It’s likely that we all agree that trade shows are extremely
visual events. They are unique events, where hundreds—even thousands—of brand
representatives cram into a convention center, hotel lobby, or expo hall to
compete for the attention of new potential buyers or clients. As we outlined in
past posts, it’s essential that you differentiate yourself at these events and
deliver a message that is persuasive, memorable, and consistent. But you
already know this, you’re a polished professional, and you’ve meticulously
prepared your material and created the perfect trade show display. That’s
fantastic, and you’re an inspiration to us all—but what happens when something
goes wrong?
When the unexpected occurs at your trade show, you need to
implement “plan b.” Hopefully you’ve got one. It’s critical to have a
contingency plan for any of the unexpected pitfalls that can occur at your
event. Of course there are several things that can derail your plans, here are
just a few:
- Your
spiffy display wasn’t delivered to the venue or assembled
- Your
technology isn’t working properly or you’re missing essential components
- You
have less room than you expected
- Your
partner unexpectedly ditches you
- You
forgot to bring the sales guy basics
There’s no doubt that events like these things can make your
life difficult. But don’t despair, because you’ve planned ahead.
Arriving to the venue and finding out that the crazy awesome display that you requested your team to send hasn’t shipped is disheartening to say the least. In fact, that situation might cause an emotional breakdown for lesser professionals, but not you. That’s right, you’re okay because you planned ahead and brought along your pop-up banner stand. Oh yeah, you also have the extra banners that you packed in your carry-on bag — just in case. What’s more, you have that spare table drape with your company logo printed on it packed in your bag at the hotel.
Getting midway through display set-up in Cleveland and
realizing that the thumb-drive containing your amazing presentation is sitting
on your desk back in St. Paul might cause an acute anxiety attack in many
people. But again, you’re more prepared than most because you planned ahead and
uploaded your game-changing presentation to the cloud. And for good measure,
you also packed printed collateral and product catalogs (just in case Murphy
and his dreaded law decided to make an appearance).
Here’s the point, it’s important to plan for worst-case
scenarios. Bringing extra materials such as banners, display stands, and
product literature is a great way to make certain that you can market yourself,
maintain a professional appearance, and maintain a positive attitude.
A few weeks before the show, take some time and create a
checklist. Analyze, identify, and develop a back-up plan for potential areas
where things could go wrong. Then put together a resource kit and include
things like pens, notebooks, table drapes, banners, cell phone chargers, USB
cords, power strips, and printed collateral. Make sure to save copies of any
presentations in multiple locations, or better yet make them accessible to
people using mobile devices like cell phones and tablets. This ensures that
even if your planned technology fails, you can share your message through
different platforms.
