It costs exhibiting companies $705 to close a sale that begins with a trade show lead.

This is significantly less than the $1,140 it costs to close leads from other sources, according to a new study from the Center for Exposition Industry Research (CEIR) as reported in exhibitornet.com.

The study also concludes that trade shows are less expensive than field sales calls for reaching potent ional customers.

For example, the study reports that $212 is the national average cost of reaching a visitor at a trade show. Meanwhile, it costs $308 to visit a prospect in the field. Also, an average of 1.6 personal follow-up sales visits in needed to close a sale that originated from a trade show contact, compared to 3.7 visits for a non-show lead.

A complete report on the research study and results can be ordered by visiting www.ceir.org.