It’s rare to find a company that has an unlimited budget for things like trade shows, but since you can’t generate revenue without first selling, attending a trade show is one of the best sales tools you have at your disposal.
But before you go, make sure of two things. First, that you are about to spend money on the right event. Spending thousands of dollars on a show that won’t benefit your company because it targets the wrong audience is not a good idea. Second, make sure that you are ready to go before you actually leave for the airport.
The To Do Checklist
- Read as much as you can about the show, and get in touch with show coordinators. Find out why you should attend the show, what kind of trade show exhibit other attendees usually set up, and how much the fee is for booking a space.
- Read and sign the contract, and send in the contract. Most of the time, you can send in a contract and pay for your space online. In case you can’t though, make sure to do this before the show date. Often, there’s a fee or penalty for showing up last minute. Worse, you may not get a space at all.
- Book your hotel in advance. Don’t assume that there will be plenty of space in the city that you’re headed to. Sometimes, other events are happening at the same time, and the few hotels available might be booked. Booking in advance will help with peace of mind.
- Get your flight ready too. Just like a hotel, it pays to book your flight as soon as possible.
- Find out if you need to do anything else before you leave. Some shows have certain rules that attendees have to follow.
- Make sure that your trade show booth is ready to go, and that you know how you’re going to get your trade show booth to the destination in one piece. Further, be certain that setting up your trade show booth won’t be hard to do – or hire help in advance if you think that you will need it.
- Get all of your staff tags and tees ready to go, and make sure that one person is responsible for these, or have them shipped directly to your hotel. You don’t want to be running around making last minute tags because you forgot to ship yours!
- Sign any last minute contracts, and check everything twice. Make sure your staff has the right flight times and hotel names, connect with the people you want to meet at the show, and get everything in order before you take off.
Getting Your Trade Show Display There
Some parts of your trade show display might be heavier than you realize, and you may have trouble shipping these pieces of making sure that you can put your whole trade show display together when you do arrive at the show. If you think that you will need help with shipping, putting together, or taking down your trade show display, let Blazer know. Our staff can meet you where you are headed, and we’ll make sure that everything goes smoothly.
If you’ve never attended a show before, get ready for a great experience! If you have, you already know what to expect, and we’d love to hear what some of your preparation tips are. Leave us a note on this blog, or connect with us on Facebook for more information about what we do, or to tell us how you put the whole thing together.