Trade fair preparation: what exhibitors do 12, 8 and 2 weeks before

The checklist of AUMA, the association of the German trade fair industry, starts 12 months before the fair opens. It begins with choosing the fair, the decision and registration with the organiser. Watch the registration deadline. Stand construction, technical services, printing and travel follow in the months after.

Sales needs less lead time, but the dates are fixed. Buyers and decision-makers plan their days at the fair in advance. My advice: send the first invitations 8 weeks before the fair, 6 weeks before at the latest. If you start 12 weeks before, you have time for clear goals, a checked list of contacts and good invitation texts.

No fair chosen yet? VK MesseRadar lists trade fairs in Germany with dates, venues and a link to the organiser. A checked list of your target customers with contact persons is what you get from the Lead Research Sprint.

AUMA divides the costs into six groups:

• Basic costs, for example the stand rent
• Design, stand construction and fittings
• Stand services and communication
• Transport, handling and disposal
• Staff and travel
• Other costs

An example from a price list: for Moulding Expo 2027, Messe Stuttgart offers complete stands. 9 m² cost €5,720 and 24 m² cost €11,640, excluding VAT in each case (price list as of April 2026). Included are, among other things, carpet, walls, spotlights, a power connection, furniture, daily cleaning and exhibitor passes. Travel, hotel and your team's working time come on top.

There is funding for companies from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The state development institute LFI M-V supports small and medium-sized enterprises with a registered office or business premises in the state at fairs outside the state. It covers the stand rent and services of the organiser, at 30, 40 or 50 % depending on company size, up to €6,000 per fair. You apply before you sign any contracts for the fair. In other German states, ask the local chamber of commerce (IHK). Companies from abroad can ask their national trade promotion agency.

Organisers' prices cover space and stand. Sales preparation is not included. For that, I offer four trade fair packages at a fixed price, from the Trade Fair Check at €390 to Exhibitor Complete with a set-up CRM at €1,390. All prices: no VAT charged (small-business rule, § 19 UStG).

In Germany, the rules are in Section 7 of the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG). Advertising by email is only allowed with prior express consent (Section 7(2) No. 2 UWG). There is an exception for existing customers (Section 7(3) UWG). It applies if all four conditions are met:

• You received the email address when selling goods or a service.
• You advertise your own similar goods or services.
• The customer has not objected to this use.
• When collecting the address and in every email, you point out that they can object at any time.

For a phone call to a company, presumed consent is enough (Section 7(2) No. 1 UWG). For consumers, a call also needs prior express consent. A letter is allowed as long as it is not apparent that the recipient does not want advertising (Section 7(1) UWG).

AUMA recommends inviting in several stages. This is what it can look like: the first invitation 6 to 8 weeks before, a second one 4 weeks before, a reminder 2 weeks before and, in the last week, the confirmation with hall and stand number. Offer fixed time slots for a meeting.

This is not legal advice. If in doubt, ask your chamber of commerce or a law firm.

The AUMA guide shows a conversation note with these fields: address or business card, area of responsibility, industry, economic and customer structure, remarks, content of the conversation, result, person who held the conversation and day of the fair. For the follow-up, two items matter most: the result and the next step.

Digital is faster. AUMA calls capture with tablets more time-saving and recommends badge scanners: they capture the data quickly and with few errors. Some organisers offer an app for this. For Moulding Expo 2027, for example, it is included in the complete stand.

Rate every contact while still at the stand:

• A: a concrete project or a need with a timeline
• B: interest, but no timeline yet
• C: a general contact

Note the next step with a date for every contact. Enter the lead sheets into the CRM every evening. That way, no conversation is left lying after the fair.

Decide before the fair who contacts whom, with which template and by when. A process in three steps:

• Within 24 hours: a short thank-you and everything you promised at the stand, for example a quote or a data sheet.
• Within 48 hours: a call to the A contacts to arrange the next meeting.
• Within 7 days: follow-up with the B and C contacts.

After the fair, emails to new contacts follow the same rules as the invitation. So ask at the stand whether you may send documents by email, and note the answer on the lead sheet.

For this you need two things that are settled before the fair: goals and clean data capture. Decide how many meetings, qualified contacts and quotes you want to achieve. In the CRM, mark every contact with the fair as its source.

In B2B, an order from a trade fair contact often comes months later. So check after 3, 6 and 12 months which quotes and orders came from the contacts made at the fair.

A simple metric helps to start with: the cost per qualified contact, that is, the total cost divided by the number of A and B contacts. A worked example with round numbers: if exhibiting costs €20,000 and brings 40 qualified contacts, each contact costs €500. Compare this figure with other ways of reaching customers and with the value of a typical order.