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Trade shows and expos are a terrific way to showcase your business and meet new customers. Preparation, several months in advance, is the key to ensuring that you maximize the experience.

Very often local trade and business organizations host an annual expo of some kind. These usually offer a good opportunity to get your feet wet on a smaller scale without the flying and hotel expenses.

If you aren’t already familiar with expos in your area, begin contacting business organizations to ask about regional trade shows and find one that is right for you. While you need to make sure the target audience for the show is appropriate for your business, sometimes you can find a show that at first glance may not seem like a fit but actually might be a good choice and, at the same time, provide a chance to outsmart the competition.

For example, a recent home show near me features the expected booths such as home builders, kitchen cabinet makers, garden experts, and power washing, but also on hand were two videographers who offered wedding and special occasion video services as well as the transfer of old home movies to DVD. So while their work wasn’t specifically geared toward the home it was certainly of interest to many and they stood out in the crowd.

Smaller, local shows are often less expensive to ‘buy into’ as well. Typical smaller trade shows generally charge between $200 – $2,000 for 10 x 10 booth. For larger shows expect to spend anywhere from $5,000 – $10,000+ on the booth rental. You can also purchase several booths next to each other to create one larger booth or display area. Obviously the more space you desire, the more expensive it will be.

Signing up early can sometimes enable you to request a specific location within the trade show and may also give you the chance to take advantage of early bird discounted registration rates. Keep in mind that electrical service is often an extra cost and can run anywhere from $35 to $500.

After signing up, you should begin the process of planning the look of your booth. There are companies that specialize in trade show booth design. Depending upon your budget you may want to look into hiring one of these.

The booth should be unique enough to catch people’s attention as they are walking by, but not so busy that it overwhelms the attendee. Make yourself a grid on graph paper using each block to represent one square foot and create your booth on paper first. Then you can develop what will fit and where it should go.

There are a few things to keep in mind that people are often unaware of:

• Larger trade shows usually have a media room where you can place your press kit for view by the media.
• If you are announcing a new product you can often set up a press conference to take place during the show.
• The trade show organizers will usually provide you with a media contact list for your use, before, during and after the show.
• Meeting the deadlines set by the trade show management company are crucial to being included in as many visibility opportunities as possible; for example you don’t want your company to be the only one without a description underneath the listing because you missed the deadline for the submission.
• Make yourself a trade show calendar working backwards from the date to ensure that you have all important deadlines noted.

Here are some other things to remember:

• Do you have enough brochures; sell sheets, business cards, etc. to hand out? Find out how many people the trade show company expects to attend; while you don’t need 10,000 pieces if they are expecting 10,000 people, you should probably plan to have 1 – 2,000 on hand.
• Have you ordered premium items to give away, such as pens, tote bags, etc.? These should be ordered three months in advance to make sure they are completed on time and you are not charged extra for rush fees.
• Do you need a banner or sign for your booth? Do you need one to hang on the back wall of the booth or to drape over a table or both?
• Have you arranged to ship these items if necessary in advance to the hotel or exhibition site?
• Have you made hotel accommodations and flight arrangements in enough time to save money and get the travel time you want?

Another consideration is to put together what I call, “The Trade Show Survival Kit.” Here’s what you’ll need:
The Trade Show Survival Kit

• extension cord
• scotch tape
• stapler with extra staples
• paper clips
• Velcro dots or strips
• sewing kit
• safety pins
• gaffers tape
• masking tape
• push pins
• black permanent markers, thin and thick
• blue, red, and black pens
• blank pads to write on
• rubber bands
• small hammer and screw driver
• other______________________________
• eye glass screw driver kit
• ruler or straight edge
• spare pair of eye glasses if necessary
• wrist watch
• aspirin or other medications
• tissues
• paper towels
• garbage bags
• hand sanitizer or wipes
• throat lozenges
• lip balm
• eye drops for dry or tired eyes
• comfortable flat shoes
• extra batteries for equipment
• small digital camera
• other__________________________

While you can usually find most of these things somewhere on the trade show floor of in the trade show office, that requires hunting them down, returning them, etc.,  Better to pack your own kit and know that you have what you need on hand, when you need it.

A few last minute reminders:

• smile, people will approach your booth more readily if you look like you are inviting, but – remember that hard sells very often do not go over well
• offer a show discount to increase business after the show
• have a “data capture vehicle” such as a great prize that people can try to win by putting their business card into a fish bowl or offering an after show special for those who sign up at the show, etc.; larger shows usually offer some sort of bar code reader in the booth so that you can scan people’s name tags and instantly capture their registration information for follow up
• never leave your booth unattended and therefore plan to have at least two people manning the booth
• follow up after the show is critical; now that you have invested a great deal of time and energy don’t forget to follow up on the leads you have generated.