Top Ten Tips for Navigating the Exhibitor’s Maze (or What Circle of Hell Is This?) Part I

by Tessa Keough (Genealogy Writer, Speaker, and Postholder for Non-Profit Society)

When our society asked for suggestions about how to increase our profile in the genealogy community, the most common response was “we should exhibit at one of the genealogy conferences.” That seemed straightforward until we considered it. Suddenly discussions of cost, booth sizes, contracts, insurance, travel, accommodations, booth workers, materials to display and/or giveaway, how to get everything there and back, and how to make our booth stand out from the crowd – took over my life! Add to this committee approvals and a small budget, and I felt as if I had entered Dante’s Inferno (Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here).

At the start, you will feel lost in the Maze photo by TychoAtsma on Unsplash

Two things helped me navigate the Exhibitor’s Maze as a first-timer with zero experience in conferences or exhibits. First, I got some suggestions from those who organized exhibits on the other side of the pond (our society is international and based in the UK). Second, I took advantage of social media to contact people and groups who attended conferences previously to “pick their brains.”

The result of their comments and my experience is myTop Ten Tips forNavigating the Exhibitor’s Maze for all first-timers – whether you are a small non-profit genealogical society or a small for-profit business. Today we will cover tips 1-5 and next week we will cover tips 6-10.

1. Answer the question “why are we exhibiting at this conference?” You might be exhibiting to introduce yourself on the larger genealogy stage, to educate attendees, and/or to make sales. Whatever the reason, know why you are exhibiting so you can decide who you want to engage with, how you want to engage with them, and how much you are willing to spend (in time and money) to consider the experience a success.
2. Learn everything you can about the conference, not only from the conference organizers but also from those who have attended and exhibited in the past. You want to learn about the venue, how many and what types of people attend, how many exhibitor spaces are allocated for the venue and whether you have a choice where you will be located, where the exhibit hall is in relation to the other conference activities, and whether there are extra activities that you can participate in – such as social media, a demonstration stage, an experts/coaches corner, an exhibitors’ passport, discounts, and/or prize drawings.
3. Determine a realistic budget and include all potential costs so you can decide if this event is a good fit for youbecause you will be surprised how it adds up!
   1. booth fee (know what is included in the fee)
   2. booth extras (electricity, internet access, carpeting, additional tables)
   3. exhibitor extras (contest prizes, program or bag advertising)
   4. display costs (banners, brochures, flyers, business cards, display items, giveaway items)
   5. deliverycosts (whether plane, mail, or other delivery service)
   6. travel costs
   7. accommodation costs
   8. meals &miscellaneous costs
4. 

   Getting organized will help you find your way photo by Heidi Sandstrom on Unsplash

   Plan, Plan, Plan – and do your planning early enough that you have time to execute your plan! Go online and view photos from other conferences (check out some of the ambassadors or bloggers who attend and share their impressions of the exhibit hall), check out articles posted at trade show exhibit websites (they have some great ideas, timelines, and tips). Think about the big plan (how often will you exhibit in the next 2-3 years) and then budget to build up you exhibit materials over time. Part of your planning involves a schedule and you want to make decisions with plenty of time to source, order, acquire and layout your booth materials. You will find that some of your great ideas don’t make it past the planning stage – that’s okay. Keep those ideas in your big idea file for the next time. Once you lay out your booth materials (and I do mean lay them out – block off a 10’ x 10’ space and place your items, then ask yourself these questions: do you have room to move around? does the table look inviting? are your banners readable from a distance and do they hang, or stand correctly?) Once you have decided on your layout – take photos as this will help you when doing the setup of your booth.

5. Remember that less is more and be thoughtful about what you display – a cluttered, disorganized space is disconcerting to attendees and a booth that doesn’t have clearly defined stations makes working with more than one attendee at a time difficult.
   1. Use a banner with your name, logo and website that can be seen from a distance (hanging from the back wall, the banner does a much better job identifying you than the small ones provided by exhibit hall organizers). Alternatively, if you use a standing banner make sure it does not block your own booth or your neighbor’s booth. You will need to determine the traffic flow, so you banner faces in the correct direction to attract attention.
   2. Use something to draw attendees to your booth. We used a scrolling presentation on a monitor facing outward, so attendees could watch the presentation and ask questions of the booth volunteers. On that same table near the back of our booth, we had a computer and monitor to make use of software that maps surnames. That is where the 2 chairs were so that a volunteer could work with someone interested in seeing their surname mapped. On a separate table on the other side of our booth, we had copies of our journal, our business cards, flyers, books on surnames in various countries, a handout on getting started with surname research, and conference ribbons (our giveaways).
   3. The most important item to have at your booth is enthusiastic and prepared volunteers/workers. Everyone working your booth must have an ice breaker (30 second introduction to engage the attendee) and an understanding of what your organization does, what you are doing at the conference, if you are providing materials how they will help the attendee, and if you are selling something – what it is, what it costs, how they can purchase in person or online, and what the benefit is to them to purchase it.
   4. Clearly mark any materials that are “display only” vs. “giveaways” otherwise your materials will slowly but surely disappear! Laminating materials oftentimes makes this clear, but I was surprised what attendees will walk away with.
   5. Pace your materials supply – don’t put out all your giveaways on day one – if you will be exhibiting over three days, you should divide your materials so that you have enough for all attendees.
   6. Giveaways can be as simple and inexpensive as a conference ribbon or a pencil with your website or organization name, to a stylus pen, a screen cleaning cloth, a pocket LED flashlight or a usb drive with your name, logo and/or website. Think about what you would consider useful when making decisions on giveaways, as well as whether the item packs easily for the attendee’s trip home.
   7. Bring a toolkit – mine includes scissors, a stapler, paper clips, safety pins, quarters (taped to the edges of a banner they provides enough weight to help the banner hang properly off booth tables and curtained walls), clear tape, duct tape, Ziploc bags in various sizes, envelopes, post-it notes, extra pens, a sharpie marker, return address labels, a small flashlight (with batteries), extra batteries, a power block for charging mobiles, individual screen cleaning wipes, antibacterial wipes, a bottle of Advil, Zicam, and a couple of packages of tissues (sooner or later with that many people, colds are caught!).

Thanks for reading. Be sure to come back next week for tips 6-10. I would love to hear your ideas and experiences from the “field.” Please post them to the Genealogy Business Alliance Discussion Group on Facebook or reply to this blog post.