I recently went to a large trade show and asked over 100 attendees: “Are trade shows worth it?”.

One of the common phrases I heard was: “This trade show will be worth it if we close even one sale.”

With modest booths costing well upwards of $40k, one sale only makes sense when dealing with big-ticket items or large volumes.

In my experience, companies take for granted that in-person trade shows are something they must do, while often being hesitant to invest a similar amount in their digital efforts.

I think it boils down to expectations: If mid-sized companies hoped for one sale from 40k of investing in their website, they’d almost certainly be pleasantly surprised by the lasting effects of improving their positioning and digital storytelling. After all, a website can keep silently selling for years.

Conversely, if they really drilled down on trade show effectiveness, they might find it not to be worth it after all.

Bill Gates said: “Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.”

My modification would be: "Most people overestimate what trade shows will do for them over a couple days and underestimate what branding and positioning will do for them over five years.”