How can you establish clear expectations with vendors before a trade show?

As with everything, it is about proper planning and having sufficient lead time to ensure best results. We are lucky that we work with vendors that already have a long-running existing relationship with the events that we attend. Therefore, they are more in the loop about potential issues with freight, set-up limitations etc. Additionally, because they manage multiple clients we benefit from not only best-practice from what others are doing in booth design, but also cost reduction for the build itself. Ultimately it is about collaboration and treating the vendor as part of the core planning team for the event from the outset of committing to an event. This way you are all working towards a joint goal which improves motivation for all.

This is a hugely critical step, not only for clear expectations but for success. Discussing goals and budgets will inform every other step in the process. You can't design an effective booth without either of these being clearly defined.

Make sure that you really understand the contract. While setting up for a show in Memphis we found that hiring for a fork lift to move our booth didn't include a qualified driver. Make sure to read, understand, and ask questions on items that your are not clear on. The time to ask is not the day you are to set up....

Once you've laid the groundwork with clear objectives for your vendor, it is helpful to use checklists to regularly check in with them as needed. Some vendors may need more interaction than others, but success comes from having touched base with everyone at least once prior to arriving onsite for set-up, after your initial orders. You may need to use different methods for different people because not everyone reads email regularly, for others, texts or phone calls bother them. Even if you feel like you're the client and should be catered to, keeping in communication with your vendors will immensely help to create a memorable show, or if things go wrong, help to get things fixed faster.

It’s always important to establish expectations of what you need, what you are looking for, and what you are not looking for! Making sure your vendor understands what not to do is sometimes more important… ie. The CEO hates purple, it reminds her of her Ex. … don’t show anything in purple. Come up with milestone check-ins. Arrange to see samples and progress along the way… and whenever possible do a pre-show walk thru to make sure your expectations are aligned with the outcome! Our company previews projects and invites clients to come in, in person, or see the progress via a video preview. Ask your partner for the same.

A great exhibit house partner should deliver beyond your expectations in terms of appearance, service and quality. They should also celebrate your brand, be a cheerleader, and provide feedback about your events - positive and negative. The idea is that your exhibit house partner be a true member of the events team for your company.

I totally agree, while you are sharing your experience with your vendors, you should ask them to share with you anything they noticed that might be of value to you and the next show you will be managing. As it is not the first time for many of these vendors their input could save you time and money down the road, not to mention your reputation.

Creating clear timelines for everything before the show and the plans onsite. The timeline pre-show should include design, estimating, fabrication, graphic deadlines, show service deadlines, and more. At the show, you should have clear goals established for each day of the setup. Booth installations involve a lot of people and understanding how to coordinate the dance between partners is hugely important.

In my 5 years of managing events in Asia-Pacific, specifically in Hong Kong and Thailand, one of the biggest challenges that my US-based exhibitors who shipped large booths experienced was understanding customs and duties. Specifically, it's super important to understand the potential customs duties, taxes, and import fees associated with shipping exhibit materials across borders. Best to get a list of reputable shipping companies referrals from your event organizer.

7. Outline the procedure for your vendors to follow up with clients. The seventh step is to make sure that your vendors have a planning and executing a well-structured follow-up process that can maximize the potential leads you've gathered at the trade show and help your venders convert them into valuable clients or business opportunities. It's important for them to establish a clear schedule for their follow-up process and implement a monitoring system to track responses and engagement metrics, allowing them to assess the effectiveness of their follow-up strategy.