Tips for Exhibiting at Trade Shows

This e-book is for Small Business Owners, Sales and Marketing Managers and anyone else who find themselves responsible for exhibiting at a trade show.

* You may have worked in the booth at many trade shows but don't know how everything behind the scenes work.
* You may have had an unsuccessful previous experience and wonder what went wrong.
* You may have a boss who expects you to deliver the world on a tiny village budget.
* You may have gone way over budget at your last show and don't know why.
* You may think trade shows are a paid vacation for your sales staff and not worthwhile.
* You may not know where to even begin.

This book covers 24 of the most frequently asked questions by new exhibitors. Things that can end up costing your company a lot of money.

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Sample Q&A

Question: What is the worse thing you've ever seen go wrong at a show?

Answer: Every time I think it can't possibly get worse...some story just tops the last one.
The thing you need to know about trade shows is that they rarely go off without a hitch. All over the show floor in just about every booth something has gone wrong. It can be something as simple as a forgetting to pack the power cord for a
computer, to damaged graphics by a forklift, and, believe it or not, missing booths due to snowstorms half way across the country. No matter how experienced you are, you cannot plan for everything that could potentially go wrong. But you can think through a backup plan for each show for some of the worst-case scenarios.

We always ship a backup DVD/CD containing a copy of the booth graphics with the booth. We also bring another copy with us in our carry-on bag. I have never had both go missing--yet...

Do a bit of research before you leave for the show and find the closest Kinko's and Staples just in case you need to use them. One hour before the show opens is not when you want to be Googling the closest place to buy a computer cable or get graphics printed.

Yes, we have even seen entire booths go missing. It is usually due to someone shipping it to the wrong location (did I mention you should read your exhibitor kit very carefully?) but I have heard stories of rouge independently contracted truck drivers confiscating it because the shipping company is late paying him...or the truck got stuck in a terrible snow storm while driving through Denver.

What do you do then? You've already invested a lot of money in the show; you can't just pack it in before it starts.

At times like this, when I was still a smoker, I used to go back to the loading dock and sit down and have a cigarette and clear my mind and try to reach a state of total calm. Now I go back to the loading dock and sit down and inhale deeply and try to reach a state of total calm. I do this because it will be the last three minutes of peace and calm that I will be having for a while.

Once that three minutes are up it's time for action.
Do not waste your time trying to figure out who is at fault. There is no time for that during this process. That can be done after the show. The only thing you want to be doing is fixing the problem or finding an alternative solution and you can't be doing that while you are yelling at someone.

If a cable is missing and you have time to run to Staples, get in a cab and go. If not, head over to show services desk and they may be able to provide you with the most expensive computer cable you have ever purchased, but it's better than no cable. If your graphics have been run through with a forklift immediately call the local printer and get pricing on printing a new one. Make sure you find out what their cut-off times are for a rush job. You are going to pay a premium to have it printed in an hour. If your graphic can be patched up just to get you through the first day you might decided to save the money and have it printed within 24 hours.

If your booth is missing, I mean really missing, you've checked with the shipper and it is in no way going to arrive in time. Suck it up tightwad; you're going to have to spend some money here. The first phone call I would make would be to your exhibit house (the place where you bought your exhibit) and see if they can help you figure out an alternative. They are good at this because they deal with situations like this all the time. Many have warehouses in major convention cities and can probably get you a replacement in time. If this is not a viable alternative then you are going to need to check with the show services desk for help. They sometimes have spare pop-up booth lying around they will rent to you for an exorbitant amount of money.

The last alternative is, do you really trust your staff and feel they are extremely capable? If so, they can save the day and get you some good leads even without a booth at all. Think of it this way, they'll have a funny ice-breaker when talking to visitors.