初创企业和代理公司的展会前终极清单

Trade shows and conferences are an effective way to meet new customers and professional connections – surprisingly enough, according to InsideSales, 72% of sales and marketing leaders say a trade show is an effective method to generate quality leads.

And while trade shows can sometimes seem overwhelming and, let’s be honest, expensive, they can be a goldmine for startups trying to make a name for themselves in any industry – especially if you plan ahead! 🗓

That’s why we’ve put together this ultimate checklist packed with tips and tricks to help you go from trade show rookie to trade show pro – whether you’re exhibiting or just attending the event.

Bonus: We’ve put together a downloadable checklist for you to get all of this valuable info in one handy, digestible document. 🚀

Let’s jump right in! 👊

入门--衡量标准及其他

在开始计划贸易展或会议之前，请先想一想您参加活动的目标是什么。

Are you trying to win new business? Do you want to promote an exciting new feature you just launched? Maybe you want to try to connect with some investors? 💸

Try to frame your planning around your intentions – and make measurable goals that you can track and reference for future events so that your company can decide if a particular trade show is successful and worth the ROI.

活动中需要考虑的一些指标和跟踪的一些事项：

预算 – it’s important to determine how much money your company is willing to spend on a particular event and to plan from there. Try to give as many details as possible and account for unexpected expenses as well. Pro tip: if it’s your first time exhibiting at a particular trade show, ask the coordinator if they offer first-time discounts.
线索 – how many leads did you generate during the event? It’s also important to try and track how many “hot” leads you generated so you can determine if the event’s audience is right for your company. 专业建议:您可以在 Salesflare 移动应用程序中快速添加线索。 🔥
演示、跟进和会议 – keep track of how many demos and meetings you conducted during the trade show, as well as how many follow-ups you scheduled for afterwards. Pro tip: Be sure to schedule as many meetings as possible well in advance of the event – people’s calendars fill up very quickly at trade shows and conferences! More on planning this later.
已完成交易 – how many sales did you generate during the event itself? 专业建议:跟踪您的销售渠道中的潜在客户和赢得的业务 Salesflare (you can even do this on the mobile app so that you don’t need to carry your laptop around). 📱
社交媒体 – Measure the engagement you receive during the event (and be sure to post all about your company’s presence at the event before, during and after!) – this means likes, RTs, comments, etc. Start conversations and encourage people to come chat with you IRL. Pro tip: Make a plan ahead of time for your social media posts. Decide who will manage the accounts during the event, what messages you want to send out and don’t forget to take lots of photos at the event and post them! #teamwork #conferencelife

Once these things are taken into consideration, it’s time to decide how much time, money and resources you want to invest in attending the trade show. Which brings me to my next point…

参展与参会

Is your company planning on attending the event and walking around to each booth and networking? 🤝

或者您想投资自己的空间来展示您的产品或服务？

This decision greatly depends on your company’s budget, of course, because trade shows and conferences can get expensive.

但是，如果您有资金和资源在活动中投资一个展台，这将是获得更多知名度和会议专用空间的好方法。

If not, no worries! Trade shows and conferences can still be incredibly valuable opportunities to meet new business connections without a booth. 👍

However, the plans, time, budget and logistics involved can greatly differ, as exhibiting takes a considerably larger investment of these things, so let’s break it down.

参加贸易展或会议的时间表

9-12 months before the event…

Decide on a budget and the size of your booth. Start to think about what you want to promote and the messages you’d like to get across within the space. 🤔

如果可能的话，尽量在展厅内预留位置，并且要讲究策略：靠近入口处或人流较多的地方是理想的展位位置。

Start to design the booth concept (it might be ideal to hire professionals for this part – there are several event and logistics agencies out there that cater specifically to trade shows).

Think about any exciting launches or news you’d like to announce before or during the event and start to put together a plan for generating buzz and interest.

Do you have someone in your company who is a thought leader on a relevant topic? Be sure to check out opportunities for speaking engagements during the event! Apply early – these slots fill in very quickly. 🗣

6 months before the event…

Make sure your booth design is in the works at this point – even better if it’s already good to go!

If you’re having multiple people from your company joining the event, make sure they are registered (tickets are usually much cheaper if you purchase them well in advance).

3 months before the event…

确保贵公司参加活动的每个人都已注册，并了解自己在活动中的角色。谁将与投资者交谈？谁将进行演示？谁将在推特上宣传贵公司的参会情况并发送宣传邮件？谁来保存和跟踪活动中产生的潜在客户？

Of course, many of these roles can (and most likely will) overlap, but it’s best to have a plan of attack moving forward. 💪

Put in an order for any additional supplies you may need – such as promotional banners, giveaways, collateral (promotional brochures and the like), pens, etc. ✍️

仔细检查您的展位是否一切就绪。此时应订购所有家具/材料。与负责搭建展台的人员协调，确保一切按时交付。

It’s better to get these things taken care of early than to wait until the last minute! ⏳

1 month before the event…

Does the event offer an app or matchmaking platform? Take advantage of this to set up meetings as soon as possible. This also gives you the chance to scope out any business connections or customers who may be attending as well. 📲

Research competitors who are attending – see if they have a booth and try to get an idea of how many employees they are sending to the event.

