#225 I In Conversation with Lee Ali
Lee Ali, Founder & MD, Expo Stars Interactive in Conversation with Subhanjan Sarkar
Curated Content in this edition]
[PitchLink Original] The Trade Show Podcast #13: Lee Ali, Founder & Managing Director, Expo Stars Interactive. In Conversation with Subhanjan Sarkar
[Sales - AI] Before You Replace Your Reps with AI, Ask Yourself One Thing, Why Haven’t You Replaced You Yet? by Marcus Cauchi
[Event Design & Decor] Coachella 2025: 8 Design Trends You’ll Want to Steal for Your Next Event by Claire Hoffman
[Event Marketing] Maximizing Event Impact: How Today’s Event Leaders Balance ROI and ROE by Kerri Moore
[Event Landing Pages] Tips for the Best Event Landing Pages to Increase Engagement by Lisa Broom
[Trade Show Guide] The ULTIMATE Trade Show Guide by Kyle Milan
[About Events]
We are spending tens of thousands in a Trade Show. We need to spend some time to plan our outing
by Subhanjan Sarkar
Simply driving footfalls to our booth is not really a smart thing to do. This makes for useless conversations that take up precious time. So swag or coffee, while is good for driving people to your booth and for brand building is not a great way to use the most precious aspect of a trade show - the face to face time with real prospects.
How to you get to real prospects. As we all know, there is no Silver Bullet. This process needs to begin prior to the event. A deep collaboration between organisers and exhibitors is necessary. Making it easy for attendees to share their primary objectives and then matching them to potential exhibitors becomes key.
At the event allowing for self serve information gathering will be key. Think of it as a information kiosk that people passing by can engage with without speaking with your team. This is a good thing. Ensure this allows self exploration and shares deep insights that will make a ‘real’ potential to now walk up to your sales experts to ask domain specific questions. This will lead to a conversation that will provide insights that will lead to more wider engagement.
If we can’t figure what the prospects problem is, it is unlikely we will be able to provide the right solution.
What has been your experience?
Attonce.com was built to address two of the most critical components that matter to generate and perhaps guarantee Trade Show ROI. Not taking care of these two factors will definitely sabotage your ability to get anything out of the months of work and five - six figure investment your company is making.
First - Capturing interaction at the booth with your prospect.
This is the bedrock of our engagement. Hurriedly jotting down a few words or even a 20 second summary does not cut it. You need to capture the entire conversation and the action items out of it. Attonce does that. It records in booth conversation - with permission - transcribes, summarizes and generates action points for both parties automatically. Not only that - it will also mail it to the prospect including link to the recording. Triggering one of the most powerful levers in any relationship - Trust.
Second - In persona follow up within the golden hour of visit.
Attonce.com enables you to send out in-persona rich media immersive content in a luxurious consumption environment for prospects within an hour of their visit to your booth. This makes you among the top 1% exhibitors in the world. It is seen by 70% or more of your booth visitors even before they left the venue. 20+% comes back the next day for follow up.
If you are not using Attonce.com as an exhibitor, you are leaving serious money on the table.
Trade Show and Event ROI is linked to Engagement with your Booth Visitors.
Here is how to move engagement to the next level. Attonce.
Trade show, Conference and Event Buyer Engagement with integrated Interaction Capture, Content sharing and continued Conversations.
Book a personal session with our Outcome Specialists.
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[PitchLink Original]
The Trade Show Podcast #13
In Conversation with Lee Ali, Founder & Managing Director, Expo Stars Interactive
Lee Ali is the founder and Managing Director of Expo Stars Interactive which he founded in 2007. Lee is an international speaker, entrepreneur, business coach, mentor, sales strategist and a qualified iMA practitioner. He is widely regarded as the go-to source for attendee engagement and trade show exhibition performance. Lee’s passion from very early on in his business career has been understanding what makes people buy and how to truly connect with them so that they are deeply engaged with what you offer. Lee is the founder and managing director of Expo Stars Interactive. This award-winning trade show performance agency supports exhibitors worldwide in engaging more attendees to their booth, converting them into qualified sales leads, raising their brand awareness, and delivering measurable results. Since 2007, the Expo Stars team have been supporting exhibitors at all the major global exhibitions including Arab Health, Mobile World, Congress, CES, GITEX, BAUMA, HP Discover, Cisco Live, Black Hat, Microsoft Convergence, Conn Expo and many more.
