The Insider’s Guide to Getting the Highest ROI from GlassBuild 2025

By Stefanie Couch

Stefanie Couch is an industry insider and the founder of Grit Blueprint, a visibility and growth company serving the building and glass industry. She created the Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen™ framework to help companies stop being the best-kept secret and start becoming category leaders.

Summary: Most companies show up at GlassBuild without a strategy and hope for the best. The companies generating real ROI use my Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen framework: pre-show visibility, targeted outreach, meaningful booth conversations, and systematic follow-up.

GlassBuild: The Industry’s Stage

GlassBuild is where our industry connects. It is the largest stage we have to showcase products, strengthen partnerships, and start conversations that move business forward. The companies that treat GlassBuild as more than a trade show consistently walk away with stronger leads, new opportunities, and lasting momentum.

As an industry insider, I developed the Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen framework to help companies stop leaving ROI to chance. It is a system that works year-round across sales, marketing, and customer experience, and it applies perfectly to GlassBuild.

The Visibility Gap

Our industry has a cultural challenge with visibility. Many leaders prefer to stay humble, worried that promoting themselves might seem boastful. The result is that too many companies wait for people to come to them instead of showing up where buyers already are.

Strong referrals built this industry, and they still play a key role. What has shifted is the need to show up digitally as well, so that by the time you meet in person, trust is already established.

Research backs this up:

• Consistent visibility increases brand recall by 76% (Content Marketing Institute, 2024).
• 52% of business leaders say trade shows deliver the highest ROI of any marketing channel (CEIR, 2023).

Visibility is not vanity. It is leadership. Companies that approach GlassBuild with visibility systems outperform those that leave success to chance.

My Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen Framework

I created the Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen framework to help companies stop being the best-kept secret and start becoming category leaders. It is not just for trade shows. It is the foundation for visibility systems that work year-round across sales, marketing, and customer experience.

At GlassBuild, this framework gives companies a step-by-step way to turn their investment into measurable ROI:

1. Be Seen: Build visibility before the show through content, outreach, and networking.
    
2. Be Known: Demonstrate expertise during the event through meaningful conversations, industry insights, and solutions that matter to buyers.
    
3. Be Chosen: Execute systematic follow-up that moves prospects through your sales cycle.

This is not about being the loudest voice in the room. It is about being the most strategic everywhere you show up, and GlassBuild is the perfect stage to put it into action.

Phase 1: Be Seen (6 Weeks Before GlassBuild)

GlassBuild 2025 expects more than 9,000 attendees across 229,000 square feet of show floor. If you wait until the show opens, you are already invisible. Smart companies start early.

1. Research and Target
Identify 5 to 10 people you want to meet. Research their companies, activities, and associations. Quality over quantity always wins.

2. Content Strategy
Create weekly visibility touchpoints leading up to the show. For many, that means LinkedIn, but do not stop there. Use email newsletters, association updates, or even distributor groups, depending on where your buyers engage. Make it specific: share a sneak peek of your booth demo, highlight a new glass or window technology, or post a short video from your plant team preparing for the show.

3. Outreach
Do not pitch. Connect. Reach out to your top targets with a clear message: “I will be at GlassBuild and would love to meet.” Suggest a specific time to visit each other’s booth or grab coffee. Pre-planned meetings beat chance encounters every time.

Phase 2: Be Known (During GlassBuild)

Your goal is not to close deals on the show floor. It is to demonstrate your expertise through meaningful conversations, industry insights, and solutions that matter to your buyers.

• Value, Not Volume: Forget collecting hundreds of business cards. Focus on meaningful conversations. Ask about challenges, share insights, and listen.
   
• Document Everything: After each conversation, jot notes on what they need, what you promised, and their timeline. These details make follow-up far more effective.
   
• Stay Visible: Share highlights in real time. Post a booth video walkthrough, capture a quick clip from an NGA education session, or spotlight an association panel you attended. If your buyers are not on LinkedIn, send short recap emails or push updates through your association network

Phase 3: Be Chosen (After GlassBuild)

This is where ROI is made or lost. Most exhibitors collect cards and do nothing. Do not be that company.

The 24-Hour Rule
Follow up with your top connections within 24 hours. Reference the exact topic you discussed and immediately deliver the resource, introduction, or next step you promised.

Value-First Follow-Up
Lead with value. Share an article, make an introduction, or send relevant data. For example, if you spoke about energy codes, follow up with a white paper. If you promised a booth demo recap, send a short video.

Systematic Process
Track every contact in your CRM or even a spreadsheet. Prioritize those moving forward in your sales cycle. The metric that matters is momentum, not just volume.

Your GlassBuild 2025 Pre-Show Checklist

Use this as your action plan to turn GlassBuild into ROI.

6 Weeks Before

• Identify 5 to 10 top prospects.
• Research and follow them online.
• Share pre-show content: booth teasers, product demos, or a behind-the-scenes look at your prep.

4 Weeks Before

• Reach out directly to schedule booth visits or meetings.
• Finalize travel and team preparation.
• Draft content you will share during the show.

At the Show

• Focus on quality conversations.
• Document notes from each meeting.
• Post booth videos, highlight NGA sessions, or share association panel insights.

24 to 48 Hours After

• Send personalized follow-ups to your top 10 contacts.
• Deliver on every promise you made.

2 to 4 Weeks After

• Share helpful content or industry insights with your network.
• Qualify prospects and schedule deeper conversations.
• Keep your visibility cadence alive with weekly updates

The Competitive Edge You Cannot Ignore

GlassBuild 2025 is more than a trade show. It is the industry’s largest stage for visibility and growth. Companies that approach it with systems consistently walk away with stronger leads, strategic partnerships, and long-term opportunities.

As an industry insider, I will be on the floor all week, seeing firsthand which companies turn their investment into measurable ROI. NGA and Glass Magazine are already amplifying the conversations that shape our industry.

My Be Seen, Be Known, Be Chosen framework was built to help companies in the building and glass space move from being best-kept secrets to becoming category leaders. It applies before, during, and after every customer touchpoint, and GlassBuild is the perfect place to put it into practice.

GlassBuild is the moment to lead. Start now. One post. One outreach. One meeting. The companies who run this framework will be the ones chosen.