not use their own phone.
5
required fields in the sample form, out of seven
What to leave out.
- Not included: Date of birth. You do not need it, and it is personal data you must protect.
- Not included: A budget, a revenue figure or a purchasing authority. Ask in the meeting.
- Not included: A second e-mail address, a postal address or a fax number.
- Not included: 'How did you hear about us?' You know: they are at your stand. Track the placement instead, as set out in how to capture and follow up trade show leads.
- Not included: A puzzle to prove they are human. A hidden trap field catches most bots and costs real people nothing.
- Not included: A field you only add 'in case'. Add it after the show if the data proved useful.
Build it for a thumb, in the visitor's language.
- Included: Show every label above its field. A placeholder disappears when typing starts.
- Included: Use the right keyboard: e-mail, phone, text. Set the autocomplete hints for name, organisation, e-mail and phone so the phone can fill them.
- Included: Use text of at least 16 px, because iPhones zoom into smaller inputs and shift the layout.
- Included: Make every tap target at least 44 px high. Apple's guidance and the enhanced target size level of WCAG 2.2 both use that number.
- Included: Show the error next to the field, in words, and keep what the person already typed.
- Included: Offer the form in the languages your visitors speak. Keep the wording short and plain, and ask a native speaker to check each translation.
A checklist before you print the QR code.
Run a five-minute pilot with three colleagues who have not seen the form. Hand each a phone, start a timer and say nothing. Watch where a thumb hesitates. That hesitation is the field to cut or reword.
- Step 1.
Count the fields. Seven or fewer, and each one used.
- Step 2.
Make only name, e-mail, company, the qualifier and consent required.
- Step 3.
Turn the qualifier into taps.
- Step 4.
Put the privacy notice and consent wording in plain language.
- Step 5.
Test the form on two phones, one small and one large, in the hall's light.
- Step 6.
Time yourself. If it takes a rep more than a minute, cut a field.
- Step 7.
Agree how reps write the one-line reason.
- Step 8.
Read the first 10 leads after day one and adjust.
Quick answers.
What should a trade show lead form ask?
A name, a work e-mail address, a company, one qualifying question and a consent box. Add a phone number and a note as optional fields. Everything else slows visitors down and can be asked in the follow-up conversation.
How many fields should a lead form have?
As few as you will act on. Five required fields and two optional ones is a good ceiling for a stand. If a rep cannot fill it in with the visitor in about a minute, remove a field.
Should the phone number be required?
No. A required phone number leads to invented numbers and abandoned forms. Keep it optional and say what you will use it for.
What qualifying question works best at a booth?
The one that changes your next step most. For most B2B suppliers that is the project timeline, offered as three tappable answers such as this quarter, in 6 months or just looking.