In this episode, Lee discusses how exhibitors should assess their ROI from event participation. This begins by figuring out why they are taking part in an event in the first place because there can be a wide range of reasons for which organizations decide to exhibit.
While the attraction of attendees can be promoted by designing better booths and displays, it is the interaction between the people manning the booths and attendees that makes the difference in obtaining the desired results.
In a business, just as you would not hire an accountant to do your designing, so also in the case of events organizations must leverage professional inputs for maximum benefits. The reason why CXO-level decision-makers often fail to derive the best outcomes from events is due to a lack of education on their part as to how events should be handled.
Run time – 01:17:08
22 Authors of 22 Blockbuster Sales and Marketing Books in 22 twenty minute sessions.
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Note: All text with a green border to the left are quoted content from the respective curated pieces. Links from LinkedIn will not be visible unless you are logged into LinkedIn.
[Sales - AI]
Before You Replace Your Reps with AI, Ask Yourself One Thing, Why Haven’t You Replaced You Yet?
by Marcus Cauchi
AI won’t fix what you broke.
You didn’t train them to think. You trained them to comply. You didn’t build trust. You built dependency. You didn’t scale courage. You scaled control.
And now that it’s backfiring, you’re pointing to tech like it’s the solution.
[Event Design & Decor]
Coachella 2025: 8 Design Trends You’ll Want to Steal for Your Next Event
Coachella’s biggest visual moments weren’t just onstage. Check out these inspo-filled design trends that turned brand activations and festival spaces into can’t-miss experiences.
by Claire Hoffman
At Coachella, bigger really can be better. Oversize props, branding, and sculptural pieces added drama and drew eyes from across the festival grounds, creating unmissable photo ops and brand moments. One great (and hilarious) example came from Billboard and Amazon, who teamed up with comedian/musical improviser Reggie Watts to present “MuSick: Live from Reggie Watts’ Couch,” an activation and event with Amazon Pharmacy and Amazon One Medical. The event space served as an extension of Watts' living room, making guests feel as though they were attending a house party he was hosting just for them.
[Event Marketing]
Maximizing Event Impact: How Today’s Event Leaders Balance ROI and ROE
by Kerri Moore
Designing experiences that leave a mark
The most memorable events are the ones that make people feel something. Whether it’s a moment of inspiration during a keynote, the spark of connection during a networking break, or the sense of calm found in a wellness lounge, these experiences are what create lasting impact.
It starts with intentional design. Before you lock in your venue or build your agenda, ask yourself: how do we want attendees to feel during and after this event?
[Event Landing Pages]
Tips for the Best Event Landing Pages to Increase Engagement
by Lisa Broom
Key Takeaways
Event landing pages should focus on clear, engaging details, high-quality visuals, and strong CTAs to drive registrations.
Mobile responsiveness and simplified registration forms are essential for enhancing user experience and increasing sign-ups.
Effective promotion through social media, email marketing, and SEO optimization are crucial for boosting event visibility and attracting attendees.
[Trade Show Guide]
The ULTIMATE Trade Show Guide
by Kyle Milan
This compilation video covers everything you need to know about trade shows, from preparation to execution, to following up with leads after the show and beyond. Across nearly two hours, we dive into the best practices for setting up booths, engaging with attendees, and making the most out of your trade show experience. You'll get insights on building relationships, showcasing products effectively, and standing out in a crowded exhibition hall. Whether you're a seasoned pro or new to the trade show scene, this video is packed with tips, strategies, and real-world examples to help you succeed. Tune in and elevate your trade show game!
Stay with us and enjoy human curated content on sales, buying and building your startup and service. We will find it for you so you don’t have to.
Note: The content with a green quote bar (like the one to the left) are quoted directly from the piece. For all curated links above, copyrights belong to the respective owners. There are NO paid promotions in this newsletter.
The Pitch.Linker X|O Update No.225 Volume 05. Issue 19 * 13th May 2025