(AI free post)

Knock, knock, who’s there?

Time.

What?

Yeah time. It’s March (or whatever month you’re reading this post). Aren’t you running late?

For what?

For planning your shows if you intend to do one before the summer (or within the quarter you’re reading this post in).

Shows require planning, unless you intend to waste your time and money.

You know what Eisenhower said “To fail to plan is to plan to fail”, and trade shows are no exception.

Ok, but do I need months to plan them?

It depends on how quickly you can master the, all too many, details that matter to make a show a success.

And what are those, you would ask?

To name a few: show selection, booth location selection, team selection. pre-show engagement, engagement tactics, ways to ensure you are remembered until you follow up, follow up strategy.

And that’s without mentioning your capacity to convey emotions & your USP, your positioning and the competitive advantage you bring for your target audience compared to your competition.

Easy right?

Yes, all too easy to fall in the trap of the Dunning-Kruger, also called Wobegon, effect.

Now you see why you need to plan and a sense of logistics.

Beware of organizer’s timing. It might not match yours.

When organizers sell you a show, right after it’s over, you know, when it’s the last day and they come to ask you which location you want for next year, it’s a little bit too early.

Why? Because

1. your emotions run high after a show – not the best advisor to make a decision
2. you haven’t yet had the opportunity for hindsight, to run an analysis, of the show’s outcomes – not a good way to choose again this show for next year

How long do I advise to prepare for a show? 9 months.

Yes that’s a lot. Because it takes 9 months to give birth to a trade show success, but that’s for a longer discussion.

If you want to test your preparedness, it’s up there next to my profil.

PS : thanks John for the inspiration for this post echo to one of our discussion, “Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics” (General Omar Bradley), I hope you’ll have great shows this year.