A Bitesize Guide from Quadrant2Design
Imagine booking your floor space at an exhibition only to turn up and find nothing on it. Poor planning leads to poor performance. That’s why we have created these bitesize guides to help you follow along with the exhibition planning process in easy-to-digest chunks. Seriously, each guide takes less than three minutes to read – what are you waiting for?
P.s before you get started, click here to download this free resource that will help you with all of your trade show planning!
In the next three minutes, you are going to learn what you need to do in the week before your show. Don’t be fooled. Just when you think you’ve got to the end of organising your exhibition the last week hits you.
With this bitesize guide and the exhibition project planner that you have downloaded, you won’t have any problems. We’ll also give you a few handy tips like what to pack and how to check your staff are ready for the show.
Download your pre-show checklist
First things first, click here to download your pre-show checklist. This will give you a detailed breakdown of the things that we will cover in this bitesize guide.
Keep your checklist on you for the week leading up to your trade show. Just tick things off as and when you get them done. It’s a simple way to ensure that you don’t miss any steps.
Confirm Everything before your show
When planning an exhibition you’ll find yourself working with a lot of different suppliers. Everything from your exhibition stand, furniture rental, travel and accommodation must be confirmed.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – don’t let your ROI crumble on somebody else’s mistake. A quick phone call to confirm dates, times and venues are all that it takes to make sure everything goes smoothly at the show.
Spend Time with your Staff
There are three things you should do to make sure you have a successful show. Firstly, choose the right floor space at the right show. Secondly, design a custom modular exhibition stand with unique features that ensure you get noticed. Finally, choose the right booth staff and train them well.
You should have chosen your staff weeks ago, as soon as you booked your floor space. That means they have spent time training and learning how to identify and qualify a lead quickly. You can put this to the test by running training exercises, role-play or just asking them to tell you their strategy.
The next thing you need to make sure that your staff are comfortable with is the lead capture software. There is nothing worse than losing leads because you haven’t got the right data. Get your team to perform a few trial runs.
Pack your Bags
Last but not least, you need to pack. Packing for an exhibition is not the same as packing for a holiday or weekend city break. If you’ve been to a trade show before then you will understand.
As a priority, you must pack comfy shoes. Heels might help you look the part on the trade show floor, but they’re useless if you can’t manage 10 hours on your feet giving sales pitches and product demonstrations in them.
Other things that you should pack include an exhibition stand survival kit (tape, blue tack, screwdriver), a first aid kit (blister plasters and paracetamol are essential) and rubbish bags. There are plenty more things you’ll need to bring with you so download this last-minute checklist to make sure you’ve got it all.
Enjoy Yourself
Last but not least, get ready to enjoy yourself. Planning an exhibition can be stressful. You don’t want to give that impression to leads on your exhibition stand. Plan some activities or places to visit while you’re in the city. That way you have something to look forward. Finally, make sure you get a good night’s sleep before you go.
Last Notes before you go to your trade show
And that’s a wrap for our bitesize guides to planning your exhibition. Over the last seven weeks, we’ve covered the seven stages of exhibition planning, including:
Booking your show
Organising your exhibition stand
Event Preparation
Venue Arrangement
Transport and Accommodation
Pre-Show Marketing
And finally, here we are in the final weeks before you go.
All that’s left to do is collect your leads, close deals and make sales. We know you’re going to smash it! Send us a pic of your exhibition stand over on LinkedIn or tag us on Twitter – we love seeing you guys at shows!