February, 2024 | Agile' Marketing Services

People decide to get a booth for their business at trade or business shows for several reasons. They decide it’s a good place to show off new product, or to make industry contacts.

Sometimes, they decide that the show is being held in a location they’ve always wanted to visit (Vegas!) and they can write off the expense.

The most common reason I’ve heard over the years is that their competition is doing it, so that person needs to have a booth at the show, too.

I have one rule for trade and business shows, and I know I sound like the obnoxious SOB I am, because when my clients try to tell me their reasons for going to the show this year, I repeat the acronym below louder and louder. I talk over them until they get the idea and go quiet. It’s pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled.

TORTHASBITTAP. Remember it.

The Only Reason To Have A Show Booth Is To Turn A Profit.

All other “reasons” are excuses. If you don’t have a process in place to turn a profit, don’t go.

Profit is usually defined as the money a company receives above and beyond the cost associated with producing a good or service. In other words, “buy low and sell high.”

However, it can have a wider meaning. Let’s say you work at a not-for-profit business, and decide to go to a show. The fact that you’re not in business for the money is in the definition of your type of business! In this case, “profit” could mean you’re looking to leave a show with more of something than you came with. Donors (that is, money), but also volunteers, material, publicity, and so forth. The only way to turn a profit is to make a sale.

Selling is generally described as exchanging money for goods or services. A broader definition might be that you convince someone of the value of an idea via a discussion. For instance, I have a non-profit client that runs a small cat rescue organization. If they want to generate funds from donors, they might engage in a discussion of Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) programs, and convince their target audience of the value of trapping members of a feral cat colony, performing spay & neuter services on the cats, and releasing them back where they were picked up. Their talk might catch the attention of a local journalist, who writes an article about TNR. A retired person volunteers to pick up the feral cats and drop them off after their surgery. My client has profited from dispensing information at a show, even though money has not changed hands. That is, as long as they consider the acquired publicity and volunteer efforts to be more valuable than whatever money they spent to attend the show.

When considering getting a booth at a show or conference, please keep the concept of TORTHASBITTAP in the back of your mind.

Which is to say, start working on creating your promos before you need them.

How Early Should you Start?

If you know you’ve got a “normal” promotion you’d like to run, I recommend starting 3 months, or 12 weeks ahead of time. If you’ve got a large promotion – think Black Friday – then it’s not unreasonable to start your preparations a year in advance.

Set Your Goals

Maybe you want to increase your sales. Maybe you want to add customers, or increase your email list. Maybe you want to introduce a new service or product. Decide what your primary goal is, and perhaps a secondary goal.

Plan Your Process

Once you’ve determined your goals, you need to set up a process to reach them, and then a process for how you’re going to measure your attempt. Will you be using a system that’s already in place, or do you need to build or refurb a system to facilitate your attempts? Knowing your goals, and they system used for attaining them, will drive your creative efforts.

Create – Then Wait

I come from a writing background. I recommend to people that they develop their creative – text, visuals, storyboard for videos – early. Complete your first draft, and then set it off to the side. Work on something else. Give your work enough time (at least a week, and maybe even up to 6 weeks if needed) so that when you come back to it, you can evaluate it with fresh eyes. You want to pare down your work, hone it to the sharpest edge. The creative should deliver your entire message clearly, and not detract from it.

How Late Is Too Late?

I try to begin my efforts at least 8 weeks ahead of time. I begin worrying when I’ve got 6 weeks left before the starting bell. In the past, I’ve run a successful campaign with less than a week’s lead time, but it involved dropping everything else, and working long hours. I don’t recommend it!

I would recommend that you plan on using as much time as you can give yourself, and then a little more. If you know you can pull off the planning, creative, and execution in eight weeks, try to give yourself at least ten weeks, and twelve is even better. Once you have your promo process in place, and you know it always takes you 7 weeks, then set aside nine for your next project.

Always expect the unexpected! Sickness, accidents, unexpected celebrations – it’s all hiding just around the bend, out of site. There’s nothing wrong with having everything in place three weeks before the ball drops. It’s like insurance: when you’re making plans, you hope you’re wasting time and money. It’s always better than the alternative.

What’s Your Situation Like?

How far ahead do you start working on regular promotions? How about large-scale promotions? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave your comments below.