2007 Trade Show Resolutions (Budget)
While you are pushing away from that double fudge brownie, breaking cigarettes into the trash, and taking $10 out of the ATM instead of $100 remember that your trade show strategy needs resolutions too. Here are a few tips to help your trade show dollar go further in 2007.
1. Plan Ahead
In 2006 our company attended a national show in Miami. I spent approximately $2000 in transportation costs alone. About $1200 of this was unnecessary. Had I planned ahead I could have had a beautiful crate on skids built and shipped one crate to the show and back. Instead I shipped many items next day just to get them there on time. Had I registered for the show 6 months early, not only would we have a better location, but we would have saved $250 on the booth rental. Brochures had to be rushed, another $300. Ad specialty items produced quickly another $125. Late reservations meant that I was extra distance from the Convention Center, cabs $100. As the ads say "Planning ahead, priceless!" Actually it adds up to over $2000.
2. Be Thorough
Do not take the time to go to a trade show and expend all that energy and do the minimum. Get the attendee list, mail an offer before the show that gets people in your booth, advertise in the trade show publications or web sites, develop a compelling message that will get attendees excited about talking you and not your competitor, don't eat, sleep, or sit in your booth, capture as much information on people as you can, and do the follow up. You know the steps do them all and create the best opportunity for success this year.
3. Send a Clear Message
Most of us spend the majority of our time on the semantics. How many, how much, when, where, etc. etc. etc. While all of these are important they pale in comparison to the what. What is your offer, what do you do better than everyone else, and most importantly what are going to do for me? Working diligiently to craft this message is the most important thing you can do other than showing up. Talk to clients, talk to employees, talk to vendors, brain storm, sweat over it, build it up, tear it down, get it right.
If you do these three simple things this year you will be ahead of the game. You also will likely produce good returns from your trade show investment. Finally, you will be so busy that the double fudge brownie may be a possibility.
10x10, Budgeting, display, exhibitor, exhibitors journal, Trade Shows 
Figuring out a trade show budget is as much an art as it is a science. The artistic side relates to the communication of a message that hundreds or thousands of attendees will understand and act on. The scientific side focuses on ROI, how many prospects must you reach to realize a payoff for your effort.
