Trade show checklist

Tick as you go; your progress appears in My Planner. Print one for the booth binder and keep a second copy in the shipping crate.

How to use it

The list runs in the order a Toronto exhibitor meets the tasks, from choosing the show to the follow-up month. The group that catches people out is show services: at the large convention venues the official contractor handles material handling across the dock, the venue or its contractor installs power and rigging, and the exhibitor manual sets a discount deadline for each. Add those dates to the list the day the manual arrives, because the same orders placed on site cost more and sometimes cannot be filled at all on a busy move-in day.

The second group that matters more than it looks is people. The booth team is the activation; a graphic wall does not qualify a lead. Confirm the rotation, the briefing and the hotel before you spend another dollar on giveaways. If you are running sales entertainment, treat the performer as a member of that team: they need the product brief, the booth layout and a scheduled slot in the run of show, and they need a rep standing at the end of every show to take the hand-off.

Lead capture has its own group because it is where the money is. A scanner that exports a spreadsheet of names is not a lead process; a lead process adds a qualifying answer, the rep’s name, a one-line note and a 48-hour follow-up owner. Under PIPEDA, the consent line on the form matters as much as the fields: collect only what you need, say why, and delete it when you are done.

Finally, the after-show group is short but it decides whether you rebook. Pull every cost into the ROI calculator, count qualified leads and booked meetings, and write down what you would change. Returning exhibitors who rebook on site get first choice of space, so the decision needs to be made before the show closes, not a month later.