Trade showsecrets2011

R E D   C E D A R   P R   A N D   M A R K E T I N G  
“Face-to-face m arketing specialists”

TRADE SHOW SECRETS
“ANSWERS TO YOUR MOST IMPORTANT TRADE SHOW
QUESTIONS”

www.red-cedar.com
215.635.3016

7400 Barclay Road, Cheltenham, PA 19012 • telephone: 215.635.3016 • fax: 215.635.3041 • www.red-cedar.com

YOU’VE GOT THE QUESTIONS
WE’VE GOT THE ANSWERS
Table of Contents

How do I know what is the right show for my company to exhibit?.................2
Does show size matter? ……………………………………………………………………3
Does booth size matter? …………………………………………………………………..4
How much should we budget for a show? …………………………………………….4
But what if our budget is really really small? ………………………………………..5
What’s the best starter booth? …………………………………………………………6

How much should we expect to pay for a custom booth? ……………………….7
Do we really have to exhibit? Can’t we just hang out? …………………………..8
What’s the most important piece to the show puzzle? ………………………….8
How do I make sure my staff is enthusiastic? ………………………………………9
Does it make sense to hire professional booth staff to work our booth? ….10
What’s the best way to handle an angry customer in our booth? …………....10
Why would I want to be at a show next to all my competitors? …………...…11
What should we put on our graphics? ………………………………………………..13
What if our message is different each show we exhibit? ………………………..14
What is the best give-away or premium item? ……………………………………14
What is an Exhibitor Kit? ……………………………………………………………….15
What is the worse thing you’ve ever seen go wrong at a show? ……………...16
Where not to put your stuff? ………………………………………………………..…18
Is shipping really that complicated? ………………………………………………….18
What the heck is drayage and why is it so expensive? ………………………….19
If I slip the union guy a $100 will my stuff get set up quicker? ………...….….20
How will I get visitors to remember me after the show? ………………………21
What’s the best way to ensure follow up on leads after the show? ..............22

© RED CEDAR “Answers to the most important trade show questions.”

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YOU’VE GOT THE QUESTIONS
WE’VE GOT THE ANSWERS
We’ve compiled a list of our most frequently asked (or should have been asked) questions by
small to mid-sized business owners who are getting ready to add trade shows to their market-
ing mix or looking to improve what they’ve already been doing. While it certainly does not an-
swer every question you may have, it’s enough to get your started on your way to a successful
trade show. They say it’s good to learn from your mistakes but we think it’s better to learn
from others mistakes and avoid your own.

We want to start exhibiting this year and have found five different
shows we think would be a good fit for our company. Some are
national and some are smaller regional shows but we only have the
budget to do one or two. How do I know what is the right show for
my company to exhibit?

Depending on what your goals are you may want to exhibit at a national show or
start with a regional or local show. Regional and local shows tend to be much less
expensive than national shows. A local show may cost only $500 to exhibit while a
national show can run starting at $2500 for just the 10 square feet of space. If you
are looking to expand your sales efforts beyond your regional area then, of course,
the national show is for you. But if you don’t have the resources to follow-up on leads across
the country then as tempting as it is to go with the national show, you may be wasting your
money.

You also want to make sure the attendees of the show match your demographic. If you know
your sales team needs to call on senior level executives and middle management attends the
show you are looking at, you may want to think twice. You need to decide if exposure to the
decision influencers, not the decision makers, is worth the expenditure. Every show should
provide you with audience demographics. It’s important to find out if they use an outside audit-
ing company for their data. You don’t want to take the show management’s marketing depart-
ment’s word for who is attending the show. What you may get is inflated numbers as well as
inflated demographics. We usually recommend our clients attend a show before exhibiting to
get a lay of the land. This gives you a chance to see who is there first hand, what topics are

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hot, is there good show floor traffic, and find out from other exhibitors how productive the
show is for them.

If you are trying to decide between two or more similar shows, you will want to create a
spreadsheet so you can compare apples to apples. Some shows offer a lot more bang for your
buck when it comes to PR and marketing help. Don’t base your decision solely on price. A
less expensive show may not provide the important extras a more expensive show does.
Check for availability of a registration list (either for purchase or free) for pre-show promotion,
a media list to help with your PR efforts, new product showcase options, and lots of formal
networking events. For a sample spreadsheet go to www.red-cedar.com/news.html News and
Information and download our Show Comparison Chart.

If we only have the budget to do one show, isn’t it better to go
to the one with the most attendees? Does show size matter?

