Congratulations, you’ve jumped into exhibiting at a trade show.  Where do you start?  What do you do?  Who do you go to for help?  There are a lot of questions that need answers.  With so many moving pieces involved in exhibiting, there are many opportunities to make critical mistakes.  With a little prior planning and some education, you too can master the art of exhibiting at a trade show.  Let’s discuss the common mistakes you should avoid:

Blowing Your Budget on Too Large of a Trade Show Space

Sometimes bigger isn’t always better.  If you’re working within a budget, consider how big of a space you may need.  You may not be able to afford a gorgeous exhibit if you spend the majority of your budget on a huge space.  You can still make a splash in the exhibit hall if you choose a modest sized trade show booth.  Smaller companies will especially want to choose an entry level 10×10 space or a new innovations stand.  Depending upon your industry, business, and budget, you will want to carefully weigh your choice of trade show space.

Wasting Money on Meaningless Swag

Swag is expensive.  Sure you’d like to think that every person who takes a branded pen or bag will use this again and again and be reminded of your brand.  The truth is, more often than not, they’re discarded in the hotel room or even on the trade show floor.  Don’t waste money on meaningless swag.  Instead, you may want to invest your money in a prize that you can raffle away to qualified leads.  Nobody really needs a selfie stick, a plush toy with your company logo, or another keychain.  Remember that and save your pennies for the items that count.

Taking Too Many Staff Members

 It can be expensive to transport, house, and feed a group of your employees.  Worse, if they’re hourly, you may be subject to overtime laws in your state that could make their time at the trade show extremely expensive.  Decide early on who you absolutely need at the show and resist the urge to invite the majority of your company.  In the end, you’ll save significant sums of money on transportation, hotel rooms, and food that could be better spent on items like your trade show display.

Bringing the Wrong People to the Show

 Your goal at the trade show is to engage prospects and have meaningful discussions with them.  Your staff should be able to approach strangers, develop a relationship, and communicate well.  If you’ve brought a shrinking violet, you could be watching your ROI sink.  Bring outgoing, positive and knowledgeable people to increase engagement and bring in more leads.

Printing Up Too Many Materials

 Printing costs can be expensive for nice brochures, case studies, and other items.  Do you really want to print up 1000 for a show where 1000 people will attend?  This is a waste of money because you know you’re not going to meet all 1000 attendees.  A good rule of thumb is to bring enough materials for 10% of the show attendance unless you plan on shipping extra materials home for future use.  Instead, be mindful that people nowadays don’t want to cart around brochures at shows.  They’d much rather scan a QR code to visit a tailored landing page or visit your website to learn more about your goods and services if they’re interested. Most printed materials end up thrown away, discarded either in the exhibit hall or in attendees’ hotel rooms later.

As a new exhibitor, it can be difficult to determine where to invest your trade show dollars.  The places you do want to invest in are your trade show display, and your prize to qualified leads.  Otherwise, you could be wasting money on more than you really need.  When you decide to exhibit at a show, price out what a trade show exhibit will cost when you price out your booth space and travel costs.  The more time you can give yourself to do this, the better your opportunities for savings.