Identification of export sales opportunities at domestic trade fairs

Problem. There is an increasing number of foreign business visitors attending domestic (U.S.) exhibitions. Little recognition of this trend is evident in the literature, and government trade promotion efforts remain focused on overseas activities. Accordingly, many exhibitors in domestic exhibitions are unaware of and unprepared for this export opportunity.;This study investigated if export sales opportunities exist at domestic trade shows designated as U.S. Department of Commerce "Foreign Buyer Exhibits"; and determined if relationships exist between the number or quality of export sales-leads received and either company characteristics or specific actions regarding the foreign visitors.;Method. One hundred sixty-five California exhibitors in the 1991 NEPCON-WEST Exhibition, (Anaheim, CA.) were interviewed, obtaining data on 21 company characteristics and actions. The data was divided into four categories: general company characteristics, awareness of the export potential of the exhibit, and specific actions undertaken prior to and during the exhibit. A post-show mail survey obtained the number, type and quality of international leads received.;Pearson Correlations and Student's t-Tests were used.;Results. Eleven percent of total sales-leads received were international, and 45 percent were rated excellent or good.;Relationships were found between the number and quality of international sales-leads received and select company characteristics and actions. These included: company's expectations regarding foreign attendance, prior overseas trade fair participation (but not frequency), separate export department, percentage of total sales resulting from exports (quality of leads only), self assessment of company's export success, and amount of pre-show preparation for foreign buyers.;Relationships were not found between international sales-leads received and select actions undertaken during the exhibit.;The findings have an implication for government trade promotion activities designed to assist small and medium sized companies to export. The study concludes that assistance in pre-show preparation for foreign buyers would increase the number and quality of export sales-leads received by exhibitors in select domestic trade shows.