The single biggest challenge I have ever encountered with shows (on whatever scale) is how to collect leads and what to do with them after you’ve collected them. The problem seems to start with the simple act of collecting them. There are three steps:

1. Collecting them.
2. Processing them.
3. Taking action with them. Read More...

The best way to evaluate a potential addition to your show schedule is to actually visit the show. Whether you have to buy an airline ticket and plan a trip or park near your local exhibit hall when the show comes to your town, it will payment immense dividends for you to walk teh floor of a show.

To help you judge the show, you will ahve already done your homework on it: Read More...

I was reminded of this process and experience recently when a business acquaintance told me he had to make some changes to his program. Whether it’s cost-, geography- or personality-driven, sometimes a change has to be made.

Moving your exhibit properties is a big deal–or not Others in the industry have written exhaustively (and well) about this topic, among them Candy Adams and others on the staff of Exhibitor Magazine. This not meant to be an end-all or be-all, rather a starting place. Remember these three points when considering a new exhibit company: Read More...

It never fails. The client wants to bring all of the brochures and collateral the company has on its shelves to a show. While the printed word in a 2-D form is a great supplement to an effective trade show, it can also be a distraction or a detriment. Three things come to mind when literature becomes involved with a trade show:

1. Handing literature to a client says “goodbye.”
2. Extra, precious resources (money) is spent on shipping literature.
3. Literature makes a great follow up mailing after the show. Read More...

I admit it, I’m a convert. I always thought you had to own a custom booth to be a big player. But with the pressures of financial performance a daily reality, having a quality image on the show floor has to be rethought. Enter the rental custom booth.

There are three reasons I like this concept:
1. I can just pack my stuff and walk away at the end of the show.
2. The pricing is predictable in that I&D, drayage, and rentals (structure, carpet, pad, funishings, cleaning) are combined in a single contract (that is, if you use the general contractor as I did at this most recent show).
3. It can be repeated and works well for programs of four shows or fewer.

While it ain’t the latest in design, for a tech company or a company with a conflict or reduced budget, this can work very well. While it is a compromise in some areas, it is workable and delivers the messages that are critical for the client: those related to product and about how serious they are about cost containment. Read More...

The show is about to start, so it’s time to gather the staff for a briefing before the attendees flood onto the show floor. At NACStech, we had a staff of about 12 for the 7 workstations. The meeting was led by the two main sales people for the business unit. We took 15 minutes to brief them on three key topics and take a quick tour of the booth:

1. How to take and record leads.
2. Booth etiquette, rules and expectations.
3. Customers and others to expect in the booth. Read More...

I’m at the National Association of Convenience Stores Technical Show (otherwise known as NACStech) this week. The show runs Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.

The show participation is down this year (about 100 exhibitors as compared to 125 last year in Nashville) according to the organizer. The show floor is about the same size, but the bigger players (Gilbarco, Pinnacle) have downsized to 20×20s. Read More...

It is always a good thing to show up early to the show floor. You can see if your frieght has arrived, among other things, but basically get the “lay of the land.”

Once you get past the usually who-ha of wrist bands and where things are, you get to the booth space to see what awaits you. For example, when I arrived at the space at NACStech at the Gaylord in Grapevine, Texas, I was greeted with a few surprises. Not what I wanted, but not insurmountable. Read More...