Confirm travel logistics at this point – flights, hotels, etc. and have a game plan for how you and your colleagues will track expenses. ✈️

The few weeks before the event…

如果你想为参加贸易展或会议的公司制造一些话题，那么发送电子邮件通知是一个很好的方法，可以在活动前吸引更多的人参与。

Some conferences offer mailing lists of attendees if you’re an exhibitor, but this isn’t always the case – and you should always use these lists responsibly!

But if you do not have access to this, and there are certain people or companies you’d like to chat with, check out these email finder tools.

询问其他公司是否有您可以参观的展位，或者看看是否有任何合作/伙伴关系机会可以讨论。Mailchimp是组织这些公告和邮件列表的好工具。

Finally, as you’re reaching the eleventh hour, be sure to fill in those last-minute meeting slots, double check everything is good to go for the booth delivery and setup and scope out the side events you want to attend.

Boom! You’re ready and prepared for a productive trade show!

Don’t forget! These are some must-have items that you should have handy because, well, you never know…

钢笔、签字笔和荧光笔
Tape – duct, masking, whatever you might need
用于任何屏幕或插入式电器的延长线和额外的充电器
一般办公用品：便利贴、橡皮筋、订书机、回形针、剪刀
A basic toolkit: screwdriver, hammer, wrench, pliers, zip ties, etc. 🛠
急救箱：头痛药、感冒药、绷带等。
额外的名片、宣传材料和您的任何演示文稿

Tips for your booth design…

In terms of what your booth should look like, that’s completely up to you! But here are some things to consider:

Try to avoid having any chairs in the booth space – they take up a lot of space and when they’re not used, it makes the booth seem empty and as if you don’t have any customers – not a good look. 🤷‍♀️
Have an open and inviting floor plan – you want people to come talk to you, so make the design as approachable as possible!
Some kind of engaging activity or activation – from giveaways to touchscreens with more information about your company, try to think of some interactive elements you can add to the booth. Budget permitting, of course.
Follow the instructions in the exhibitors’ manual – I can’t stress this one enough. Be sure that you and the people you’ve hired to put together your booth follow all of the instructions and protocols laid out in the manual provided by the event coordinators. Not following the rules can cost you money, time and a lot of stress.

If you’re attending the trade show without a booth…

其中许多项目仍然适用，当然，您可以跳过涉及展位周围后勤工作的步骤。

请务必提前联系参会者，以便安排会议（如果可能的话，带上一些宣传材料，向与您交谈的人展示您的产品或服务）。

When it comes to attending the actual speaking sessions and keynotes, try to do this sparingly. 🙅‍♀️

There are so many great TED Talks and recorded speaking sessions from conferences online – don’t get sucked into this stuff when you could be networking with potential customers or investors during the event!

组织好你的团队

利用各种工具，例如 Airtable, Trello, Dropbox或 Notion进行合作，确保每个人都对参加活动的目的和目标达成共识。

制定 B 计划（C 计划、D 计划......）

我明白：事情总会发生。尤其是在贸易展览和会议这样混乱繁忙的场合。

Sometimes it seems as if Murphy’s law was created just for events like this – things can go wrong, and chances are, they will go wrong.

I’ve had my fair share of mishaps at events – I once had my phone accidentally packed into a shipping container after a trade show.

And at a separate event, I had to argue with the builders to let me into the storage area because they didn’t properly unpack everything and didn’t believe me when I said there was more to unpack. 🤦‍♀️

就像我说的：Stuff.Happens.

No need to panic, though! This is why it’s good to have backup plans to keep everything running smoothly.

在为贸易展做准备时，一定要携带额外的用品，并制定详细的包装清单。与您的团队协调谁带什么，并为每个人分配具体职责。

Another good thing to have is the exhibitors’ manual printed out in a binder. These usually have the forms needed for post-event cleanup and logistics, so it’s good to have them ready to go at a moment’s notice. 📄

最后提示

I know I’ve thrown a lot of info at you here, but no need to panic if your company doesn’t follow this timeline exactly. Different event types have different requirements and lead times, so just do your research and make sure you follow the deadlines.

为您的团队提供一些额外资源，让他们在展会上大显身手：

简明扼要的人际交往指南，让您的团队在活动期间建立有意义、有成效的联系。
A list of the top conferences for startups in 2020 to give you inspiration and point you in the right direction to the most relevant conferences out there.
后续电子邮件模板适用于您需要向在活动中遇到的所有优秀潜在客户发送电子邮件的情况。
功能强大的工具，帮助您以最高效的水平进行组织和协作。

There you have it – if you follow these tips before attending a conference or trade show, you’ll be ready to make more sales and meet some new, exciting, interesting people in your industry!

Be prepared and always follow the guidelines laid out by the trade show organizers – with that said, you’ll be a pro in no time.

And don’t forget: you can download our free handy checklist to access a condensed version of everything mentioned in this post!

Now, get planning (and don’t forget to have a little bit of fun)! 🎉