We come across a lot of business owners who get very excited about exhibiting
at a show because it promises to deliver 14,000 attendees. But that business
owner is only sending herself and one other sales person to work the show.
You have to be realistic. Let’s say the exhibit hall is open for 8 hours during the
three days of the show. That’s 24 hours total. We know that the last couple
hours as well as lunch tend to be very lonely in the exhibit hall so we can knock off 9 hours (3
show hours x 3 days) from that total as unproductive and we are left with 15 show hours. You
will spend an average of 10 minutes with each visitor and with two staffers in the booth at all
times that means we can potentially talk to 12 visitors per show hour or 180 visitors during the
entire show. That works out to about 1.3 percent of the total show attendees. Our point is
that even if there are only 5000 attendees you’re still able to only talk to 180 visitors. There is
an even more complicated formula using the AIF (Audience Interest Factor) but again, you get
our point.

A smaller show with fewer exhibitors will certainly assure you have a better chance to be no-
ticed. In a large show with hundreds of exhibitors your pre-show marketing is going to be much
more important to get you noticed.


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Does booth size matter?

Surveys have shown that a bigger booth does draw more attention. Bigger booths
have better placement and get more traffic. That said, we have seen small 10 x 10
table top exhibits in a sea of behemoth exhibits draw an incredible amount of traffic.
Much more important than size is how you market yourself before, during and after
the show, how well trained your booth staff is, and the amount of publicity you can generate
before the show. These are the three pillars of successful exhibiting. Take one away and the
whole thing will fall apart. If you have a well trained staff who knows how to pull people in
from the aisle and effectively qualify leads you will be way ahead of your competitors no matter
how big they are. On the show floor everyone is equal.

How much should we budget for a show?

A general rule of thumb is to take the cost of the exhibit space and multiply that by
three. You will need to factor in a bit more if you do not already own a booth
structure or property. The good news for small businesses is booths do not have
to cost you a fortune any more. There are wonderful lightweight fabric structures
that start at around $3500 that you can set up yourself in less than a half hour. Pre-
fabricated modular exhibits for 20 x 20 foot spaces, that look as though you spent
big bucks, can be had for less than $10,000.

But for those that have a booth already, whether it is a pop-up or modular, a good place to
start budgeting is with the 3x rule. If your space for a 10 x 10 booth is $2500, figure you will
spend $7500 when all is said and done on shipping, airfare, show services, hotel accommoda-
tions, entertainment and marketing. This way, when you put together the numbers and find
you only have $5000 in the budget you can start getting creative and/or pare back on the less-
than-essential items.

For more information on budgeting (For more information go to www.red-
cedar.com/news.html News and Information and download Trade Show Budgeting


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Are you kidding me? I don’t have $10,000 to spend on
exhibiting…I’m just barely able to swing the exhibit space. Are
you saying if I don’t have at least $7500 I shouldn’t be doing
anything?

The short answer is “absolutely not.” Exhibiting at a trade show is one of the
most cost effective sales and marketing tools you have. It’s a way to expand
your sales beyond your region even though you only have one or two local sales
people. It’s a way to market your company in new regions as well as new market
segments. It’s a place where you can do valuable market research and
competitive analysis. All of this takes place in one room over the course of two or three days.
Whatever you have to do to get there, make sure you get there.

The one thing that is difficult to negotiate is the booth space. It’s not impossible; it’s just diffi-
cult. By all means, please try. A show would rather sell space at the last minute at a discount
than have an empty booth.

After securing the booth space you are going to have to get there. Most shows will list where
they are being held for the next few years. Check the schedule because they may be closer to
home next year and you may want to hold off just to save money on the travel expenses. If
you decide you need to be there no matter where the show is then start searching immediately
for discounted flights.

Your next expense is going to be housing. Even when the shows are in our backyard we like to
stay at the show hotel instead of driving back and forth because trust me, you are going to be
completely worn out and having a room to refresh yourself is almost a necessity. Almost. If
it’s a choice between doing pre-show marketing and staying in a hotel you’re going to want to
do the marketing and drive back and forth each day. The same goes when traveling across
country. You’re better off staying in the convention hotel rather than the Super 8 thirty miles
away just for the networking opportunities alone. But if you need the extra couple hundred
bucks to put into your marketing then by all means, stay cheap.

The amount of staff you send is also a place to save money. You’re going to kill yourself if you
just send one person. At some point you will need to use the restroom and Murphy’s Law says
that’s when your prime prospect will wander by. If at all possible always send at least two peo-
ple to the show, or, as an alternative, there is the option on hiring professional booth staff that
is local to the show city. They can answer basic questions and give a product or service over-
view and act as backup for breaks.

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Finally, there is the booth itself. Standing in an empty booth with pipe and drape may not be
the impression of your company you want potential customers to have. If you cannot afford a
simple pop-up booth, banner stands are a good alternative. For the stand and graphic you will
pay where from $800 - $1500 depending on the size and type. There are great banner stands
available that are about 5 feet tall and have your graphic attached in such a way that they ban-
ner rolls right up and into its own carry case. You can probably even manage to pass it off as a
carry on, on most flights. You can always tell your customers you didn’t figure the cost of your
fancy booth into your pricing structure.

