1. 2016 Volume 1, Number 1
In This Issue
 How large an expense
are tradeshows?
 Why do some
businesses succeed
with their tradeshow
efforts, and some
never seem to get
results?
Product Links
Tradeshow Displays
Hot Sales!
K&B Digital Best Buy
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Phone: 309.697-5833
www.arts-ads.com
aremsik@gmail.com
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With marketing budgets constantly being scrutinized, the importance of maximizing the
return on your trade show investment is more important than ever.
TRADE SHOW EXPENSE is the #2 advertising expense for many companies, so it
is vital to know how to get the biggest bang for your exhibiting buck.
As with any marketing program, the success of your trade show exhibit rests on how
well it is planned and carried out. Working without a plan is like driving without
directions or a map, and expecting to ‘arrive’ in the right place; conversely, if you have
the most accurate directions, you will never arrive unless you begin the journey….
According to a former President of the International Association of Exhibitions and
Events (IAEE) based in Dallas, “A major reason exhibitors fail is that they are
inadequately prepared.” He advises, “There is an absolute need to do pre-show, onsite,
and follow-up promotion”. If you haven’t done those things, or are not sure what they
are – don’t worry, you are not alone!
These components are not magic -- it’s what you do. Those who do it right, get good
results; those who don’t, get poor results. That’s not to say you can’t get lucky, but why
rely on luck when you can do it right?”
Tradeshowinstitute.com estimates the cost-per-square-foot of tradeshow exhibits at
$22.32 per SF, and the TOTAL cost of a tradeshow exhibit to be 3 times the booth cost.
The example they show, is a $3000 booth space, costing an estimated $9000 total.
Why does it cost so much?
Trade show expenses may include: display design & purchase, graphics design, flooring,
AV & furniture; Services-Material Handling, Electrical, IP Access, Lead Retrieval, Cleaning
& Plants, Travel Expense & Personnel to staff the booth, and Giveaways.
These are items easily identified &budgeted; In most cases, the benefits of participating
in trade shows and the direct contact with potential customers far outweighs the cost.

2. The industry average to purchase individual portable trade show displays is $100-$150
per square foot for larger displays. For example, 10x10 displays would cost between
$20,000 and $30,000. Renting an exhibit costs about 35% of purchase cost.
Your event budget will vary, but according to EXHIBITOR Magazine, here’s how the
average trade show budget breaks down:
• Space = 33%
• Trade Show Booths & Graphics (construction/refurbishment) = 18%*
• Travel & Expenses = 18%
• Show Services (electricity, cleaning, drayage, I&D) = 12%
• Shipping = 9%
• Promotion = 8%
• Miscellaneous = 2%
If you don’t have a budget to begin with, you can estimate the budget-needed for your
event, by multiplying the cost of your space by three.
For example, the average floor space costs $22 per square foot. So, for a 10x10 floor
space rental expect to pay around $2200. The budget for that event would be $6,600.
(If you think that is expensive, the cost of a large 20’ x 20’ exhibit would be $26,400!
The figures above are estimates.
It should be noted, show cost estimates only figure the display cost per show, not the
total investment to purchase displays and graphics.
When you purchase a display, it is assumed you plan to use it multiple times to get the
most out of your investment; to determine the display cost per show, you’ll need to
estimate how many years you will use the display and how many shows you will attend
each year.
The average lifetime of a display is 5 years; the average lifetime of graphics is 1 year.
Needs vary depending on how many shows you plan to attend.
The more shows you go to, the more use you get from the display, but the sooner you
may need to purchase new trade show booths.
One must also allow for updating graphics when new products, services, campaigns or
personnel are to be advertised.

