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Gantt Chart for Trade Show Exhibit

Plan your trade show exhibit from booth space contract through post-show lead follow-up with a Gantt covering design, fabrication, marketing, and I&D.

Gantt Chart for Trade Show Exhibit

A major trade show — CES, SXSW, Dreamforce, MD&M, Pack Expo, HIMSS — is a significant investment: floor space alone can run $50,000–$200,000, and the total budget including exhibit design and build, travel, hotel, staff time, shipping, and marketing easily reaches 3–5x the space cost. Companies that approach trade shows without a structured plan consistently underperform on lead generation, miss critical deadlines (graphics orders, I&D labor, hotel blocks), and leave the show without a clear understanding of whether the investment was justified.

A trade show Gantt chart transforms the show from a chaotic scramble into a managed project with defined deliverables, clear ownership, and measurable outcomes.

9–12 Months Out: Show Selection and Space Contract

Show selection and ROI analysis: Before committing to a show, model the expected return. Start with: what is the show's attendance profile (job titles, industries, company sizes)? What percentage of attendees match your ICP? Based on past show results or industry benchmarks, how many qualified leads can you expect per 100 ICP-match attendees? What is your average deal size and close rate? Does the projected pipeline from the show justify the total cost?

For most B2B software and technology companies, a well-executed presence at a tier-one show (10,000+ attendees, high ICP density) generates 50–300 qualified leads. At a typical enterprise conversion rate of 15–20% from lead to opportunity and a 20–30% win rate from opportunity, that is 1–18 closed deals. Model both scenarios before signing.

Booth space selection: Contact the show's exhibit sales team as early as possible — premium locations sell out 9–12 months in advance. The most valuable real estate at any show:

  • Corner booths: Traffic from two aisles instead of one; no inline neighbor blocking one side
  • High-traffic aisles: Aisles leading from registration to general sessions; aisles adjacent to food and coffee stations
  • Proximity to major exhibitors: If a category leader always draws traffic, space near them captures overflow attention

For first-time exhibitors or new booths at a show, a 10x10 or 10x20 inline is reasonable. For established exhibitors targeting significant lead generation, 20x20 island booths or larger are more effective.

Budget approval: Once the space contract is signed and booth size is set, build the full show budget:

  • Floor space fee
  • Exhibit design and build (custom: $500–$2,000/sq ft; modular rental: $100–$400/sq ft)
  • Show services (I&D labor, electricity, internet, rigging, carpet, lead retrieval device)
  • Shipping (booth materials to and from show)
  • Travel (airfare, hotel)
  • Staff (number of staff x days at show)
  • Pre-show marketing
  • Promotional items

Get budget approved before beginning design.

6–9 Months Out: Exhibit Design and Show Services

Exhibit design brief: Brief your exhibit house (the design-build firm that creates and manages your booth) with:

  • Primary objective: lead generation, product launch, brand awareness, partner meetings?
  • Target visitor profile: who are you trying to attract into the booth?
  • Key messages: what 1–3 things do you want every visitor to leave knowing?
  • Products or services to feature: which demos will run in the booth?
  • Technology requirements: screens, tablets, demo computers, demo equipment power and data needs
  • Meeting space requirements: how many private or semi-private meeting areas?

Exhibit house selection: Issue an RFP to 2–3 exhibit houses for custom builds, or select a modular rental provider if budget is constrained. Evaluate: portfolio of work at similar shows, project management quality (past clients' references), in-house capabilities (design, graphics, AV, fabrication), and price.

Exhibit design development: The exhibit house produces 3D renderings of the booth for your review and approval. Major revision cycles: schematic design approval, design development approval, final design freeze. Do not make significant changes after design freeze — late changes are expensive and compress the fabrication timeline.

Demonstration planning: For every product demo running in the booth, define:

  • What does the demo show, and what is the user experience?
  • What technology is required (hardware, software, network connectivity)?
  • Who runs the demo?
  • How long does the demo take (affects how many visitors you can run through per hour)?

Show services ordering: Order through the show's general contractor (GC) using the Exhibitor Services Kit, which every show provides:

  • I&D labor (Installation and Dismantle): The union or non-union labor that installs and dismantles your booth. Order advance rate before the deadline — labor costs 50–100% more at show site if you miss the advance order deadline.
  • Electrical: Order the power drops and amperage you need for each demo and for lighting. Underordering power is a common mistake that results in tripping breakers on the show floor.
  • Rigging: If your exhibit has hanging signs or structures above the booth, rigging is ordered through the show GC and executed by union riggers.
  • Carpet or flooring: If your booth includes custom flooring (hardwood, custom carpet, raised platforms), coordinate with the exhibit house on what is included vs. what must be ordered through show services.
  • Lead retrieval device: The show's badge scanner for capturing lead data. Order one unit per 2–3 booth staff. Rental typically includes a basic app; upgraded packages provide lead qualification fields and CRM integration.