I just saw a company the other day that had nothing but their products displayed on the show
supplied table with the standard black skirt. Their graphic displaying their company name and
tag line was printed on 2 foot x 4 foot foam core. They hung it from the pipe and drape with
fishing line through a couple grommets on the sign. They had an eye-catching colorful logo and
it looked professional. They didn’t even ship their sign; they brought the file with them and
printed it at the local Kinko’s. They planned on trashing it after the show.

The point of all this is to say it’s important that you get your name out there and start meeting
people. Let your booth grow as you do. After all, one good prospect at the show could be
turned into your best customer and pay for a bigger, better booth next year.

We don’t have a booth. What’s the best starter booth? I read
about tabletops, pop-ups and modular booths. Should I buy a new
one or used...or should I rent?

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a booth if you have an
extremely limited budget. First take a look at the shows you are planning on
exhibiting. Some shows do not allow anything bigger than an 8 x 10 pop-up booth.
If you invest in a bigger or modular exhibit you may not be able to use it at these
shows. A good quality pop-up booth that will last show after show will cost about $3000 for
the frame. You will probably spend another $2000 on the printing of the graphic. There are
cheaper models available online for as little as $1500 for frame and printing but the quality is
going to be low and won’t last as long.

A budget conscious option would be a well-designed tabletop exhibit or banner stands. There
are two important things to consider if you have a very small budget; but you can see the value
in exhibiting. The first is that you get out there and do it. If you are thinking I can’t exhibit be-

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cause I cannot afford the display; get that thought out of your mind. I’d rather see you standing
in an empty booth because at least you showed up. Which brings me to the second point. An
enthusiastic, well trained, well prepared staffer who believes in the product or service they are
selling will outshine any flashy exhibit.

We’ve also seen some great new modular exhibits being produced for a 10 x 10 space that will
take your exhibit up a notch or two from the pop-up. Some start as low as $8000 including
graphics. But be careful. This type of booth will increase your exhibiting budget on the back
end. You will pay more to ship it and it will require you hire labor to set it up. Many union
cities will only allow an exhibitor to set up their own booth if it takes one person less than 1/2
hour to put it up.

As far as buying used exhibit goes, buyer beware. These things can get really beat up so you
definitely want to see it before you buy. That said, there are some great deals out there on
used exhibits. You’ve got all those companies that have what seems at times and unlimited
budget for exhibiting and they are constantly changing out their exhibits for a new design.
Some are only a year old but again, you are going to want to see it before you buy it.

As far as renting vs. buying goes that depends on your company. New businesses go through a
lot of changes. You may not want to invest in buying a modular booth if it will be irrelevant
next year. Also take into consideration how many times you will be exhibiting in a year. If you
are only doing one big show a year renting may be a more economical option. Remember, if
you buy it you will also have to have a place to store it or pay for storage at your exhibit house.
Have a talk with your exhibit house and accountant to find out what is right for you.

Even if you decide to go with a larger modular booth, whether a rental or owning, you will
want to have a pop-up or table top exhibit on hand for those smaller shows.

My company is ready to upgrade to a custom booth, how much
should we expect to pay?

You are going to want to budget about $124 per square foot (or $1238 per linear
foot) for an inline exhibit and $139 per square foot for an island exhibit. An inline
exhibit is one that is constructed in a continuous line along the aisle. And island
exhibit is one with an aisle on all four sides. And, just for your information a
peninsula exhibit is an exhibit with aisles on three sides.


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Do we really have to exhibit? Can’t we just attend and hang out and
network and pitch our services or wares?

They have a word for this in the trade show industry and it is called suit casing and
it is not allowed--ever. You will be thrown out of the convention center if you are
caught doing it. You will also ruin your reputation as both exhibitors and
attendees will view you with much disdain for doing it. We are talking about the
hard sell here, passing out flyers and giving a sales pitch. If you are truly just
attending the show to get a lay of the land and find out what is going on in the industry, then by
all means, network, network, network. But if you intend to wander the show floor stopping
people in the aisles, please do us all a favor and get a job in telemarketing. Under no circum-
stances should you ever be wasting exhibitors’ time by pitching your product to them in their
own booth. Aside from not being allowed and rude, while they are talking to you they may
have neglected their next big account that just walked by. This is not a good first impression.

We make our money on exhibitors. We often attend shows and walk the floor to see who is
doing it right and who may need our help. We take notes and gather information but we
never, ever bother them in their booth. Not even to ask for a contact name. We have been
working in our clients’ booths when they have been approached during show hours by sales
reps looking to promote their services. We give our clients credit in that they are generally
polite to these time wasters but as soon as they are out of earshot the general comments are,
“do they really think they can get business this way? They are interfering with our job.”

