Trade show exhibiting excellence looks like managing a program that;

1.  Establishes realistic exhibiting goals and objectives enthusiastically supported by all stake holders.
2.  Plans and documents well in advance, strategies that support pre-established goals.
3. States and implements various creative tactics before, during and after the trade show that supports strategies, goals and objectives.
4. Avoids last-minute changes that cost time and money.
5. Demands others to get involved when it’s the trade show exhibit manager’s sole responsibility.
6. Delivers accurate ROI (return on investment) justification for trade show exhibiting.
7. Enjoys the talents of a professional trade show exhibit manager who is motivated and is recognized, supported, and compensated as the company’s trade show exhibit expert.

Keys to consider while initiating your winning philosophy include;

1. First and foremost, commit yourself to being your company’s trade show exhibiting expert and be proud of your contribution in presenting your company and its people, products, and culture on the world’s stage.
2. Own the trade show exhibiting experience, while taking positive charge of planning, executing, and substantiating the value and ROI of exhibiting at trade shows.
3. Work the booth the entire show, demonstrating your serious commitment to excellence for all to see and admire.
4. Become a student of effective trade show exhibiting, learning as much as possible from experts and actual experiences.
5. Listen to comments, suggestions, questions, and complaints while demonstrating a can do attitude in that you will improve and are committed to it.
6. Observe your competitors and other interesting exhibitors on the show floor and learn from their exhibit presentations.
7. Take notes prior, during and after the show and include them in a post trade show analysis complete with your suggestions to improve at the next show.
8.  Realize and communicate to stake holders that every trade show is a learning experience to build on as you are chasing perfection with the hopes of catching excellence.
9. Embrace the attitude of doing it, fixing it, and doing it again until you get it right.
10. Develop and distribute a pre-show briefing memo to stake holder’s months before a show outlining pertinent trade show details, logistics, goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics effectively establishing your high level of confidence, responsibility and authority.
11. Stage a pre-show meeting the night before the show opening where management gathers to review the trade show goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.
12. Stage after-show meetings each day to review the day’s events.
13. Develop an at-show questionnaire for your people to complete and hand to you with their comments so you can add them to your post-show evaluation.
14. Develop your own post-show report outlining people’s comments, what you thought worked, what didn’t, and what improvement will be made at the next show.
15. Take time to observe how your exhibit is functioning on the show floor.
16. Interview booth visitors to learn their opinions of their experience while in your booth.
17. Ensure that your after-show response packages are organized and ready to be provided to prospects.
18. Ensure that your CRM system is in place and able to respond to all requests for additional information and the effective tracking of sales leads is guaranteed.

Conclusion;

Committing yourself and your company’s trade show exhibiting program to improvement is a smart and logical way to build a successful program one piece at a time on a foundation of your actual live exhibit floor experiences. Establishing yourself as the trade show exhibiting expert and taking charge of all exhibiting aspects will afford you the respect and freedom you want to innovate, experiment and create new and exciting strategies and tactics to chase perfection and catch excellence.