Scientific tradeshows are one of the most powerful ways for science sales and marketing teams to find customers – but only when they’re chosen and executed well. From deciding which events are worth attending to planning your outreach, success depends on far more than having a booth and showing up. In this guide we’ll give you practical advice on how to choose the best scientific events (that your ideal prospects are actually attending), and plan your activities before, during, and after the show to get the best ROI.
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How to Find the Best Scientific Tradeshows for Science Sales & Marketing Teams
Average ROI from scientific conferences
Finding the right tradeshows to attend is time-consuming and costly. With hundreds of life science conferences, biotech expos, and academic meetings taking place each year, it’s easy to default to the same familiar events, even when they no longer deliver a strong return on investment.
In our Science Sales and Marketing Survey, 77% of scientific sales and marketing professionals reported attending the same or more conferences in 2026 vs 2025, but only 32% are happy with the ROI they achieve. What’s more, 30% of the time, these conferences are chosen simply out of habit!
Factors to consider when choosing scientific conferences
There are several factors to consider when selecting which scientific tradeshows to attend to maximize ROI, and we understand how time-consuming it can be to search for them manually. It’s a balancing act between going for the big shows with lots of attendees and the smaller, more niche shows.
Ideally, you want to attend the tradeshows where your ideal scientific prospects are already active – the scientists who are publishing papers, receiving grants, and presenting posters in your specific area. But finding those events, and choosing confidently where to invest your time and budget, can be incredibly time-consuming. Without clear visibility into who is attending and how relevant they are to your market, it’s difficult to know which conferences will truly deliver ROI.
How to find the best scientific tradeshows with SciLeads
Manually researching scientific tradeshows can take days, requiring you to cross-reference speakers and poster presenters with their publications and grant activity to determine true relevance. Let us save you time and find the best scientific tradeshows for you to attend this year with our Tradeshow Finder –
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- Tell us your company email and scientific keywords here.
- We’ll run a personalized report of the best tradeshows that fit your niche.
- Check your inbox – we’ll email you directly with the top 20 events for you.
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Once you’ve received your report, your sales and marketing teams can confidently choose which scientific conferences to attend, saving hours of research time and focusing budget on events with the highest potential ROI.
Preview of a SciLeads events report showing the top 5 events attended by those with a proven association with the keyword “CRISPR”. Your free report will include the top 20 conferences for your keyword/s
How to prepare for a scientific conference
Once you’ve selected the right events, the next step is planning your outreach strategy. The more preparation you do before the conference starts, the more valuable your time on-site will be.
Book meetings before the conference starts
Pre-booking meetings is one of the most effective ways to maximize tradeshow ROI. Instead of relying on often underwhelming event apps, reach out directly to attendees using verified email addresses, LinkedIn profiles, and phone numbers (all available in the SciLeads platform) to secure meetings before the event even begins.
To stand out, personalize your outreach using details that matter: poster presentations, recent publications, awarded grants, or VC investment. This information can be gathered manually across event websites, Google Scholar, and funding body sites – or accessed in one place through SciLeads. We are constantly adding new scientific trade show data to the SciLeads platform, with new data being added (on average) 3 weeks before each show begins, including details on attendees, speakers, poster presentations, exhibitors, and talks.
Tip💡Check out our Cold Email Clinic webinar to craft cold emails people actually reply to – and book up your tradeshow meetings.
What to do during a scientific tradeshow
Attend your pre-booked meetings
Now that you’re at the event, the most important thing is to attend all of the meetings you pre-booked! For those you couldn’t secure ahead of time, use the scientific poster and presentation times to plan your day and visit as many prospects as possible, equipped with information on each, for well-informed, tailored conversations.
Send reminders during the conference
People will still be checking their emails and LinkedIn whilst they’re at the event, so make sure you’re at the top of their inbox by sending a reminder that you’re there and ready to meet.
If you have already booked a meeting with them, then a simple “looking forward to our meeting at booth #136 today at 3pm!” works well.
For those who didn’t book, re-contact by saying, “Hey, I see you’re at [event name]! I’m at booth 136 now and would love to chat – have you got time this afternoon?”
Make notes after every conversation
It’s important to make a note of every conversation you have during the event, including technical and personal points you can reference in your follow-up for more tailored outreach – for example, are they travelling after the show? Did they mention an upcoming project, a hobby, or family? This gives you essential context for follow-ups that are far more likely to get replies.
