Trade show consulting Shows worth the money

We do trade show consulting: picking the shows worth going to, giving people a real reason to stop at your booth, and counting what came back.

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What you get

• Scope. Show selection, the pre-show plan, the booth and what happens in it, team briefing, lead capture, and the ROI model that decides next year’s calendar.
• Outcome. Leads sales can use, and a number for every show: what it cost and what came back. The results below are from the program behind this method.
• Timeline. We start about 12 weeks out. If a sponsorship contract has to be signed sooner than that, the show-selection work comes first.
• Who it’s for. B2B companies that exhibit at or sponsor trade shows, in any industry.
• Who it’s not for. Organizers selling sponsorships. That’s sponsorship program design.

Are these even the right shows?

• Show picks. Which shows to buy, based on who actually attends, what the show is about, and when you get real time with buyers.
• A plan that starts early. About twelve weeks out, with every prospect hearing from you three times before the doors open.
• A booth worth stopping for. Something to do that isn’t a pitch. The first win is the stop itself.
• A team that knows the plan. Everyone knows the one thing visitors should remember, and who follows up with whom.
• Leads sales can use. A capture form built for this show, and a handoff to sales set up before anyone flies.
• A number for every show. What it cost and what came back. The good shows stay on next year’s calendar. The rest get cut.

Where does this come from?

• IT Nation Connect 2025. Breach Secure Now engaged Tracie Crites, through SALT Strategies, for this program. A toy car in every attendee’s swag bag led people to a handmade racetrack city built around the client’s story. Read the case study

• Pax8 Beyond 2025. A movie-lounge booth. A BSN movie ticket and a popcorn container in the welcome bags gave people a reason to find it. Read the case study
• IT Nation Connect 2024. A college-campus booth, BSN University, next to a session on the same story. Read the case study

“I want to hire you to help me with our event strategy including shoe selection and budgeting for next year.”

Robert J. Scott, CEO & Co-Founder, Monjur · LinkedIn, September 17, 2025

One of the most overlooked but most important parts of event success: choosing the right event and aligning your narrative to the audience. This is step one and it’s non-negotiable for a successful ROI at channel events.

Events Authority is led by Tracie Crites. She leads every engagement.

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Common questions

What does a trade show engagement cover? Which shows to buy, the plan that starts about 12 weeks out, the booth and the reason to stop at it, the team briefing, the capture form and the handoff to sales, and the per-show scorecard afterwards.

When should we start? About 12 weeks before the show. Some events want a sponsorship contract signed earlier than that, so show selection comes first when a deadline is in the way.

Do you work in our industry? Every industry has trade shows, and the questions you ask before buying one are the same in all of them: who attends, what the show is about, when you get time with buyers. The program behind this method ran in technology events, which is where we know the show calendar best.

We already booked the show. Is it too late? No. Booked is the normal starting point. The work moves to the booth, the team and the capture, which is where most of the return is decided anyway.

What happens first? The assessment. You send the calendar and the packages you are weighing, and you get a written read back before anyone talks about an engagement.

Worth a second opinion?

Send us next year’s show calendar and the packages you’re looking at. You get a written read on which shows are worth the money, which package to buy, and what’s quietly leaking on the way out.

Get your event assessment