Business Talk: getting ready for a trade show

I have scoured the Internet looking for this information. It's not easy to find. Is it a secret? I have no idea, but I'm sure there are others out there who are looking, or just curious. How do you prepare for a trade show? How do you prepare for your very first one when you have nothing to compare it to? Here's what I've been doing/gathering/planning (to a certain degree, because, yes, some of it is secret!).

Last July, Scott & I walked the California Gift Show to see if it was a viable step for the business to take. It was incredibly intimidating. The very first manufacturer we saw when we walked in the door was a very well known candle & bath/body company, and they probably had no less than 4 booth spaces, dead center in the entrance. It was constructed like a store, complete with shelving, moulding, hardwood floors - it was gorgeous, and I thought, 'there's no way I belong here.' Walking around, we saw all levels of display, from that extreme to just thrown together last week.

I met one company who had one of the tiny spaces in the very rear and she admitted that she called the week before, and was able to get her booth for half the price. This makes perfect sense, they don't want empty spaces. However, hers was one of the booths that was just thrown together. She had a table with product, literature, a small banner, and not much else.

My feeling was, and is, if you are going to go through that expense (and stress), you need to do whatever it takes to make it worth it. Appearances are everything in that venue, and with that in mind, I've been planning my space.

I set out a few months ago trying to decide what look I was going for. This booth was going to be vastly different from my booth at outdoor craft fairs, less on the shabby, more on the clean and streamline. Also, since I am not exhibiting my whole line, I felt like I had to make it really stand out. It's hard to find booth examples. Well, you can do a Google image search for trade show booths, but there's a lot of electronic types, and not so much gifty types. The National Stationery Show had some nice examples, and I found a few in blogland. My very favorite was Liesl's - it was simple and beautiful, and showcased her work without being too fussy - clearly, my inspiration and aspiration.

Besides outfitting and decorating a booth, there was all the backup materials that had to be designed, ordered and assembled.

• Line Sheet: I made this in Photoshop (2 sides - one side pretty model shots and the other side the specifics) and ordered them through Got Print . They are glossy and beautiful, and were very inexpensive.
• Order Forms: I took my order form to Staples and had them make 2-part forms. Very inexpensive as well, and I think they look really professional. I will also staple a non-duplicate order form to a line sheet with my business card and give to qualified buyers.
• Postcards: I usually order these from Overnight Prints, and did this time as well. I wasn't as happy with the results however, the color was off a bit, but I think I'm the only one who will know this. I did notice that Got Print is less expensive for postcards and will order from them in the future. These postcards were just very general and I put a sticker on them with my booth number to hand out at the show ( I didn't have these printed with the booth number because I wanted to use them at other events).
• Postcards to mail to retailers: I ordered these through Vista Print - one of their 'free' promotions. But note, they aren't really free; you have to pay for postage and if you upload a design, there are upload fees. But they are still cheap and perfect for this. I mailed them to local retailers in the Los Angeles and surrounding areas that I found by going through Yelp and specific cities Chambers of Commerce. Another alternative would have been to have the Gift Show send out my postcards through their marketing department, to previous retailer attendees, but there's a charge for that and I wouldn't have been able to pick and chose.
• Press Kit: this contains a one sheet (sort of like a line sheet, but without prices & more fluffy information), my line sheets (on my entire line), bio, testimonials, and recent press. It's placed into a pocket folder with my business card, a postcard & a logo sticker on the front (see above).
• Business Cards: don't leave home without them!

In addition to all this, there's the booth furnishings, decor, banners, lighting, signage, display props & oops, can't forget, product. Luckily, I live nearby and do not have to crate and ship my booth but can move in myself. This will also keep my expenses down. I know there's more I'm forgetting right now - there is stuff everywhere and my job in the next two days is to organize it into heavy duty bins. I have a vision in my head of how I hope and dream my booth turns out, and I can't wait to see if it actually materializes. And then, I can't wait to take a picture! One week to go!