3–6 Months Out: Marketing Materials and Pre-Show Campaign

Graphics production: Large-format graphics (booth backwalls, pillar wraps, hanging signs, inline banners) require 6–8 weeks from final design approval to delivered graphics. This includes design finalization, print production, and shipping to the exhibit house for installation. Do not compress this — reprinting graphics at show-site rates is extremely expensive.

Promotional items: Custom branded swag — USB drives, notebooks, tote bags, drinkware, tech accessories — requires a minimum of 10–12 weeks for custom items from order to delivery. Generic items are faster (2–4 weeks), but custom items make a stronger impression. Order quantities based on anticipated qualified traffic, not total show attendance. You do not want to give premium swag to everyone who walks by — reserve it for visitors who engage with your demo or have a meaningful conversation.

Pre-show marketing: The most valuable traffic to your booth is pre-committed — visitors who have already agreed to meet you before the show opens. Three channels:

  • Email campaign to customers and prospects: Announce your booth number, invite meetings, offer an incentive (product preview, whitepaper, raffle entry). Send 6 weeks before the show and 2 weeks before.
  • LinkedIn campaign: Target accounts by job title and industry matching your ICP. Promote the show, your booth number, and a specific reason to meet you.
  • Meeting scheduling: Use a scheduling tool (Calendly, Chili Piper) to book 30-minute meetings at your booth. Send the meeting link in your email campaign. Goal: book 40–60% of your booth staff's available show-hours with pre-scheduled meetings before the show opens.

1–3 Months Out: Staff and Logistics

Staff selection: Not everyone makes a good trade show representative. Select staff who:

  • Know the product and can demo it fluently
  • Are energetic for 8–10 hours on their feet
  • Know how to qualify a visitor quickly (good discovery questions that identify budget, authority, need, timeline)
  • Know when to disengage a non-prospect politely

Plan for at least 2 booth staff per 100 sq ft of booth space. For a 20x20 booth, 4–6 booth staff plus a booth manager is typical.

Staff training: Run a 2-hour pre-show training covering: product messaging and demo flow, qualification questions and process, lead capture process (how to enter lead notes in the badge scanner), meeting etiquette, and booth logistics (shift times, break schedules, booth policies on food and phones).

Travel and hotel booking: Book hotel rooms as soon as the show's official hotel block opens — blocks sell out. For major shows (CES, Dreamforce), the official hotel block opens 9–12 months before the show. Booking outside the block means higher rates and inconvenient locations.

Show Week: Execution

I&D day (Installation): Typically 1–2 days before the show opens. Arrive at the venue during your assigned move-in window. Exhibit house crew or your I&D labor installs the booth per the drawings. Tasks: structural assembly, graphics installation, furniture placement, AV and technology setup, demo testing, final lighting adjustment. Walk the booth before the hall opens to the exhibitor community — inspect every element against the design.

Show days: The days the show floor is open. Daily discipline:

  • Morning booth meeting (15 minutes): review the day's pre-scheduled meetings, messaging reminders, the day's lead goal
  • Lead capture: every meaningful conversation gets a badge scan with notes. The notes matter — "interested in enterprise pricing, following up Q3" is useful; a scan with no notes is nearly worthless
  • Daily lead review: at the end of each show day, the booth manager reviews the day's leads and triages: hot (follow up within 24 hours), warm (follow up within 1 week), cold (add to nurture)

Dismantle day: The show floor closes and exhibitors have a defined window to dismantle and vacate. Follow the show's move-out procedures. Exhibit house manages the booth teardown; you manage shipping arrangements for any company-owned materials.

Post-Show: Lead Follow-Up and ROI Analysis

Lead follow-up campaign: The show's value is realized in the follow-up, not the show itself. Send a personalized follow-up email to every hot and warm lead within 5 business days of the show closing. Generic mass emails are deleted — reference the specific conversation, the specific problem they mentioned, the specific next step you discussed.

Lead import to CRM: Import all leads with source, lead rating, and notes. Assign to sales reps. Set a task in the CRM for the initial follow-up call or email.

ROI analysis: 30 days after the show, pull the metrics:

  • Total leads, leads by rating (hot/warm/cold)
  • Meetings held (pre-scheduled + walk-in)
  • Opportunities created from show leads
  • Pipeline created ($)
  • Cost per lead, cost per opportunity
  • Compare to prior shows or to benchmark

Building the Trade Show Gantt

In gantt-chart.io, build the trade show Gantt with swim lanes for booth selection and contracting, exhibit design, show services ordering, graphics and promotional items, pre-show marketing, staff planning and training, and post-show follow-up. Add deadline milestones for each show services advance-rate deadline (these are hard — you pay full price if you miss them), graphics delivery to the exhibit house, and the show's move-in window.

A trade show Gantt is also a financial protection tool. Show services advance-rate deadlines, hotel block deadlines, and promotional item lead times all have financial consequences if missed. The Gantt ensures you never pay the late premium simply because no one was tracking the deadline.