5 Tips for a successful tradeshow
During the event, you want to make the most of your time. Here are 5 tips for what works at scientific tradeshows, according to SciLeaders who’ve tested it –
1. Wear a Uniform
Wearing visible company branding is key. Even something simple like a brightly coloured t-shirt with the company logo is a great conversation starter. It lets everyone know who the colleagues are and who the customers are, so everyone can be easily identified. Plus, if you don’t have a booth at the event, having branded merch helps you stay visible on the conference floor.
2. Boost your booth presence
Booths can be expensive; here are some ways to make yours stand out –
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- Have a ‘Booth Captain’ who will take charge and make sure everyone is aligned with their objectives each day.
- Have a video – even a short one will encourage people to stop and watch.
- Make it really clear what you do – write it on the wall and/or sum it up in the video so people know from just a glance.
- Have a showcase product on display, like a large microscope, to encourage questions.
- Make sure everything is pristine – worn posters and crumpled flyers from other shows can be off-putting to your audience.
- It’s sometimes really difficult to find water/chips/soda at these shows, and the queues are so long at the coffee places, so offering these things at the booth will ensure people stick around longer.
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3. Attract traffic to your booth
Your booth might look amazing, but you need visitors. Here’s what you can do to get people to stop by your booth-
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- Stick branded Post-its on relevant posters to invite them to your booth. Even better if you’re telling them to come by the booth to collect a t-shirt that they’ve qualified for!
- Have ‘mini-talks’ or demonstrations throughout the day with experts – once people are standing around, others will follow.
- Have a ‘specialist’ at your booth that people can speak to, as well as your salespeople.
- Run a competition, game, or interactive poll – they can be great conversation starters.
- Have a VIP booth party at the end of each day – you could give out Golden Tickets in advance to your leads, customers, or partners.
- Make friends with your neighbours and send traffic each other’s way.
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4. Have great giveaways
Branded items will bring people to your booth, but you want to maximize the ROI of these freebies. Here are our tips for getting ROI from your conference SWAG –
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- Have a highly desirable prize and scan everyone who enters. This could be a local item – SciLeads is based in Northern Ireland, so we always bring a bottle of local whiskey, which people really love. Or, try something more universal, like Amazon vouchers, which can be emailed if needed.
- Present the prize in person – this will make sure you have an audience for the prize-giving ceremony and avoid expensive postage.
- Let your targets/customers know you’re doing the raffle before the event, to encourage them to stop by.
- Stuffed toys are remarkably popular because most children demand a gift when their parents are travelling, so these are always a big hit!
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5. What to do if you don’t have a booth
You definitely don’t need a booth to make an impact at scientific conferences, so here are some tips to stand out –
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- Have a poster – having an application specialist present the technology in the form of a poster is much more appealing to most scientists than speaking to a salesperson. Our customers, who use SciLeads to invite potential clients to their posters, get an even better response than those who invite them to their booth.
- Buddy up – be a guest star at someone else’s booth for mutual benefit.
- Enjoy the networking opportunities and freedom to walk the show in your branded merch!
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What to do after a tradeshow
Once the event is over, follow up with tailored messages to the people you met and those you missed. Personalize the outreach by using the notes you took at the conference, and reference their recent work, e.g., “I saw your poster/paper/grant…”. You can find this information, plus contact info, in SciLeads.
Tip💡The network visualization feature in SciLeads lets you to see who you may have in common with prospects, to secure warm introductions from your existing contacts.
How to get value from the scientific conferences you didn’t attend
For the events you can’t attend, create omnichannel virtual campaigns, personalized to each person. Message those who attended the event, including details about their recent presentation, and ask questions that are relevant to them – this can be a great way to open doors. A timely, relevant multi-channel email campaign can prove much more fruitful than a poorly researched conversation at an event!
Use the alerts available in the platform to receive email notifications whenever one of your prospects makes a notable change, e.g., receives a new grant, moves jobs or labs, or has published a new paper – and reach out with relevant offers at the right time. If you are running an account-based marketing (ABM) campaign, these alerts can provide all the information needed to tailor your outreach to that company.
Maximizing tradeshow ROI starts long before the event itself. By carefully selecting conferences where your ideal prospects are active, preparing personalized outreach in advance, making the most of on-site conversations, and following up strategically afterwards, you can turn events into a genuine revenue driver. With the right preparation and data behind you, scientific tradeshows can become one of the most powerful channels in your sales and marketing strategy.
Discover the right tradeshows and connect with the right people — before, during, and after the event. All the data you need, in one place. Get a free SciLeads trial here.