3 Rules that Can Derail Your Trade Show Set Up

3 Rules that Can Derail Your Trade Show Set Up

Business, Trade Show

Trade show set up is stressful enough without running into the show floor authorities. It can be surprisingly easy to run afoul of the “floor cops” if you don’t know the rules. So here are the three main rules you need to watch out for. 

1. Tool Usage

Some facilities do not allow you to use tools to set up your booth. Now tools can mean power tools or it can mean anything more than an allen wrench. When you are designing your booth, make sure you read your show rules to know what you can use to build your booth. 

2. Load In Requirements

You can run up against facilities that will only allow you to hand carry items onto the show floor. Others say that you can use a hand cart one time. If you are going to need to haul items in, make sure you know what the rules are and if you need to ship items to the facility or to pay for them to haul items onto the show floor. 

If you do have to ship, understand that you will pay to have it shipped to the facility, for storage, and then for them to move it from storage to your booth. You will also pay for them to store your boxes/ crates and then for them to move the boxes back to your booth, back to storage and to ship them again. Make sure you have these costs budgeted into your booth. 

3. Set Up Hours

Some shows require that you are set up before a certain time, they do not want to open the show floor and have you scrambling to set up when attendees are arriving. They can even bar you from set up if you are not set up at the right hours. 

This biggest thing you need to know is to read the rules. 

Yes, they are often 5 – 10 pages long, but read them and know what you can and cannot do. If you run up against something you do not understand or if something isn’t in the rules but you feel like it is a gray area, ask show management before planning on it.

Why Your Non Profit Should Plan for the Entire Year

Why Your Non Profit Should Plan for the Entire Year

Events, Non-Profit

While getting your committee of volunteers to plan for a whole year seems daunting it has many advantages and allows you to focus on fundraising and helping those you serve.

Here are the 4 main advantages and what you gain from each.

1.You can focus on help people, not the fire drills of planning or last minute fundraising

This is probably the biggest way to sell yearly planning. You are a part of the non-profit to help those you serve, not to be on a continuous merry-go-round of last minute planning and scrambling. 

Knowing when you will fundraise and what your goals are, allows you to plan ahead. You can write emails and social media posts early. You can create banners, flyers, and packets ahead of time. All of the tasks that need to be done for normal fundraising can be scheduled out with plenty of time in between to ensure that you can still be helping your constituents. 

Outside of fundraising, you can plan on the activities to help those you serve and let them know. You can ensure that you are able to help more people by planning ahead and letting them know early what type of help and when you will be giving it. They can then plan around the times that help may not be available. 

2. You know when you need volunteers and can let them know

Obtaining volunteers is sometimes the hardest part of fundraisers or other events. If you know a year in advance, your volunteers can put it on their calendar and plan around those events they want to attend. 

You can also reach out to other organizations such as your local fraternities and sororities and have them put it on their calendars as charity work. 

3. You can get yearly sponsorships

This is something I am big on doing. You cannot go back to the same well over and over without drying it out. If you know the fundraising events you are doing for the year, you can then sell yearly sponsorships. Learn about them in this blog post. 

4. You can start to think long term

So many non-profits I come across are not thinking long term. They think from year to year but not two or five years out. If you can start thinking in year long terms, you can then start thinking in longer terms. Can you start putting 20% of your profits away into an endowment fund to grow so that your organization will have money in the long term? Are you looking to build a facility? What would your organization look like if you had half a million dollars to spend? 

Non-profits need to plan for the long term and plan beyond the current members. You need to be thinking about the future and this is the first step in that process. 

Trade Shows in 2022

Trade Shows in 2022

Business, Trade Show

What will 2022 bring for trade shows? 

Honestly, that is up in the air and changes constantly. With mandates changing on a daily basis, new variants of the sickness that shall not be named, and budgets still being tight, the predictions are all over the place. 

Here are a few of the major things that I do predict.

Businesses will be much more intentional about their trade show spend. 

Unfortunately, this may mean fewer vendors and sponsors at the local and regional shows. That does leave the door open for the local companies, or the companies that have the budget to attend the national shows and the regional ones to grab a larger market share. 

It will also mean more targeted messages and after events. Many companies are limiting the people who will attend the shows as well. I would always be ready to go to a hybrid or totally virtual event until the end of 2022. 

It can not be just about the trade show floor

You need to be exhibiting, speaking, and setting up client and prospect meetings while at trade shows. You also need to use social media and your website to extend the life and reach of your booth. 

Follow up will become more important than ever with smaller numbers of vendors being able to target and personalize messages to their ideal client. 

A table cloth and pop up banner probably won’t cut it. 