Look at the numbers we used in our “does show size matter?” question. That 10 minutes you
took of their time may have just cost them close to $100 at the very least...at the most it could
have cost them a sale.

What’s the most important piece to the show puzzle that will
ensure our success?

Otherwise known as the magic pill. Each piece is so important but the only one
that you can absolutely not do without is a good booth staffer. You can have the
biggest booth, the best giveaway, great pre-show marketing; but if you don’t have a
well prepared staff you won’t have a successful show. On the other hand, your pre-

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show mailers could have gotten lost in the mail, your booth stuck in the back of a truck in a
snow storm and your giveaways lost on the loading dock but your staff can save the whole
event.

You want to send your best people to the show. Notice I did not say your best sales rep. In
some cases your best person for the show may be a customer service rep or someone from
R&D. They must love talking to people and know your business well. You must prepare them
by making sure they know how to engage and qualify visitors. You must also make it rewarding
for them. Standing in a booth all day is hard work. Make sure they know why they are there,
how it helps the business and therefore them and a day or two comped vacation time or even a
gift certificate for a fabulous dinner when they get back doesn’t hurt either. (For more informa-
tion go to www.red-cedar.com/news.html News and Information and download “Getting the
Most from your Booth Staff”)

Whenever I go to a show the staffers in a small booth look so
bored. How do I make sure my staff is enthusiastic?

Make sure they know what the goal of your participation in the show is. Set
reasonable expectations with them for what you hope to achieve. Asking them
to collect 100 qualified leads a day when it’s really only possible for one person to
collect 20-30 is setting them up for failure. Work with them to create their own
personal goals for the show. Perhaps there are a couple people they really
respect in their field that may be attending the show. Help them set up meetings before the
show opens or after it closes for the day or during networking events. Send at least two peo-
ple so they can take a break without feeling guilty.

It’s not easy spending three days manning a booth at a show that has not been well thought out
or supported by management. If people feel as thought they’ve been sent into exile, they will
behave as that were the case and not put a lot of effort into the show. When they return to
the office they will cite bad booth placement and little or no floor traffic as an excuse for not
bringing back any leads. On the other hand, if management treats it like it is an important en-
deavor and gives the necessary support and training, then the staffer will have a higher level of
enthusiasm and try to turn a slow show into something worthwhile.

Don’t send your shy or disgruntled staffers to these shows. Only send the ones who really
love people and people watching, as they will be less likely to be or appear to be bored.

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Does it make sense to hire professional booth staff to work our
booth?

You should not use them as your only staffing but there are some great
companies out there that provide quality people to use as a supplement to your
own staff. It can also help you cut costs on out of town shows. You always want
two people in your booth at all times. One reason is two people can engage
more people. But the other reason is that people need breaks and they need to
eat. You don’t want to leave your booth empty at any time. With at least two people there
your booth is always staffed even on breaks. You can send one of your staffers to the show
and hire a professional staffer that is local to the show. This cuts down on your travel ex-
penses.

The temp staffer can learn enough about your product and service in advance to field general
questions and provide information. If a question that comes up is outside their area of knowl-
edge they can pass them off to your staffer.

These temp workers are not the booth babes of yesteryear. These are men and women who
are smart, professional and well manicured. To visitors stopping by your booth they are indis-
tinguishable from your own staff.

What’s the best way to handle an angry customer that comes to
our booth to vent?

Great question because at some point, no matter how great your customer
service record is, you will get someone coming to your booth to complain. For
some of these people this is a chance of a lifetime. They get to vent to a real live
person and it could even be the business owner. It’s best to have a plan in place
and communicate it with your entire booth staff before the show so they are not
caught off guard.

Step 1. The disgruntled visitor should be connected immediately to the highest level staffer in
the booth. If your exec is walking around on the show floor contact them and get them over
to the booth. Tell the customer that you are doing this not to pass them off but to connect
them to the person who is in the best position to take action.


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Step 2. Get them out of the booth gracefully. After allowing them to voice their initial com-
plaint/concern try this. “Mr. Smith, I’d like to understand this completely but it’s a bit distract-
ing here. Can we go and sit down over a cup of coffee so you can tell me exactly what hap-
pened and we can figure out a solution.” It is highly unlikely that Mr. Smith really does want to
cause a scene in your booth but he may have thought it the only way to be heard. Once he
understands that someone is going to listen to him he will be much less aggressive and most
likely willing to go somewhere to talk.

Sure your potential customers just heard the commotion but they now have a favorable im-
pression of how you handle customer issues and your concern to fix the problems.

If you have only one lone staffer in the booth he can modify the above approach by inviting Mr.
Smith to meet with him when the exhibit hall closes for the day so he can focus on the issues.

Why would I want to be at a show next to all my competitors?

