How to use the trade show cost per lead calculator
A trade show can look expensive on the invoice and reasonable per lead. This calculator adds exhibitor fee, booth build, staff and travel, and other costs, then divides that total by total leads and by qualified leads so you see both figures side by side.
The two are reported separately because the denominators differ. It is common to scan plenty of badges โ keeping cost per lead low โ while very few of them are worth a sales call, which pushes cost per qualified lead far higher. Each result label names the denominator it used.
Costs are entered in four buckets: exhibitor fee, booth build, staff and travel, and everything else. Counting only the booth understates the cost per lead, so include staff and travel; just keep the same buckets when comparing shows.
Rather than asserting an industry average, the target field takes your own internal benchmark. Fill it and the label switches between above and within target, with the difference shown as an amount. Pipeline and closed revenue are out of scope here, so check your sales stage conversion separately to see whether the leads paid off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both. Cost per lead only reflects how many badges you scanned, while cost per qualified lead divides by the leads sales can actually work. Judging by the first alone can make a low-quality show look efficient.
Including them is more accurate โ counting only booth costs understates the true cost per lead. Just keep the same set of cost items when comparing one show against another.
Not by itself. This tool does not calculate pipeline or closed revenue, so check your stage-to-stage conversion rates to see whether those leads turned into sales.