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Creating A Trade Show Budget
Setting up a display at a trade show is expensive business. You
have to rent the space, create a display, promote it, stock it,
and staff it. Before you decide to get involved, take a serious
look at the costs of all of these components.
Start planning well ahead. You already know this, right? Keep
yourself as organized as possible right from the beginning --
even before you book your space. You know how carefully today's
brides plan their weddings. Months, even years ahead, they start
thinking about the church, the reception, the dresses, the
flowers, the cake. And of course, the cost. Well, you're the
bride. Grab your planning book and start writing down
everything you must do to get yourself ready for a successful
trade show season -- next year's.
Even before you decide to go into a show or two, you should
have a hard look at the costs and expected returns. This is why
you create a trade show budget. Whether you admit it or not,
everything has a cost, and trade shows are no exception.
Remember that your objective is to make sales, or at least
generate opportunities to make sales. So you have to view your
costs in that light. Everything should be done with an eye on
its potential return.
**How to Start your Trade Show Budget Planning**
The normal starting point for your campaign is the trade show
budget. If you work from a budget, you have an outside chance
of keeping your costs under control. Of course there is a
certain amount of hocus pocus involved in budgeting for things
like trade show marketing -- especially if you've never
seriously done it before and have no track record to go on.
Still, you should give it your best shot. This is not rocket
science, and any research or analysis you do will be better
than just "winging it". Try using a "brainstorming" process
similar to the following.
First, ask yourself some BIG questions:
Question 1. Do I really believe I can recover my costs within a
short enough period of time to make it "profitable" (make more
than it costs)?
Answer 1. Like most promotion and advertising, until you've
done it, you have little idea how successful it will be. First
you will have to summarize all the costs, and then try to
figure out how many sales you're likely to get from this sort
of exposure.
Question 2. Do I have any idea which trade shows are more
likely to be "profitable".
Answer 2. There are trade show directories and reports that can
tell you about industry-specific shows. Usually they will tell
you the number of attendees, and hopefully something about
their buying habits. Find the relevant directories, and figure
out some method of choosing between shows.
Question 3. Are there obvious ways to enhance my "Conversion
Rate" -- the number of attendees who buy from me?
Answer 3. Yes, of course. Having an attractive, eye-catching
display is a good start. Getting a good location on the floor
will help. Setting up your booth properly will help you
"process" the attendees more efficiently. Having a
lead-gathering system will help you do more profitable follow
up. Giving out memorable hand-outs will enhance your chances of
being recognized later on. Training your booth staff could make
an important difference.
Ask yourself a few more questions like this to get yourself in
the right frame of mind. Then you'll be ready to start
preparing your trade show budget.
**Let the Planning Begin - Selecting Appropriate Shows**
Begin by assembling the following information (and anything
else that seems relevant as you go along):
Find a trade show directory for your industry (online is the
best source), or check out the major trade show venues or
exhibition companies. They will put you on the right track very
quickly.
Select the 10 most promising looking shows ? based on your "gut
feeling" about their potential for your campaign.
Make a chart and list the five or six most relevant bits of
information for each of your most promising venues:
- Location
- Date
- Number of attendees
- Geographic area served
- Target market (who will be attending)
Calculate Your Costs for Each Show
Now add some columns to your chart where you can list the costs
that are specific to each show:
- Booth space cost
- Other space-related costs
- Travel costs to and from the show
- Things to rent or buy at the show (tables, power, etc.)
- Accommodation costs for booth staff
- Shipping costs for booth display(s) and materials
- Vehicle rentals required
**Campaign Costs when Entering a Number of Shows**
Now think about the actual "sales process" and make a list of
what you will need in order to have a successful trade show
experience. These will usually be things that will be used for
several shows, so think of them as "campaign costs" that will
be amortized over a number shows:
- Display booth design and production
- Product literature
- Hand outs
- Staff training
- Show promotion (free passes to clients, etc.)
If you estimate that your campaign costs will service 4 shows,
then take these costs and add 25% of the total campaign costs
to the cost of each show. That should give you a realistic
estimate of the total cost of each show:
Cost to to Attend Show = Specific Show Costs + pro-rated
Campaign Costs
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Our staff consists of several contributors from various industries. The articles from our staff are usually product or company related, specific topics are usually contributed from our regular authors. 