This question always amazes me and it’s one of the most commonly asked
questions. It begs the question, “Why would you not want to be there?”

When someone is buying a product they will most likely be comparing several
vendors. This process can drag itself out over weeks or even months while
meetings are set up and proposals submitted. When all interested parties are in one room the
comparison part of this process can take place in hours instead of weeks. You are significantly
reducing your sales cycle by being at the show.

Many small business owners worry about looking too small next to their giant competitors.
Sure, you will always lose business to the big guy when dealing with a purchaser who wants to
play it safe. We know the scenario; they are afraid to go with the vendor who is either new or
relatively unknown because if something goes wrong it is on their head. If they go with the big
name and something goes wrong they cannot possibly be to blame...everyone uses those guys.
It still gives you a chance to be seen so that if something does go wrong with your big competi-
tor, they may just call on you to save the day. If you are not there, they will not have the
chance to get to know you and you will not get that business.

Do not discount the number of companies who do not want to be the small fish in someone’s
big pond. Many companies want to do business with the small guy because then they know


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they are important to you and that you will pay close attention to their needs. They want to be
your big fish.

And again, there is your staff that will set you apart. I recently walked the floor with a client
who was considering adding exhibiting into their marketing mix but they had this concern about
being right next to their competitors. Two of her competitors were there in 10 x 10 booths,
the same size she is considering. The first competitor had a female staffer sitting in a chair be-
hind their table hugging a wrap around her shoulders and appeared to be very uncomfortable
and cold. They had a monitor showing a video loop of their services running and we stopped
to watch it. So she now has two people in front of her who are clearly interested in what she
is selling. She is on her cell phone and ignoring us. Even if she was not on her phone she has
three strikes against her as the is sitting, huddled behind a table, and showing obvious signs of
discomfort that say I’d rather be anywhere but here talking to you.

Next we went to competition B’s booth. They had a very eye-catching graphic and a simple but
nice inviting booth set up. Their staffer was standing near the aisle and smiling at everyone who
passed by. We slowed down to look at his booth showing signs of interest and he gave us a big
smile and a “hello.” We said hello and kept moving.

Now, understand that we would not have taken up their time if they did actually engage us, we
would have kept moving along or told him we were competitors. We did not take any materi-
als or giveaways. However, to them we were simply showing enough of an interest that we
would have been easy targets. I showed my client that if she were there she could have all the
success at the show by simply actively engaging visitors and passers-by. Sure, if they are looking
for her services they will seek out all the vendors that are at the show, but she would have
stood out. They may have just picked up literature at the other booths and not even engaged
in conversation.

Your staff is key in separating you from your competition whether they are well known and in
an 800 square foot booth; or in the 10 x 10 right next to you. Many times it is the enthusiastic
business owner in his little tabletop booth that gets his message across, not the junior staffer in
the fancy booth more interested in talking to his coworkers than he is a customer.


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What should we put on our graphics?

Ok, this is another one of those questions we wish we were asked more often.
Chances are you will be at the show exhibiting alongside 50 or more other
companies selling the same thing you are. You must put yourself in your
customer’s or potential customer’s shoes. Listing all your product or services
features on your booth graphics is not going to work. For one, no one is going to stop and
read it all. For two, every other exhibitor is listing the same features. Because you are sur-
rounded by your competition you must stand out from the pack. Luckily for you, you are read-
ing this and just may be the one who does take our advice.

The only thing your graphic should say is how you address their need or pain or pleasure.
What makes you unique? If your competition can say it then don’t print it on your graphic.
That’s valuable real estate and you don’t want to waste it.

I recently went to a medical manufacturing show with over 500 exhibitors. There had to be at
least 25 exhibitors selling oral drug delivery solutions. Every company was the same, listing all
their features and benefits of which they all had the same ones. No one stood out. Then I
came across a 10x10 pop-up booth and their graphic was a close-up of a mother giving a baby
medicine from a spoon and the mother and baby were both covered in syrupy medicine. The
mother looked exasperated and the baby was screaming. They were pitching a no-mess, easy
dispenser. That just about says it all. It catches your attention, I get it without needing to read
anything, and it solves my problem. Let’s talk.

Try to keep the number of words on your graphic to fewer than 20. No one is going to read
it; they will glance at it and keep moving unless it speaks to them in less than two seconds.
That’s why you have your staff there. They can answer any questions your graphic does not.


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That’s great but these graphics are really expensive to print and
we have different products for different audiences. Are you
saying we should have a booth for each product?

You want to be strategic when designing your booth graphic because the cost of
printing the graphics on a pop-up can run $2000 or more. Most of these booths
are printed in three panels that join together. Your graphic designer can design a
different graphic for each product so that only one panel needs to be switched out
for each show.

