he longer I play “Booth Mom,” the smarter I get. Well, let’s rephrase that. Since hindsight truly is 20/20, I’m probably just improving my ability to identify our industry’s potholes before I step in them.

So, for industry rookies — or even those with just a couple of years under their belts — here are the top 10 things I wish I’d known about trade show exhibiting when I started in this wacky business 15 years ago.

1. Always have a backup plan.
The first thing I wrote that EXHIBITOR magazine ever published was “Murphy’s Law of Exhibiting.” (See sidebar, p. 22.) Eleven years later, Murphy is still alive and well. He arrives at every exhibit hall with the earliest freight, and sometimes, even a Plan B isn’t enough to thwart his evil ways. You may need a plan C, D, and E as well.

Regardless of how well we plan our show exhibits and strategies, there are simply too many details and unknowns to have everything go 100 percent according to plan.

If you think lost freight can’t happen to you — think again. What will you do when your exhibit doesn’t arrive at a show? Will you rent an exhibit from the general services contractor (GSC)? Do you have your graphics on a CD in your briefcase? What exhibit properties and equipment can you borrow from a local distributor?

Many of our on-site problems are based on trying to do too much in too little time once we get to the show floor. Building in some extra time can be one of the best ways to thwart Murphy’s visit to your exhibit.

At a recent show that started on a Thursday, my two rented display cases arrived on my Monday target date — but they were broken. My installation and dismantle lead man took one look at them and called the exhibit house to order another set to be delivered on Tuesday. “Hey, fine. No harm, no foul,” I thought. “We’ll still have time to load the replacements with product on Wednesday.” But when the second set arrived in worse condition than the first, panic started to set in. The exhibit house didn’t have any more to send, but the well-networked supervisor for the exhibitor-appointed contractor setting up my exhibit pulled some strings and had two very nice show cases delivered Wednesday morning from another vendor. If I hadn’t padded my schedule, I’d have been sunk in a deep pothole.

2. Relationships make the show.
Trade show rookies often don’t believe that we’re part of a small industry. You’ll probably run into a lot of the same folks year after year. And, until you’ve delivered a box of chocolates to an overworked representative at the GSC’s desk, you haven’t experienced the awesome power of relationships.

There are two crucial groups that can make or break your preparations. Your show team (also known as your stakeholders), and your vendors. Both are key to your success. Keeping them happy will keep you from going mad.

Show team. Being an exhibit manager requires flexibility and diplomacy in dealing with everyone from the C-level executive to the guy running the freight dock. All of your internal stakeholders need information from you about their stake in the show. Knowing who you’re dealing with and what their hot buttons are will help with both the strategic and tactical implementation of the show.

Vendors. While you’re communicating with your internal team, don’t forget to keep your vendors (i.e. your exhibit house, I&D provider, talent agency, show electrician, etc.) in the loop. I’ll let you in on a “Booth Mom” secret. I keep a list of every person working the floor for each of my on-site vendors, including their cell-phone numbers. I ask them to stop by the booth, even if I don’t have a problem — just to give them a little package of homemade cookies. It’s an amazing relationship builder.

3. Ask for a discount.
Discounts are everywhere in the trade show industry. But they aren’t always advertised in big red letters.

When you’re working with your show vendors, always ask them how you can obtain cost savings. They may have discounts for new clients, package deals, volume discounts for multiple shows, or price-matching policies. Discounts aren’t always taken off of the base price. They can show up in the form of decreased shipping or delivery costs, or only being charged for the show days you’re actually using the equipment instead of the time the equipment is out of the supplier’s shop.
Many exhibitors don’t bother to ask about vendor discounts, and they leave a lot of cash on the table because of it.

4. Always have a slush fund.
For every show, I pad my budget with a 10-percent slush fund. It’s there in case I get hit with unexpected expenses such as overtime material-handling (drayage) and labor charges, or if I have the opportunity to pick up a last-minute sponsorship at a reduced price. And if I don’t spend it, that’s OK too.

Present your boss with a list of expenses that tend to fluctuate, along with reasons why accurate estimation is difficult. The sooner you can get through to your boss that trade show expenses are far from fixed, the better off you and your budget will be.

5. Good. Fast. Cheap. Pick any two.
I heard this saying many years ago before getting into “show biz,” but find it very applicable to managing exhibits. You can get your products and services good and fast, good and cheap, or fast and cheap. But there’s no way to get all three.

This saying is a good maxim to pass on to stakeholders helping you procure services and products for your upcoming shows. Work with your show team to clearly communicate your timelines for production and shipping, and make it clear that missed deadlines mean charge-backs to their departments’ budgets.

Your vendors already work this way and will charge you accordingly if you need something fast. Last-minute changes to your exhibit, rush charges for graphics, and last-minute printing and shipping are three of the biggest budget busters.

