Exhibitor Checklist: Top 15 Questions to Ask Before a Trade Show

General Knowledge Questions to Ask Before a Trade Show 

1. What Are the Costs of Exhibiting at an Event?

2. How Do You Choose the Right Trade Show?

3. What Are the Best Ways to Capture On-Site Leads?

4. Who Should Staff the Booth, and How Do You Train Them?

5. How Do You Engage Attendees in the Aisle?

Pre-Show Preparation Questions to Have the Answers To 

6. How Do You Pre-Promote Your Participation at a Trade Show?  

7. How Can You Anticipate Booth Traffic and Audience Quality?  

8. Is There a Way to Support the Event as a Sponsor?  

9. Does the Trade Show Offer Speaking Opportunities?  

10. What Materials and Giveaways Should You Bring?  

On-Site and Exhibit-Related Questions to Ask Before a Trade Show  

11. What Kind of Trade Show Display Will Work Best, and What Should Your Booth Design Include?  

12. What Products Will You Feature in Your Exhibit?  

13. What Technologies or Demos Can You Include to Get People’s Attention?  

14. Should You Rent a Meeting Room in the Convention Center?  

15. How Do You Handle Shipping, Installation, and Dismantle Logistics? 

Both first-time exhibitors and their veteran colleagues have a lot of questions as each trade show approaches. And with good reason: exhibiting at any convention is a huge undertaking that carries a large price tag, and. you want to set yourself up for success.  

To ensure you’re ready for the event, it’s important to have a checklist of questions to ask before a trade show. To help you master your pre-show checklist and maximize every convention dollar, we’ve organized the top 15 questions into general knowledge, pre-show preparation, and on-site and exhibit-related categories.  

Every single trade show is different. Even year after year, events grow and evolve. So regardless of whether this is the first or fiftieth trade show you’ve managed for your company’s marketing team, it’s crucial to ask some general knowledge questions to lay the groundwork for a great expo.  

1 What Are the Costs of Exhibiting at an Event?  

One of the most important questions to ask before a trade show is how much it’ll cost. There are multiple expenses to consider when you calculate your trade show budget, including:  

• The exhibit itself, whether you’re purchasing a brand-new one, renting a custom booth, or already have an existing display in storage  

• Roundtrip shipping to and from the event  

• On-site show services like booth space rental, material handling, electrical, cleaning, and installation and dismantle  

• Promotion costs such as mailers, show sponsorships, literature, and giveaways  

• Booth staffing costs and/or travel expenses, which will vary depending on whether you’re sending your own salespeople or hiring third-party booth talent  

When you reconcile the costs after the show, you can calculate your ROI by considering the strategic partnerships you fostered at the event, the on-site leads you met, and the actual sales you earned as a direct result of the convention.  

2 How Do You Choose the Right Trade Show?  

Marketing managers and convention professionals have struggled with this question for decades. The right trade show for your company depends on many different factors, including your current reach and brand recognition, marketing budget, personnel availability, and the products or services you offer.  

The best way to determine which expos are worth the investment is to carefully consider your industry’s trade show calendar and identify which ones are the most promising. You might want to choose your conventions based on size (in other words, the number of exhibitors and anticipated attendees), geographical location, or time of year.  

3 What are the Best Ways to Capture On-Site Leads?  

Just about every trade show organizer will provide each exhibitor with the opportunity to purchase or rent lead retrieval software and equipment for the convention. In most cases, the easiest way to capture on-site leads is to ask to scan attendees’ badges when they’re in the booth space. After the show, the lead retrieval provider will send you a list of the names, companies, and contact information for each badge you scanned so you can follow up with them.  

Don’t forget that trade shows are face-to-face networking events, and some attendees may carry business cards while they walk the exhibition floor. Be sure to log the contact information for any hard-copy cards you collect during the show into your CRM so you can follow up with them later.  

4 Who Should Staff the Booth, and How Do You Train Them?  

Success at any trade show is largely dependent on your booth staffing. You can send internal team members or hire external brand ambassadors—just make sure they’re sufficiently prepared for the convention. Before the trade show, make sure every on-site team member understands how to draw attendees into the booth space, engage with them while they’re there, and use the lead retrieval system. They should also be able to answer at least basic questions about your products and services, and where to guide interested prospects to find more information.  

5 How Do You Engage Attendees in the Aisle?  

There are many ways to draw people from the show aisle into your booth space. Here are a few ideas:  

• Start with an eye-catching, approachable exhibit design that people want to explore.  