As technology advances and it becomes harder to gain peoples attention, booth design must evolve as well. Interactive booths, augmented reality, and immersive experiences – even in a 10 x 10 will become the norm. 

Be flexible

Anyone that tells you that they know 2022 will turn out like x is crazy. The world we live in is very fast paced and can change in the course of two days. Be flexible as you go about planning your 2022 trade shows, know when to roll with the punches and when to pull the plug. 

What are your plans and goals for the 2022 trade show season? I am excited to hear about your plans. 

Top 3 Trade Show Scams

Top 3 Trade Show Scams

Business, Trade Show

Trade Shows are big business and that always brings the scams out. People looking to make a quick buck can ruin your show and have a negative impact on your business cash flow. Here are the top 3 scams you need to watch for. 

1. Housing / Hotels Scams

This is the most common scams that I have seen and have personally had hundreds of calls about “special deals” for hotels at trade shows. They will attempt to scare you by saying that the room blocks are filling up fast and you need to book and pay now. They request full payment (rather than the normal one night) and when you arrive at the hotel you will not have a reservation. These people scrape the companies that are listed as vendors on the show website and you will most likely receive 2 – 4 calls per show. Tell them what they are doing is illegal (they hang up very quickly), track the number, and pass it on to show management. There is not much that they can do but it does help. 

Where do you find the legitimate room blocks for the show? In the Exhibitor Package that is sent to you. This will most likely be an email. You can often find it on the show website, under an Exhibitor tab. Some shows do have a housing authority that they ask you to book through but again, that information will be listed in the Exhibitor packet. 

If you go outside of the show housing authority or with a third party vendor, please make sure it is one that you know and trust. The good part about going through the show housing authority is that they make deals with the hotels that any booking through them cannot be moved to another hotel if the hotel is oversold. They can also act as liaisons between you and the hotels for any issues. 

2. Fake Shows Scams

This is harder to pull off but can be more lucrative for the scammers. They will create a website and information that looks legit and then ask you to come. There may be a “discounted rate” because it is the first year the show is running or they are looking for companies just like yours to be a part of it. Sadly, when you arrive at the venue to set up, there is no show and you are out the money. Always do you research on the show before signing up. I am wary if a show is a first year show, is not on the venue website, and it seems like too good of a deal. 

If anything seems off to you, call the venue to confirm that the show is happening. (Please get the number for the venue from the venue website and not the person trying to sell you on the show.)

3. Outside Vendors Scams

When you are shopping around for show vendors, especially for an out of town show, please do your research. There are plenty of people out there who are willing to take your money and never show up. This can happen for print items, rentals, and even services. 

If someone calls you up offering the deal of a lifetime for the show, be wary. 

One other note on outside vendors, many shows require you to get special permission if the vendors will be on the trade show floor at all. Read through your rules so you know what you can and cannot do. 

Trade shows are expensive but you need to be wary of people offering you ways to cut costs and corners. Do you research before signing any contracts and be wary of the people who require full payment upfront that are not a part of the show itself. 

Looking to save some money on your shows? Check out this blog post. 

 

A Perfect Non Profit Sponsorship Ask Letter

A Perfect Non Profit Sponsorship Ask Letter

Events, Non-Profit

Your sponsorship letter is an important part of your event and the P.R. of your organization. A good letter will increase your raise and allow you to make a larger impact in your community. 

Here are the 6 parts of your perfect ask letter.

1. Personalized Introduction

Your salutation should always include the name of the company you are reaching out to. If you know the name of the person who handles sponsorship requests then add that as well. There is no excuse for generic letters with todays technology. Show people that  you care enough about them and their business to use their name. 

2. Organization Introduction

Give a brief, two sentence explanation of your organization and who you serve. This should be no more than 4 lines long and needs to be impactful but short. 

3. The Ask

Get to the point in what you want. You are asking them for money or in kind trade for your organization. If an event in a part of the sponsorship you need to include the event details. 

4. The Impact

People like to know how their money is impacting the community so tell them. How many people are you helping? How many dogs will be saved? Put this in a bullet point list of 3-5. 

5. How to Donate

Here you give the information on how people can donate to you. I would suggest having an online portal that people can use and see what sponsorships are still available if you have limited quantities of each. Work with your bank to see about credit card processing online. 

6. Thank you and a Wet Signature

Sign off by saying thank you and then ensure that the signature is actually signed in pen. I know that they can take a while but it shows that you put in the extra effort and that you care. 

The letter should be a page long and on letterhead. You can include the sponsorship packet with the letter but that is not a part of the letter. If your organization does not have letterhead, you can make one using the header and footer portions of any document creation software.