Exhibitor Checklist: What to Do Before, During and After a Trade Show

An exhibitor checklist turns a trade show into a list of dated tasks with owners. It is written from the exhibiting company's side: what your team must decide, order, send and do so the booth is ready, staffed and producing leads. If you are organizing the show, the trade show checklist covers the organizer's side, and this page is the one to share with your exhibitors.

Build it from the exhibitor manual, not from the show date. The manual sets the deadlines that drive everything else: service order discount dates, the advance warehouse window, the deadline for hanging sign drawings, insurance certificates and badge registrations. Copy each date onto the checklist the day you receive the manual. If this is your first show, start with how to exhibit at a trade show.

• Choose the show against your goals and audience; see how to choose a trade show
• Read the prospectus and exhibitor manual, and copy every deadline onto this checklist
• Book the booth, ideally early enough to choose your location on the floor plan
• Write one or two measurable objectives, such as qualified leads or meetings booked
• Set the budget, including space, booth, services, shipping, travel and giveaways; see trade show budget
• Name an owner for the show and an owner for lead follow-up

• Decide whether to build, reuse or rent the booth; see trade show booth rental
• Brief the designer or exhibit house with the booth size, type and the show's height rules
• Plan graphics and banners; see trade show booth graphics
• Plan lighting and list every device that needs power
• Book travel and hotel rooms, using the show's room block if there is one; see hotel room block
• Choose a booth activity or game if you plan one, and check the show's rules for it

• Order booth services before the discount deadline: flooring, electrical, furniture, internet, cleaning and labor
• Order rigging and submit drawings for any hanging sign or overhead lighting
• Order lead retrieval for the booth team
• Activate your exhibitor portal account and complete the company profile, products and booth staff
• Complete the organizer's onboarding tasks: forms, acknowledgements and uploads
• Arrange insurance and upload the certificate of insurance if the show requires one
• Register booth staff for badges
• Order giveaways, allowing for production and shipping time

Shows often publish your company profile on their website and event app before attendees arrive. A complete profile with a clear description, products and booth staff is free pre-show marketing, and an incomplete one is often the first thing an organizer chases.

• Decide advance warehouse or direct-to-show shipping, book the carrier and prepare labels; see trade show logistics
• Ship to the advance warehouse inside its receiving window
• Email customers and prospects with your booth number, and book meetings
• Post the booth number and what visitors will see on your website and social channels
• Write the qualifying questions staff will ask; see lead qualification questions
• Brief booth staff on goals, schedule, dress code, demo script and lead capture
• Pack the booth kit and print the staff schedule
• Write the follow-up emails now, so they are ready to send; see trade show follow-up email

• Check in at the service desk, confirm freight has arrived and all service orders are in place
• Set up within the move-in window, test lights, screens and the lead retrieval app
• Tag empty crates for storage
• Hold a short staff huddle before doors open each day
• Scan every conversation, with a rating and a note
• Review leads at the end of each day and send urgent ones to sales
• Keep the booth tidy: restock literature and giveaways, clear clutter from counters
• Submit outbound shipping paperwork before the deadline

For more on staffing a booth through a long show, see trade show staffing, and for a final run-through the night before, the last-minute checklist for hosting a trade show booth.

• Pack and release freight to the carrier at move-out; don't leave the booth unattended
• Export leads and send the first follow-up within a few days of the show closing
• Route hot leads to sales with the notes from the booth
• Hold a debrief with booth staff while it is fresh
• Compare results against the objectives and calculate trade show ROI
• Note what to change, and whether to rebook the same space, for next year

Copy this into a shared document or task tool, replace each placeholder with the date from your exhibitor manual, and assign an owner to every line.

Organizers get fewer late forms and fewer move-in surprises when the exhibitor's checklist and the organizer's requirements are the same list. Turn the items you need from exhibitors into onboarding tasks with due dates, and send exhibitors this page for everything else.

The exhibitor portal software page explains how the portal and onboarding checklist work for organizers, and the exhibitor manual template is where the deadlines on this checklist should come from.