Worth the Trip: A Trade Show Readiness and ROI Workbook

Most businesses pick a trade show because it's popular, or because someone recommended it, sometimes someone outside their industry entirely. Then they show up, hand out cards, and go home to find out months later whether it was worth the cost.

Worth the Trip fixes that by working backward from the only two things a trade show is actually for: building a real prospect list and generating enough business to offset what you spent getting there. Every part of this workbook builds toward one or both of those goals, starting before you ever register for a booth.

This isn't a guide you read once and set aside. It's a workbook. Every section explains what to do and why it matters, then gives you a fillable worksheet to do it right there. By the end, you'll have a vetted show, a funding plan, a pre-show outreach list, a staffed and ready booth plan, and follow-up templates queued up before the show even starts.

Worth the Trip is for small business owners deciding whether a show is worth the cost, and for anyone who's exhibited before without a real plan and wants the next one to pay off. It's also a strong fit for SBDC advisors, chamber staff, and consultants who help businesses get export- or trade-show-ready.

What's Inside

• 34 pages, fillable PDF. Type your answers right into the file and save it.
• Part One: How to actually vet a show, whether to attend or exhibit, and the exhibitor and audience research that tells you if it fits before you spend a dollar.
• Part Two: Funding the trip. The State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) for export-oriented businesses, where domestic-only exhibitors can still find partial funding, and a full budget worksheet plus a funding request draft template.
• Part Three: A pre-show plan built around who you actually want to meet, including setting meetings and sending samples in advance instead of showing up and hoping.
• Part Four: Working the show itself, attendee or exhibitor, including a dedicated section on staffing your booth so no prospect ever has to wait for the owner, and a straight answer on whether giveaways are worth it.
• Part Five: Follow-up. The 48-hour window, segmenting leads before you reach out, three ready-to-use follow-up email templates, and closing the loop on any funding you received.
• A readiness scorecard, a composite example business worked through the full process, and a 90-day action plan.

Format

A PDF you fill out on your computer. 34 pages. Works with Adobe Acrobat Reader and most PDF apps.

Who This Is For

Small business owners deciding whether a trade show is worth the cost. Owners who've exhibited before without a real plan and want the next show to actually pay off. SBDC advisors, chamber staff, and consultants helping businesses get trade-show or export-ready.

Pricing

• $85: Worth the Trip, single download