How to Plan a Trade Show Booth
A great booth comes down to preparation. Work through the checklist above in four phases: before the show you book space and order your banner, branded apparel, and swag; at the booth you set up early and get lead capture running; your staff arrive briefed, matched in branded apparel, and clear on how to qualify a lead; and after the show you follow up fast and measure ROI. Branded staff apparel and memorable swag are small line items that do outsized work on booth traffic and recall. Budget the spend with our trade show budget calculator and project the return with the ROI calculator.
FAQ
At minimum: booth space, a banner or display, branded staff apparel, giveaway swag, a lead capture method, and a follow-up plan. The checklist above walks you through every task in four phases.
Book space and order your display, apparel, and swag well ahead, set up early on the day, brief and dress your staff, and plan your follow-up before you go. Check off each task above to track readiness.
Matching branded apparel, usually embroidered polos or branded tees, sometimes with a softshell for cooler halls. A coordinated team looks professional and is easy to spot in a crowd.
Order two to four weeks ahead to allow for production and shipping. Arklavo ships in two days with no minimums, so a late addition is usually still possible.
Track leads collected, close rate, and revenue against your total cost. Use our trade show ROI calculator to turn those numbers into a return figure.
Yes. We produce branded staff apparel and event swag with no minimums and two-day shipping, so your whole booth looks coordinated and on brand.
Last updated July 1, 2026