When shipping material to a trade show in another city, there is nothing worse than realizing you forgot something you absolutely need when unpacking or during the trade show. We suggest you prepare a checklist with everything on it from your booth stand to safety pins. You can always regroup them by purpose, by alphabetical order, or other.
We gathered for you a list of items that might be easy to forget but can be useful on the trade show floor, whether they can be lifesavers, or they just make the experience more enjoyable.
- Contracts: Even if you don’t have to pack it with the rest of your exhibition material, make sure to have a copy of all contracts (insurance, shipping, leasing, etc.) just in case you need some information once at the exhibition hall.
- Electronic devices: That includes computers, TV, iPad, Tablets, and all other electronic devices required to show promotional video, to present your product, to enter information, to show a digital version of your catalog, etc. With the constant use of your electronic devices during the trade show, the battery might not last the entire day, make sure to have with you at all time computer or tablets chargers. It’s not rare that trade shows only have a few power outlets available to plug your devices. Always pack appropriate cords and extensions to avoid any connection problems.
- Sales materials: Catalogs and price list are the major selling item during a trade show. Plan enough for your scheduled customers’ appointment, for walk-through customers and some back-up to make sure you won’t miss potential sales or leads. Make sure to also include data sheets to keep track of all visitors. These data sheets can include email sign-ups, contact information, meeting’s summary, follow up notes, attendees list, etc. When exhibiting at a trade show, you will meet potential customers, new business partners, new suppliers, etc. that is why you should always have business cards on you and add them to each box that is shipped to the trade show. Samples are also a must-have during trade shows, whether you need samples to showcase your products or to give them to customers & leads.
- Display Stand: Booth signage, roll-ups, banners, and others are essential when exhibiting your company and/or products at a trade show. It helps you promote your company and differentiate your company from your competitors. An attractive trade show booth is the first thing all customers and leads will see when passing by your booth. It would be unfortunate for some pieces of your display to be missing. If the trade show staff does not assemble your booth, you will need the booth assembly instruction (paper or photo). Trust us, it will save you a considerable amount of time. To assemble or disassemble your display stand, you will also need tools, make sure to pack a tool-kit.
- Office supplies: You will never have too many pens/pencils, as we all know they always tend to disappear along the way. Office supplies will always come handy at any trade show in any industry. The list of essential office supplies also includes scissors, staplers, highlighters, sharpies, notepads/posts-it, rubber bands, paper clips (they can also be useful to hang banners), all kinds of tape (i.e duct tape, scotch tape, double-sided, etc.), safety pins/straight pins, zip ties, box cutters, extra batteries, and so on.
- Functional purposes items: Plan snacks and drinks for the long days you will be on the trade show floor, and gums/breath mints for your meeting that follows your lunch or snack time. You will be meeting a lot of people and shaking a lot of hands, make sure to include hand sanitizer. Multi-surface wipes can be useful to clean exhibit material that was in storage or to keep it clean through the entire trade show. Just in case, bring a first-aid kit and Ziplocs, you never know when these items will be useful, and you will be glad to have them with you.
Whether it is in another country/city, you must make sure you have everything to exhibit at the trade show. It’s better to have a checklist and to follow it to pack everything you need and those ‘just in case’ items, as you don’t necessarily have time to look for it during the trade show. Contact TWI Group for everything concerning shipping your exhibition material to trade show, whether it’s domestic or international.