3. So much for the OBVIOUS costs of exhibiting at a trade
show; What about Hidden Costs?
The details associated with planning, executing, participating and following up from a
trade show add up quickly.
Don’t forget to consider these items:
• Set up and Tear Down. When exhibiting in an unfamiliar venue there may be
unexpected costs for labor. Many major exhibit halls across the United States require
displays to arrive well ahead of time, and charge for storing, moving, setup, tear-down,
and shipping your display. Some halls require use of their labor, and specific union crafts
to do certain jobs. While their laborer may assemble your display, you may have to pay
an electrician to hook up and plug in the lights. Be sure to check to avoid surprises!
• Shipping and storage: If your event is on a weekend, there may be additional shipping
costs involved. Planning ahead will save $$$.
• Sales Literature. Providing product information to trade show attendees is critical and
expected. The costs of development, printing & shipping literature sheets can add up
quickly. Technology now offers the ability to save expense by utilizing a flash drive, trade
show app or Interactive Technology which displays and emails info to prospects &
customers.
Getting information about your trade show leads is essential to effective follow-up for
greater sales results. Your booth representatives have the important responsibility of
collecting, recording and qualifying trade show leads from visitors who come by your
exhibit; your sales force also has the subsequent task of following up with these visitors
after the show. If either group isn’t clear on how to best proceed, valuable leads can fall
through the cracks.
To help ensure success, follow the steps below. These secrets have been gathered from
the results and experiences of dozens of trade shows, and combined with the exhibition
industry’s best practices and procedures; these steps will give your organization the
tools and tactics you need to make the most out of your trade show leads.
To your success!
Art Remsik
B2B Marketing Consultant.
Providing marketing, business development & public relations professionals with
expert promotional advice since 2002.
Phone: 309-697-5833
Fax: 309-222-8275
E-mail: aremsik@gmail.com

4. 1. Establish Realistic & Quantifiable Goals
Make sure that the shows you choose have an appropriate audience and
number of attendees. Develop a show qualification formula that evaluates key
factors, such as number of attendees and number of exhibitors. At least two
months prior to the show, make sure to identify goals by determining what
measurable things you would like to accomplish like number of leads,
conversations, and defined projects each sales person will capture at the
show. This will determine how your overall show strategy will help you to
meet your goals.
2. Define Incredible
Only 1% of exhibitors understand their target audience and have a show plan
aimed to promote products and services that engage and attract their core
buyer. Your tradeshow presentation must be simple and define who you are,
what you do, and how you do it in a quick and easy way that invites visitors
to learn more about you. The key is to define the type of prospects you are
looking to attract, and then use a creative hook that engages them in a
business conversation.
3. Pre-show Promotions
With a hall often overflowing with fascinating products and services combined
with time constraints, people need an incentive to come and visit your booth.
The Trade Show Exhibitors Association (TSEA) reports that 80% of attendees
preplan who they will visit at the show, but only 20% of exhibitors do any sort
of pre-show promotion.
92% of trade show visitors at national and/or regional shows have not been
contacted by an exhibitor.
Obtaining a list of prior year show attendees and sending a pre-show mailer
will increase the chance attendees will stop by your booth by 23%.
In addition, the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI) reports
that including a promotional product with a pre-show mailing or an offer of a
promotional product increases the likelihood of an attendee stopping by a
tradeshow booth by 41%.
Whatever promotional vehicles you use, make sure that you give visitors a
reason to come and visit you.

5. 4. Offer Valuable Business-Related Incentives
The purpose of a giveaway is to be remembered. You want people to
remember you after the show is over. Giveaways are a powerful way to show
your gratitude for visitors spending time at your booth. You want something
that will help distinguish you from the crowd, but remember: sometimes the
best giveaways cost the least, such as free reports or consultation services in
areas of your company’s expertise.
Typically, free reports, discounts on services, or incentives for product
purchasing will not create a buzz at your booth; however, when they’re tied to
a promotional product that creatively engages the customer into a
conversation; you are one step closer to visitor qualification.
The secret is that your tradeshow giveaway is for everyone that spends time
learning more about your business, but your business offer will only be acted
on by your true prospects.
5. Qualify Visitors to Your Trade Show Display
Your products and services are not for everyone, and that’s okay. You will find
visitors more interested in your giveaway then your company. That’s why it’s
critical to have a tactical and professional plan to attend to every kind of
visitor that stops to by your booth. Welcoming an attendee into your booth by
thanking them for visiting you is a great first step. This usually gets them to
identify themselves and state why they have stopped.
Remember that almost everyone is tuned into the radio station WIIFM (What’s
In It For Me), which will work to your advantage if you let it. If you can get
your prospect to do 80% of the talking, you will be tracking towards a
valuable business conversation.
While one of your objectives is to start business conversations, remember that
ideally you don’t want to spend more than three to four minutes with any
visitor at the risk of losing another opportunity.
Work with your sales team to know when to say, “I think we should exchange
cards and set-up an appointment to talk further about this.”
6. Sell Solutions Instead Of Products
With a hall overflowing with fascinating products and services combined with
time constraints, people need something new, exciting, or different.
First and foremost, their primary interest is in what’s new!
They are eager to learn about the latest technologies, new applications, or
anything that will help save them time and/or money. Even if you don’t have
a new product or service to introduce, think about a new angle from which to
promote your offerings.
Let’s face it: there are probably several competitors selling the same products
as you at the show.
If all you are doing is selling the same product in the same fashion, it’s going
to come down to price, and that’s not going to be a rewarding sales
experience for you or your industry!