Another option is to keep you graphics on the booth very generic and add a banner stand for
each specific product. This is our least favorite option because there is less opportunity for you
to stand out.

If you are using a bigger modular booth take this into consideration when ordering it. You will
want to order something where your graphics can easily be interchanged for each show you
exhibit.

What is the best give-away or premium item?

The best premium is one that ties into and promotes your business as well as
your overall show goal and theme. If you sell fermenters for laboratories and
you are giving away a back massager, while it may be very popular with
attendees, it doesn’t really say much about you after the show. If on the other
hand you are a masseuse, it’s a great give-away.

Handing out cheap pens or sticky pads to everyone who walks by isn’t necessarily going to help
you. For about the same amount of money you can bring a more expensive premium item that
you give to visitors to your booth who answer some qualifying questions. But that premium
item has to be something that will make the visitor think of you every time they look at it or
use it and remember their conversation with you in your booth.

If you are using the show to build a list of prospects in the industry but not necessarily qualify
them, a high-ticket item and a drawing may be the way you want to go. It’s a great way to build
a marketing lead list for new companies. Sending out pre-show mailers saying that you are giv-

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ing away a Wii to one lucky winner just for dropping your card in a bowl will generate a lot of
attention. I’m not advocating this or saying it is right but we’ve seen companies who do a
drawing like this but fix the outcome. The prize will always go to one of their top customers
or to a potential customer where they are trying to get in the door.

We’ve seen customers give away a car in the booth. Understand they were at the show to fur-
ther position them as the industry leader. Everyone already knew who the company was, but
as you know; you always have to work to remain the leader. A car may seem extravagant but
think of it this way. The car may have cost them $25,000. A similar sized client was giving
away engraved journals to everyone at the show. They spent over $50,000 between the cost
of the journals, the shipping and drayage, and hiring the engraving company. They could have
given away two cars.

There is no simple answer to this question. It really comes down to what are your goals, what
is your budget, what is allowed, and what is relevant. For everyone it’s a different answer.

I reserved my 10 x 10 booth space and the show sent me a 140-page
book called an Exhibitor Kit! It’s got ordering forms for labor and
shipping and furniture. I’ve just got a pop-up I can set up
myself...do I really need to read this thing?

Unfortunately this is not a question we are ever asked until it is too late. This is
where people get themselves into the most amount of trouble when they are first
exhibiting. The quickest way to add up inflated charges is by not reading your
exhibitor kit thoroughly. This should be your bible for the show. It will contain all
your ordering deadlines to avoid late fees, exactly what comes with your booth and
what needs to be ordered separately, installation and dismantle hours, labor and service order
forms, and show rules just to name a few.

Extra charges can add up by the hundreds or thousands if you miss deadlines or have to order
services at the show. We’ve seen people who did not read the book and did not know that
carpeting for the booth was not included in the space reservation. What would have cost them
$100 if ordered before the show cost $250 on site and they did not get the color they wanted.
If you need an electrical outlet and you didn’t order it before the show it can cost you as much


15

as an extra $1000 just because they have to install it during overtime and pull up the carpet and
re-lay it not to mention possibly having the need to re-build your booth.

Your exhibitor kit is where you will find out if you are allowed to serve food in your booth or
if they allow balloons. Planning on using a hanging sign in your exhibit? Some shows won’t al-
low it. Start tearing down before the show officially closes and you may find you are banned
from future shows. (For more information go to www.red-cedar.com/news.html News and
Information and download “The High Cost of Trade Show Mistakes”)

What is the worse thing you’ve ever seen go wrong at a show?

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 ship-
ping 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.


16

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 alterna-
tive then you are going to need to check with the show services desk for help. They some-
times 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 capa-
ble? 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.


17

Where not to put your stuff.

Many beginning exhibitors make this mistake all the time. It’s not his or her fault,
no one is born with this knowledge, it has to be passed on. While booths are
being set up there is no carpeting in the aisles. Some of these aisles are marked
that they must be kept clear at all times. They mean this. The other aisles are
where you toss your garbage and empty boxes, whatever you want thrown away.
You need to keep everything you want on your carpet at all times. If you put a box of litera-
ture or graphics in that aisle while you are moving your booth around, they will scoop it up and
throw it in the huge dumpsters out in the back of the hall. You ask yourself, why would they
do that? Can they not clearly see it was a mistake and something we would want? Maybe--
Maybe not--maybe they do it just because they can. Tell everyone working in your booth this
rule...because the one person you didn’t tell will be the one to put the graphics in the aisle and
you will be dumpster diving the rest of the afternoon.

They have all these documents and rules for shipping in the
exhibitor manual. Is it really that complicated?

It’s really not that complicated, or rather it doesn’t need to be. There is usually a
carrier that is the preferred carrier of the show. This doesn’t mean you get a
discount on shipping from them by any means. What it should mean is that they
know where shipments are supposed to go when and they will be the first through
the marshaling yard...meaning what’s on those trucks get into and out of the show first.

