FREE 10+ Trade Show Checklist Samples in MS Word | Pages | Google Docs | MS Excel | PDF

In the generation where social media allows businesses to reach more audiences, marketing becomes easier. But, how about those clients and customers who want to see firsthand the efforts and the quality of a business company’s products and services? Well, that’s when trade shows come in, and that’s one of the reasons why companies attend and participate in it. So, if you have registered for a trade show or expo, then our trade show checklist will surely help you, beginning from the expenditures that you have to plot into your business expenses worksheet to the decorations that you have to prepare.

FREE 10+ Trade Show Checklist Samples

1. Trade Show Checklist and Schedule

2. Trade Show Booth Setup Checklist

3. Trade Show Checklist Template

4. Marketing Checklist Template

5. Sample Trade Show Planning Checklist

6. Trade Show Exhibit Questionnaire

7. Trade Show Checklist in Excel

8. Trade Show Checklist

9. Formal Trade Show Checklist

10. Trade Show Client Checklist

11. SWOT Trade Show Checklist

How to Prepare a Trade Show Checklist

According to statista.com, the top 1 of the leading metrics used by marketers to determine a trade show’s success is the number of attendees in a trade show. And that means the more attendees, the more prospect clients, and business partners! That is why, before you head on to the venue, you should have a trade show checklist on hand. Just keep the following tips in your mind, and you’ll be able to have not just a simple checklist, but one that’ll aid you in claiming success in the show:

1. Do Your Research

Although your main goal for participating in the trade show is to show off and introduce your business to the market, you still have to know who the possible attendees, crowd or the clients are. You can do that by meeting with the floor manager and asking him about it and the history of the trade show event to give you an idea about what’s going to happen and who’s going. Aside from that, you can also conduct your own event survey and gather the results in your tradeshow business research report that you will discuss with the rest of your marketing personnel. This way, you will be able to strategize on how you can attract trade show-goers, as well as potential business partners and suppliers for your company. Also, you can read your copy of the trade show event contract, as it has the instructions, guidelines, and the requirements that you have to fulfill.

2. Use a Spreadsheet Program to Make Your Checklist

In a trade show, you’re not only going to prepare your business products, but also other things such as your trade show signs, vendor booth, and your team. Outside of that, there’s the legal aspect where you’ll need to have to sign an event liability waiver that you can get from the floor manager, or maybe a hold-harmless agreement. So, you have a lot to take care of, meaning you need to be more organized than you were before, and you can do that by utilizing the rows and columns and formulas of a spreadsheet program. Examples of such programs include Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and iWork Numbers.

3. Categorize Your Trade Show Checklist Items

Categorizing your trade show checklist items means group them based on whether they’re related, connected, or not. For example, you have to put your checklist for the trade show booth set up along with your promo items, signages, business cards, and table linens in one category. On the one hand, you can place computers, chargers, and electrical cords in another category that focuses on listing technological items.

4. Specify the Time and Date for Each Item

Having a trade show event calendar will allow you to have a reliable view of your daily plans and what you need to achieve as part of your preparations. But, make sure that when you plot your time and dates, it is timebound and achievable or based on how your business company and team handles previous events. This way, you will be able to set or allocate the actual time that you need for each item on the list.

5. Include Blank Spaces and Lines

The blank spaces and lines will be for additional event notes and remarks that you may think of as you begin checking the items on the list or preparing your company for the trade show. You can put the blank spaces and lines at the last portion or the bottom of the checklist so you can have enough space, and so you can simply attach another sheet to support any further statements and remarks.

Attending trade shows is effective in gaining the interests of the market towards your business company and brand. However, you must be prepared and must know what goals you are setting and want to claim during the show; and a trade show checklist does more than a simple to-do checklist does. So, choose which among the templates above you want to start editing and using for your trade show now!