10 Things to Always Have at the Booth

Tradeshows are the perfect venue for lead generation and promoting your company brand. As any business owner knows, good leads are vital to building a customer base and increasing overall sales. That’s why it’s important for your exhibit booth to stand out and for your staff to always be prepared. To ensure your tradeshow success, here is a list of the top 10 things you should always have at your booth during a tradeshow, so you are ready for anything.

1. Emergency Repair Kit Booth displays break, tear, and malfunction. Expect the unexpected and always be prepared to make emergency repairs to your booth as needed. Since you never know what might happen, plan for everything and pack a sewing kit, duct tape, scissors, permanent markers, hammer, screwdriver, and glue.

2. Tradeshow Contract Do not arrive at your tradeshow event without your contract in hand. This may help in case you arrive at the event and discover things you were promised are missing, such as a prime booth spot, display tables, or access to an electric outlet. Without your contract, you may have little chance of getting the supplies you need.

3. Water Working at a tradeshow involves long hours and a lot of talking to contacts and potential customers. This demanding environment can make it easy for your staff to become dehydrated during the day. Bring along an adequate supply of bottled water for the staff. This will keep them hydrated and working at top performance.

4. First Aid Kit and Hand Sanitizer Keep a first aid kit at your booth. Your kit should include adhesive bandages, latex gloves, antiseptic cream, alcohol cleansing swabs, tweezers, eye drops, instant cold packs, ibuprofen, cough drops, and heartburn tablets. Be sure to stock up on plenty of bottles of hand sanitizer to have readily available to booth staff. Encourage staff to use it often to reduce the spread of germs from shaking so many hands.

5. Spare Power Supplies A power supply at your booth is essential, in most cases. Take along extra extension cords and power surge protector strips. Include extra light bulbs and batteries, if your display requires them.

6. Mints or Breath Fresheners Remember that you and your staff will be talking to potential customers and networking with other vendors, so fresh breath is a must. Pack strong mints and breath fresheners for the entire staff to use throughout the event. Never bring chewing gum. It often looks unprofessional to chew gum while talking.

7. Staff Schedule The staff schedule for the event should be readily available, so everyone knows what they are to be doing, where, and when. While this schedule may vary based on demand, you will save a lot of headaches if the schedule can be seen by everyone.

8. Extra Business Cards Booth staff members should carry their own supply of business cards for the event, but keep some spare cards at the booth. This will come in handy if the attendance at the event exceeds the projections.

9. Map and Schedule of the Tradeshow Keep a map and schedule of the tradeshow event at your booth at all times. This will make it easier for staff to find their way around the show and attend any special activities. It will also help you to answer questions guests have about the event.

10. Extra Supplies Be sure to keep extra supplies in the booth, just in case. This includes pens, sticky notes, a stapler and extra staples, notebooks, permanent markers, tissues, tape, hand sanitizers, and a calculator. You will be surprised how quickly you go through these types of supplies during the event. Having these essentials at your booth at all times can prevent a potential tradeshow mishap and ensure you have a successful event.

Kennametal attends numerous tradeshows around the world each year. Our team thinks outside-the-box to create tradeshow displays that make us a leading authority in tradeshow design and management.

Check out one of our upcoming events. Here’s a few things we think about the night before a tradeshow. What about you?