6. Fudge the show deadlines.
One of my favorite country-western songs talks about “living my life one step ahead of behind.” One step ahead of behind is not the song an exhibit manager wants to be singing. To stay ahead for good, build some spare time into your show timeline to provide a cushion between when you originally planned to have a task done and when it will really happen.

After scrambling to meet discount deadlines for a couple of years, my mental light bulb finally went on. I figured out that if I moved up the deadlines on the written plans I gave my show team, I could breathe a little easier and not always be under stress to make sure I qualified for early bird discounts and avoided those nasty rush charges.

Be especially generous with how much you’re fudging the dates if you’re dealing with known procrastinators, road warriors who may not have e-mail access, or extremely busy people.

7. Spoil your on-site staff.
The morale of your on-site exhibit staff is your secret weapon. A happy team is a productive team, and the happier they are, the more qualified their leads will be.

What are you doing to make your on-site exhibit team comfortable with their show participation, both mentally and physically?

Are you mentally preparing your exhibit staff with pre-show communications, an in-booth orientation, and off-site sales training before the show so they know what to expect? Since we’re in show biz, I compare each individual exhibit to a stage we set for attendees. Our props are things like graphics, demos, collateral literature, lead-gathering systems, and giveaways; our script is the elevator speech, qualifying question, and product knowledge; and our exhibit-staff members are our actors and actresses. So don’t forget the rehearsal that will blend it all into an award-winning performance.

And don’t forget to pack creature comforts to keep your staff content while they’re at the show: everything from small bottles of water for parched throats to granola and snack bars for when lunch just isn’t an option. In my “be-nice-to-your-staff kit,” I also stash a variety of headache and cold remedies, antacids to counteract show chili dogs, Pedialyte or Gatorade for the dehydration and electrolyte imbalance caused by hangovers, vitamin C candies, throat lozenges or cough drops, a variety of adhesive bandages, trial-sized bottles of mouthwash, enough Tic Tac and Altoid mints for everyone, a box of anti-viral tissues, and even bottles of hand sanitizer. Oh, and don’t forget a supply of foam or gel insoles for tired feet. (Buy the largest size and let your staff cut them down to fit.) Achy, tingly feet are your exhibit staff’s biggest barrier between a grimace and a smile.

8. Toot your team’s horn.
Your staff needs to know that someone is recognizing their contributions, so toot your team’s horn loudly and as often as possible when your trade show program has a win. When you’re done tooting, do something to thank your staff for their long hours at the show while their usual work piles up back at the office and they’re away from their families. If you can, acknowledge those who went above and beyond their show goals with a gift card or other form of recognition. Does your management grant comp time for those road warriors who are the first in and last out at the show? If so, encourage your staffers to use it.

But you shouldn’t have to strain your shoulder to pat yourself on the back after a show. Let your post-show analysis or your annual trade show report do it for you, highlighting your learning and success.

9. Pack easy.
There are four things I do to make traveling easier.

Buy comfortable shoes. I buy the most comfortable shoes I can afford. If I really like the look, I buy both my usual size and a pair one-half size larger. I wear the usual size in the morning, and after lunch I switch to the larger size with an extra foam or gel insole. As your feet swell, remove the insole. Remember, you’re working at a trade show, not a fashion show.

Keep an on-the-road kit packed. My personal show kit includes small bottles of toiletries that fit in a travel bag. I pack my own version of the “be-nice-to-your-staff stuff” mentioned above, plus a non-stylish fanny pack I use during show setup which is armed with a box cutter, black felt-tip marker, pen, note pad, extra cell-phone battery, change for vending machines, and a mini digital camera. I also pack my portable office: a mini-printer and paper, retractable phone cord, Ethernet cable, extension cord, cell-phone charger, laptop accessories, and a zip-close bag of essential office supplies. I have an “everything I’ve ever taken to shows” list where I highlight what I want to pack for the show, then cross it off as I pack each item.

Color coordinate. Traveling up to 80 percent of some months, I’ve come to love the non-color, black. It goes with everything and doesn’t show dirt. I even have an assortment of clothing items that are reversible to hide dirt and some that are guaranteed to dry overnight in case I need to rinse out a few things. Search online for “travel clothes,” or visit my favorite sites, including www.TravelSmith.com and www.llbean.com.

Ship your show clothes with your exhibit properties. I’ve mentioned this to laughter in my sessions at the EXHIBITOR conferences for years, but shipping my suitcase of show clothes with my exhibit or equipment lets me schlep one less bag on the plane and allows me to pack my show binder, homemade cookies, and those pesky, last-minute, hand-carried items without paying excess-baggage fees.

10. Under-promise and over-produce.
If you want to be seen as a true trade show hero, learn to under-promise and over-produce. You don’t have to let all your cats out of the bag before the show — whether it’s meeting your timelines and budgets or meeting all of your measurable goals and objectives.

Sometimes surprise is good… except when it comes to Murphy! e