Set Up Essentials
What you need on the Tradeshow Floor during the Set Up and
the Strike.
This stuff counts if you are supervising a crew, you bring
the crew from your sales team or you are the “crew.” Tomorrow to consider if you are going to DIY
the setup and strike.
Setting up a tradeshow booth takes some skill. The skill is developed only through doing
it. Your 1st 10x10 Tradeshow
Booth set up and dismantled can be “uncomfortable” whereas your 2nd
30x30 island makes sense. For a standard
show it could be 1 ½ days for the setup and ¾ of a day – actually long into the
night for the strike. More about
timelines for DIY tomorrow.
There is a lot to do.
“A Long Way to Go and a Short Time to Get There” as the song says. The checklists will be of huge help on
Friday. Just scan the QRC code on
Friday’s blog. And this will be on it.
What do you bring personally to the tradeshow floor during
set up and the strike? You need
tools. Yes, duct tape, a blade, allen
wrenches, mallet, and your standard screwdrivers & wrenches.
Ok – enough of the set up – here is the list: Water, Food,
Power, Camera and Pen & Paper.
1)
Water bottle/Blender Bottle
a.
If you buy water out of the vending machines it
will cost you 2x to 3x your normal cost of a water bottle.
i.
That’s if you can find the vending machine.
ii.
Water fountains are by every restroom. You can refill at any time.
2)
Prepackaged food
a.
Granola bars, Protein bars, potato chips, and
nuts. Anything in a package you have to
rip open that can survive a long trip without spoiling.
b.
DO NOT use Tupperware. Little known secret is the tradeshow is not
heated or cooled during the set up or strike.
Food will spoil.
i.
Let’s just say an egg salad sandwich will not
last to 2 PM in the New Orleans Convention Center in early September.
3)
Power cords for your phone, tablet and/or
laptop.
a.
The last think you want is to run out of
power. Your phone is your lifeline. Charge it early and often. Because it is at the end of the day that
you’ll need to send photos and get emails or facetime – and that is when you
will be out of juice.
4)
Paper & Pen
a.
This is critical.
i.
When did you start? Write it down.
ii.
When did you break for lunch? Write it down.
iii.
When did you finish? Write it down.
iv.
When did the condor crew show up? Write it down.
b.
What do you need from the Services Desk?
i.
The Services Desk seems to always be the
farthest away from your booth. If you
need something from there by the time you get there you might forget it. But “The faintest ink is stronger than the
best memory.”
5)
Camera
a.
Now we all have it on our phone – but this is
important.
i.
Pictures of the crates before you touch them.
ii.
Pictures of what is inside the crates before you
touch them.
iii.
What does the booth look like after you are
done? On the strike – what do the crates look like all buttoned up?
iv.
A picture of the paperwork you turn in, just
before you turn it in, and then your copy that stamped.
1.
That can save you thousands of dollars!
6)
Paper & Pen
a.
This is critical.
i.
When did you start? Write it down.
ii.
When did you break for lunch? Write it down.
iii.
When did you finish? Write it down.
iv.
When did the condor crew show up? Write it down.
b.
What do you need from the Services Desk?
i.
The Services Desk seems to always be the
farthest away from your booth. If you
need something from there by the time you get there you might forget it. But “The faintest ink is stronger than the
best memory.”
And if you want to see how hard you worked wear a
pedometer. Day 1 of the set up on my
last show was 14,000+ steps.
Water, Food, Power, Camera, and Paper & Pen – it seems
simple enough. And this is if you
oversee a crew you hire, or it’s you and company team that sets it all up.
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