6. 7. Institute A Lead Tracking Process
There are many electronic lead scanning systems available today which will
allow you to scan attendees’ badges, which then provide you with attendee
contact information.
You can even add comments fields for catalog requests, special notes, or
designate a follow-up classification and an assigned sales person.
While these electronic systems are helpful, unfortunately, they are sometimes
only as valuable as the data input on the attendee badge. While I do not have
personal experience with these systems as an exhibitor, I am told that as
many as 30% or more of scanned badges may have incomplete or inaccurate
data transmitted.
I recommend backing up every electronic scan with a business card.
It may be helpful to bring a separate college ring binder with a stapler for all
real business conversations that require immediate action.
A combination of electronic scanners, business cards, and notebooks has
proven to be a very effective way to guarantee that you maximize the return
on every tradeshow lead received. While it will take a little effort to establish
this system, once it is in place, it will serve you every show, every time which
will save you a great deal of time, while enhancing efficiency.
8. Stream Line Your Post Show Follow-up
Astonishingly, 80% of all leads are not even followed up on by sales people!
The key to your trade show success is wrapped up in the lead management
process.
Plan for follow-up before the show. Show leads often take second place to
other activities that occur after being out of the office for several days.
The longer leads are left unattended, the colder and more mediocre they
become.
It is to your advantage to develop an organized, systematic approach to
follow-up.
One easy system is segregating your lead population into three categories:
hot, warm, and cold. Here’s an example:
 Hot leads receive a phone call within one week.
 Warm leads receive a personal email in one week and one follow-up
phone call within two weeks.
 Cold leads get added to your email or catalog distribution list.

7. 9. Sales Team Incentives
The longer you wait to call or contact a strong prospect who visited your
booth, the less likely he or she will be to buy.
Always make phone or written contact within 1 week of the trade show to
make the most of your window of opportunity.
Set timelines for follow-up, use a computerized database for tracking, and
make sales representatives accountable for leads given them.
Maximize results by running a sales contest; assign points based on post show
contacts returned in one week, appointments set in the second week,
presentations made in the third week, and every close within the first month.
10. Post Show Evaluation
Don’t underestimate the importance of a post-show evaluation.
This is where you test the reality of the quantifiable goals you set several
months ago and give some thoughts to what you might do differently next
year.
What was your return on investment, return on objective, or return on
relationship?
How many prospects did you attract?
How about average visitors per hour?
Did you find any new referrals, new opportunities for PR, speaking
engagements, learning activities, or networking events—the most effective
ways to command market-share?
Don’t forget to include show-related events that have a multiplying effect on
your ROI.
BONUS! Tip 11. Consult An Expert!
Trial and error in the tradeshow arena can be a costly experiment!
Consult a trusted advisor and someone who has tradeshow experience before
investing your marketing dollars.
A good first step is to sit down with a promotional products consultant,
marketing agency, and/or sales coach. These consultants should help you
define goals, make a time-line, and establish a baseline budget needed to
accomplish those goals.
To your success!
Art Remsik, B2B Marketing Consultant.
Providing marketing, business development & public relations
professionals with expert promotional advice since 2002.
Phone: 309-697-5833
E-mail: aremsik@gmail.com
Web: www.Arts-Ads.com

8.  In promotional business 13+years
 Ranked in the Top 5% of K&B’s network of 2,500 dealers
 Instead of a Mission Statement, I give you my promise:
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and work with.
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doing exactly what I promised.
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