Guidelines and Plan For a Successful Trade Show
As a way to meet many potential customers face-to-face in a short period of time, and do so cost effectively, trade shows can't be beat, which accounts for their enormous popularity with companies of all sizes.
Trade shows help level the playing field for smaller firms, since booth space is generally not that expensive ($13-$20 per square foot, on average, with the typical small booth covering 100 square feet - 10 x 10 feet), and even small companies can usually afford attractive displays. With creative marketing and booth design, small businesses can actually appear as substantial as much larger corporations.
This factor helps explain their popularity with small companies. The Trade Show Bureau reports that of the firms exhibiting at business-to-business shows, 44 percent have fewer than 50 employees. Sophisticated exhibitors - no matter what their size - do well at trade shows; the naive and inexperienced can waste thousands of dollars and countless hours, and do even more harm than good. Learning to use trade shows effectively takes only a little effort and planning.
Trade Show Benefits
Because trade shows generally take place at a single location, have short runs (usually one to three days), and bring together thousands of exhibitors and potential customers, they are a very cost-effective marketing medium. The Trade Show Bureau claims that the average total cost of closing a sale in the field is $1,080, while the cost of closing a sale to a qualified trade show prospect is $419.
Because business-to-business shows typically do not allow selling on the show floor, generating sales leads is the most common reason exhibitors participate. At shows which allow selling, such as consumer shows, generating sales is what exhibitors want.
Success Templates
Below are trade show templates that will put you on a path to sales success. All you have to do is customize them for your own situation.
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Trade Show Launch Tools/Templates |
| Guidelines and Tactical Plan For Trade Show Success |
| Trade Show Expense Budget Development Model |
| Trade Show Templates | File Description |
| How To Plan A Trade Show Exhibition | Gives you what you really need to develop a specific trade show exhibition plan that will cover all the bases and get everyone involved focused and in-gear |
| Trade Show Planning Checklist | Great checklist to check off the boxes and satisfy yourself that you have done everything needed to give your trade show booth a good chance of success |
| How To Promote Your Trade Show Booth | Presents detail suggestions on ways to get large qualified traffic to your booth. It is not good enough to have an elaborate booth without a well thought out plan to drive traffic to it |
| Guide To Beat The Trade Show Deadlines | Rushing at the last minute is the sin of many trade show exhibitors. This guide will help to make sure you are not one of them |