• Include inviting—or exciting!—attractions at the edge of your booth space, such as comfortable furniture, eye-catching visuals, or games. Make sure they’re as close as possible to the aisle for maximum visibility.  

• Teach your on-site booth staff to approach attendees and lead them into your exhibit space. You might also want to equip them with free giveaways or interesting handouts.  

• Promote your presence at the show in the months and weeks leading up to the event so attendees know where to find you.  

A lot of event organizers have rules and regulations about what you can and cannot do in the aisles (in other words, outside the boundary of your booth space), so be sure to abide by the guidelines they’ve published if you venture out of your designated area.  

Once you’ve covered the general knowledge questions to ask at a trade show, you can dive into more specific ones that’ll set you and your company up for success. This involves creative marketing and some research into promotional opportunities at your unique show, and the more effort you put in, the better your trade show ROI can be.  

6 How Do You Pre-Promote Your Participation at a Trade Show?  

Early promotion is one of the most important pre-show tips every exhibit professional should take advantage of. Your pre-show marketing strategy and campaigns will largely depend on the size of the event: huge trade shows might necessitate pre-promotion as much as six months to a year ahead of time, whereas smaller, more localized events can be marketed closer to a month or two before the show opens. 

Your pre-show marketing strategy should cast a wide net. Broadcast your presence on social media, showcase your booth design and booth number in your monthly newsletter, and call your existing and prospective clients to invite them to visit your booth. When done correctly, pre-show promotion can lead to post-show ROI.  

7 How Can You Anticipate Booth Traffic and Audience Quality?  

Perhaps the best way to anticipate who will visit your booth space (i.e., decision-makers, C-suite executives, or mid-level employees) is to visit the event’s website and review the demographics from previous years. Many trade show sites feature a “Why Exhibit” or “Who Attends” webpage that includes data such as the total quantity of attendees, management tier demographics, and attendees’ geographical regions.  

Sometimes you can buy a full attendee list from the show organizer to find out exactly who is registered for the event. These lists are generally either available for exhibitors to purchase or come as part of a sponsorship package.  

8 Is There a Way to Support the Event as a Sponsor?  

Just about every trade show offers sponsorship opportunities. These are basically paid advertisements that increase your visibility on the show floor. The perks and options will vary by show, but here are a few common ones:  

• Your branding throughout the convention center, including hanging banners in the concourse, logos in the food court, and signage on staircases or escalators  
• Your logo on the badge lanyards that every exhibitor and attendee will wear  
• Booth space in a traffic-heavy pavilion as a featured exhibitor  
• A colorful ad in the show program that includes your booth number  
• Invitations to exclusive or high-level meetings and networking events  

Most shows offer a variety of sponsorship levels so you can increase your presence and still stick to your trade show budget. Since this is such a great way to boost your on-site visibility, be sure to add this to your top list of questions to ask before a trade show.  

9 Does the Trade Show Offer Speaking Opportunities?  

Thought leaders in each industry are often showcased in speaking engagements at conventions, and you can boost your credibility, trust, and brand awareness by making a presentation or joining a panel discussion during your trade show. Oftentimes you’ll have to start the process at least one year prior to the show, and it involves submitting a proposal, providing your credentials, and following up with show management to secure a spot on the stage.  

10 What Materials and Giveaways Should You Bring?  

In addition to bringing a top-notch trade show exhibit to the event, you should also plan to pack plenty of creative, useful giveaways to hand out to attendees. This might include literature like one-pagers about your company or products, actual samples, or small tokens with your logo for your booth space visitors to take home.  

It’s often useful to bring a variety of giveaways so you can provide higher-level items to higher-level prospects. For example, perhaps everyone who visits your booth space is given a tote bag or a pen with your company’s branding. You can buy hundreds or even thousands of these items at a relatively low cost. For more promising prospects, consider a nicer or more expensive gift displaying your logo like a reusable water bottle, a Bluetooth speaker, or a highquality backpack.  

After the pre-work is out of the way, it’s time to buckle down and address the show itself.

From your custom trade show booth design to your on-site team and shipping logistics, here are some questions you’ll need the answers to so you can have a successful event. You can even offer to ship one to your important guests after the show–a great opportunity for a second touchpoint!