You by no means need to use them. You probably don’t want to if you have just a popup
booth and a couple boxes going to the show. UPS is a perfectly good carrier to use and they
understand how marshaling yards at convention centers work. Having your cousin Vinny run it
over to the convention center in his pizza delivery truck is probably going to cause you more
headaches than the shipping savings is worth. I often think the guy at the freight desk is just
looking for any excuse to screw with deliveries where the driver has no idea what he is doing.
There is a very complicated process the truck drivers must go through and you want to make
sure the carrier you use understands it and has done it many times.


18

To avoid mishaps you can send your shipments to the warehouse in advance of the show. But
be aware that this is the more expensive option because you will be paying storage fees but it
will give you fewer points in the process where things can go wrong. But you have to carefully
read the exhibitor kit to know when the deadlines are for shipping to the warehouse and when
you can start shipping to the convention center or hotel.

One of the most important things you will have to do at the show close is to properly com-
plete the Bill of Lading/Material Handling Agreement (MHA) form and turn it in to the freight
desk. If you don’t do this, your carrier cannot pick up your freight. If you did not take care of
this important step on time you will learn another term, which is, forced freight. That is when
show management, in an effort to get the hall emptied on time, sticks your booth on whatever
carrier is convenient and your booth will be shipped to the show services warehouse and run
up storage fees for every day it is there.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s always good to be nice to, and make friends with people
who look as though they’ve been doing this forever. Two of our favorite labor companies that
are at every trade show are Nth Degree and Sho-Aids. I don’t know how I would have ever
gotten through my first shows without Sho-Aids backing me up. These are the companies that
those huge 2000 square foot plus booths engage to handle all their booth setup needs. If you
have the budget to hire a labor company by all means do it. It is well worth the money. But
you probably do not need it for a pop-up exhibit. Anyway, our point is, these guys are not only
really good at what they do, they are really nice. Nth Degree guys where purple shirts and
Sho-Aides wear orange shirts. They are not going to work for you for free but they will
probably take a couple seconds to answer a question for you and they know all the ins and outs
of shipping.

As a matter of fact...if my booth went missing, these are the guys I’d contact first to help me
find a solution to the problem if my exhibit house couldn’t help me.

What the heck is drayage and why is it so expensive?

Oh the stories we all tell about drayage. It’s one of those insider jokes. Seasoned
exhibitors sit around the bar after tear down and compare their ridiculous drayage
fee stories. Drayage cannot be talked about without the use of expletives. Drayage
is the process of getting your booth from the loading dock to your booth space. I
have had people tell me stories of their drayage charges in certain cities (like Philadelphia) being

19

twice as much as their total shipping charges. Yes that’s right. It cost them twice as much to
get their booth 20 yards than it did to ship it from California to Philadelphia.

What you have to understand that drayage is charged usually per hundredweight (CWT). That
means you get charged for every item moved as if it weight 100 lbs. at an average rate of about
$70 per CWT. If it weighs more you are charged incrementally more. Every time they pick up
a box and move it you are charged as if it weighed 100 lbs. (Some shows start at 200 lbs mini-
mums) Why am I repeating this? Let’s say you shipped five boxes of giveaway pens to the show
each weighing 15 lbs. You also have two boxes of literature each weighing about 30 lbs. Then
there is your booth, which weighs about 75 lbs. Let’s say drayage costs $75 per 100 weight.
You would be paying $600. Now let’s say you shrink wrapped all those things onto a pallet and
sent them in one shipment. Your drayage fees would be $150. You just saved yourself $450.
You can use that money to entertain clients while you are at the show.

This is also why you want to store any extra literature boxes and giveaways you intend to use
throughout the show in your hotel room if there is no space to store them inside your booth.
Every time you ask for another box to be delivered from quick access storage to your booth
you are paying for it. I have already had to squeeze into my bed through a maze of boxes
stacked to the ceiling during shows to save a client several thousand dollars. It was much
cheaper to tip the bellman $50 to wheel over 20 or so boxes than pay the quick access charges.

If I slip the union guy a $100 will my stuff get set up quicker?

Your stuff won’t get set up any quicker--just the opposite. It is strictly forbidden
to tip the union workers at a show. What generally happens is they will take the
money and then report you and you are now last on the list for set-up as well as
being $100 poorer. This means it is very likely your work will be done after
regular hours so you will be paying time and a half or double time. On the other
hand being nice to the labor is always a good thing. Yes, it is true that the squeaky wheel gets
the grease; but the really nice wheel that let’s the labor have a couple of your giveaways during
set up, or asking them if you can get them a coffee or a water while you are getting yourself
one goes a very very long way.

