If you’re attending a trade show for the first time, I hope you’re not doing it at the last minute! There’s a lot you can do in advance to make the most of your experience and achieve better success than you expected. I’m not suggesting you need to plan for years, but it’s a good idea to give yourself a few months to think things through, plan, and execute your plan effectively. The seven tips below will guide you toward that success.

Make A Plan

The first thing that you should do is to make a plan. Gather everyone that you find to be an important part of your team and sit down together to brainstorm. Ask yourselves some important questions such as:

As you consider these questions, you can come up with a general outline of what you are going to try to accomplish at the trade show and before.

Make Assignments

Once you have your plan ready, ensure that every part of it is executed. Give clear tasks to everyone involved in making it happen. Specify even the smallest details, like who will buy coffee for the morning of the show. If you don’t, you could end up rushing around town searching for a coffee shop instead of preparing for the show.

Choose A Booth

Another reason why you should plan in advance is so that you can choose a booth at the exhibition that will best suit your marketing needs and your budget. Waiting too long will sometimes get you a small booth in a secluded corner where nobody will really notice you. Look into sizes, locations, designs, and even the lighting, so that you will choose the best booth for your needs.

Use Graphics

When you are laying out the design for your booth, don’t forget the graphics. This doesn’t mean that you have to have a huge collage of pictures and words, but simply that you have a graphic that people will remember and connect to your business. If this means a distinct logo, then that’s what you should use. Check out some companies that provide graphic design so that you will have the best graphics at the show. Make sure to print your graphic on the Four B’s:

Use Space Effectively

Along with the best graphics, you will want the best layout for your booth space. There are a variety of places online where you can go to get ideas for trade show booth layouts. When you plan the layout, take into consideration the lighting, the flooring, furniture, and audio-visual equipment. A booth that welcomes people is typically one that is not cluttered with seats and counters, but one that is open so that people can freely move in and out of the booth. Consider using a rug so that your booth stands on its own.

Have Giveaways and Promotions

One way to allow your potential clients to remember you is by effectively using giveaways and promotions. Rather than just handing out your business card, give them a Frisbee with your information on it. If there is a product that relates to your business and you have it in your budget, use that as a prize for a promotional drawing.

Employ Impressive Staff

Not to say that good looks are what make a company, but they sure help! Whoever you have manning the booth at the trade show, make sure they are well groomed and well trained. After all, they represent your company, and you don’t want the impression to be that you are sloppy, dirty, irresponsible, or lazy. Enforce a dress code. It might be a company polo with khaki pants, or it might be an all out suit and tie. Whatever it is, make it uniform among all the staff you have at the trade show.

As you can see, there are quite a few things to think about going into your first trade show experience. If you’re like me, the time will pass so quickly that you will soon find yourself on your way home from the show, remembering the day you read these tips! Follow them, and you’ll have success. Good luck!