11. What Kind of Trade Show Display Will Work Best, and What Should Your Booth Design Include?  

You have plenty of options when it comes to your trade show exhibit. You can create a stellar display regardless of whether you have an inline, island, or peninsula booth space—and regardless of whether you want a portable or custom design and whether you want to buy or rent your display. Here are a few questions to ask before a trade show to help you identify the right type of exhibit: 

• How big is your booth space?  

• Are you in a high-traffic area of the show floor (i.e., near an entrance, concession stand, or restroom)?  

• Will you bring actual products to the show, or are you a service-based company?  

• How many team members will work your booth? 

• What budget have you set aside for your trade show exhibit design?  

• Do you plan to use the exhibit only once (in which case a rental solution might be best), or multiple times (when a purchase makes more sense)?  

Once you’ve determined the right type of booth, start thinking about what elements to include. Get your creative juices flowing with these ideas:  

• A hanging sign that rotates  

• Custom displays to show off your products  

• Meeting rooms and storage closets 

• An inviting reception counter  

• Games, contests, or interactive technologies that’ll generate buzz on the show floor  

With a gorgeous exhibit booth design and the right trade show partner, you’ll be able to maximize every cubic foot of your booth space. 

12 What Products Will You Feature in Your Exhibit?  

While some trade shows are ideal for retailers who pack their exhibits with valuable products to sell or give away during the convention, other events have less commodity-based products and focus on intangible services. The physical products or samples you plan to bring to your trade show will drive your exhibit design and affect your shipping costs, so it’s important to carefully consider and choose what you’re going to feature in your booth space.  

13 What Technologies or Demos Can You Include to Get People’s Attention?  

Cool technology is a huge draw on the trade show floor. If your budget allows, try to incorporate virtual or augmented reality, touchscreens and interactive displays, or motion elements like creative lighting or video. The exhibition industry evolves along with the tech components that exhibitors implement into their displays, so be sure to keep an eye on current trends for the latest and greatest innovations.  

Live demonstrations are also a great way to attract visitors to your booth space. Set up a small stage in your booth space, have attendees sign up for time slots, or have one of your on-site salespeople continually demo your product or service. The goal is to capture the attention of the people strolling down the aisle, and the more creative your demonstrations, the more booth traffic you’ll earn.  

14 Should You Rent a Meeting Room in the Convention Center?  

Just about every trade show venue in the United States offers meeting rooms, ballrooms, and boardrooms that exhibitors can rent. If you plan to have multiple high-level meetings with existing or prospective customers during the conference, it might be worth investing in one of these private areas. If you do rent a room, be sure to bring branded pens, notepads, and signage with you so the space feels like an extension of your office.  

15 How Do You Handle Shipping, Installation, and Dismantle Logistics?  

As a trade show coordinator, you probably feel like there’s an infinite number of details to address and questions to ask before a trade show. Some of the most vital questions are about the logistics of getting your trade show booth to the show, installed and dismantled on-site, and shipped back to you or your storage facility after the convention ends.  

In general, every show organizer will offer options for booth transportation, installation, and dismantle. Unfortunately, though, their vendors can sometimes be expensive and not as well-versed in convention logistics as you might hope. Your best bet is usually to partner with a turnkey trade show service provider that has trusted partners who can handle the shipping and on-site labor for you.  

Congratulations on making it through the show! Before you relax and revel in your success, you’ll need to address one of the most important tasks on your post-show checklist: lead follow-up. You can rely heavily on your sales team for personal touches like phone calls and in-person meetings, but there are a few more things to do, such as: 

• Enter all leads into your CRM and mailing list 

• Rate the leads (many companies rank them as Cold, Warm, or Hot) 

• Make sure everyone—even cold leads—receives a follow-up  

It could take as many as 50 touchpoints to earn a sale depending on a lead’s status, so the more diligently you follow up with the people your company meets at each trade show, the more likely you are to earn their business.  

We’ll Help You Identify—and Answer—the Right Questions to Ask Before a Trade Show  

Every single convention professional has questions. It doesn’t matter how many events they’ve coordinated or how many years they’ve been at the helm—the exhibit industry keeps evolving and creating more questions to ask before a trade show.  

That’s where we come in. Our veteran team of trade show professionals stays on top of industry trends and innovations so we can help you succeed. From your initial trade show exhibit design ideas all the way through post-show asset management, we’ve got the tools and expertise you need to increase your trade show ROI event after event and year after year.  

Contact us today to tell us about your upcoming trade show and find out how we can guide you to success!