And it certainly does not hurt to be a woman either. If you are having an issue and need help,
always send a female staffer to ask for it. Some people say that is sexist, but hey, whatever


20

works. I have even heard of one exhibit manager who packs homemade cookies when she
goes to a show to pass out at the loading dock.

So long story short, no, you cannot bribe the union workers. What you can do is just be nice
and treat them like you would want to be treated and that will go a lot further.

How will I get visitors to remember my product or service after
the show?

Don’t load them down with literature. It will all most likely get tossed in the hotel
room trash when they start packing to go home and realize all the extra weight it
adds. (Mine went in the garbage at the airport check-in when it put my bag 7 lbs
over limit) Get their permission to send any information after the show. This will
do two things, save you money on the amount of literature you have to send to
the show and, automatically gives you a reason to stay in touch with them.

The key to people remembering you is “experiential”. You want your customer to be able to
imagine and see what it is like to own your product or use your service. If you are selling a
widget let them hold it, let them see how it connects to the whole. If you sell software let
them actually click through different screens and perform functions right there to demonstrate
the ease of use. If you have a product that is indestructible let them try to break it. Try to
awaken all their senses when demoing a tangible product.

If you sell a service your job is a bit harder but still possible. Let them experience what it
would be like to contract your services by showing short video testimonials by people who are
just like them. Have your customers tell them how you solved their problems or made their
lives easier.


21

It always seems as though the momentum we build up in our
company before and during the show breaks down after the show.
How do we prevent that from happening?

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) reports that 70 percent of
leads generated at the show are not followed up on. When you consider this
statistic also consider that their research reports that 71 percent of attendees at
trade shows are the ones who authorize/approve purchases and attendees at an
exhibition have a net buying influence of 89 percent. And you are not following up
on our leads why?

Our experience has shown the reason leads are not followed up on is a lack of procedure and
accountability put into place before the show. If your follow-up plan consists of nothing more
than “get back to everyone after the show”, you have little chance of success. Your sales team
will be faced with a pile of tasks that have built up while they were away that need to be han-
dled immediately. Finally, three or four days after the show, at best, they will start to work
through the leads collected at the show. The really ‘hot’ leads will be followed up on first and
the information seekers will be put on the back burner. A week turns into a month turns into
three months and now the lead is cold.

We have found that when we have a system in place, whether it is manual or automated, be-
fore the show begins, we are able to follow-up on every lead while it is still very fresh in the
attendees mind. We create template e-mails, which are sent out every night during the show
following up on the leads collected that day. Notice I say at night, not immediately after the hall
closes for the day. You should be networking with attendees immediately after the hall closes
for the day. If the convention center is closed then the hotel lobby bar is where you need to
be. After that you should be at dinner with clients. Only when the last attendee has gone to
bed for the night should you be in your hotel room following up. I know, you are exhausted
but no one said this would be a cakewalk.

Leads can be separated into two groups. Those seeking information, and those who have
agreed to a follow-up from a sales person. A simple two or three line e-mail is sent to each
person (given they had agreed to follow-up by e-mail) thanking them for stopping by and a
promise to send the information they requested (stating the exact information they requested)
or a promise to have a sales rep/staff member contact them on a specific date upon return to


22

the office. For those who preferred not to be contacted by e-mail the same note handwritten
on company letterhead is written and sent out in the next morning’s mail from the hotel.

Someone should be assigned the task of putting all the lead information into a database. This
can be as elaborate as a CRM tool or a simple excel spreadsheet. Again, this person should be
assigned this task before the show with a date of completion they are held accountable. Ideally
this should be before the show is over or the very first day back in the office. The good news
is, the larger shows where you would collect the most leads provide you with badge swiping
machines and hand you a database with all your leads at the end of each show which eliminates
all the hard work of this step.

These leads can be divvied up amongst your sales and staff for follow-up. Again, making one
person accountable to make sure this has been done on a timely basis. If you told a visitor you
would call a couple days after the show to set up on appointment then you better be calling
them in that time frame. Calling them a month after could lose you a sale. The CEIR reports
that 77 percent of attendees find at least one new supplier at a show. If you competition is fol-
lowing up with them the day after the show and you wait a month you may still be in the run-
ning but you will have lost your leg up.

We encourage you to go to our website at http://www.red-cedar.com/. From
there go to our News and Info page for additional information and tips. If your
needs go beyond what is discussed in this e-book, please give us a call and let us put
our experience and expertise to work for you.

If you have purchased this e-book you have been registered for one half hour of
free consulting. You can use this all at once or break it into two fifteen-minute in-
crements. We suggest a 15 minute consultation before your show and a 15 minute
post mortem after the show, or heaven forbid, an emergency help call during the
show. Do not worry; your free consultation is just that and not a sales pitch.
When you call have your questions ready and a pen and paper on hand.


23

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