How far in advance should we hire a tradeshow consultant?

Trade shows take lot of research, planning, and the preparation the first few weeks alone can be a full time job; especially if you need a booth, graphics, brochures, promotional materials, etc. We recomend hiring a consultant no more than 90 days prior to a show. While we can accommodate businesses with less notice, the costs go up significantly due to the time it takes to put everything together in such a short amount of time. There are are many deadlines to meet, each aspect of a tradeshow has deadlines. Freight should be received no later than a certain date, otherwise your company could incur additional charges with the tradeshow management group at the actual trade show. This is why it is imperative to meet deadlines to avoid a constant state of emergency, which usually happens if you have fewer than 90 days to prepare for the tradeshow.

We recommend figuring out all of the trade shows you plan to attend a year in advance, and thinking strategically about what you want to present, and how you want to proceed with the size of the space, the type of booth, etc. We can help in every step of the process, but think ahead! Some companies don't plan well, and come to us, not understanding the deadlines imposed, and not following up in order to meet those deadlines. Whether you prepare for the show yourself, or hire an outside consultant, we can't stress this enough; THINK AHEAD!