The best phone system for event and trade show organisers

A show fills in a matter of weeks: point all your calling power at that window.

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The situation

What holds you back today

01

A very short selling window

02

Exhibitor and visitor chasing at volume

03

Heavy no show on the day

The answer

What Skipcall changes

Call peaks absorbed without hiring

The parallel dialer →

Call plus SMS confirmation sequences

Sequences →

Live view of the floor plan filling up, by salesperson

The parallel dialer →

Specific to your industry

The call plan for one edition, counted backwards

Everything is counted back from the date of the show, never forward from the date of the last contact. An exhibitor decides inside a marketing budget set for their financial year, a visitor decides in the days beforehand. The two campaigns share neither rhythm nor arguments.

During the show itself: rebooking exhibitors

The stand is up, the exhibitor can see what they are getting, and your team is on site. Every rebooking signed or optioned during the show is a conversation you will not have to recover on the phone six months later, with somebody who has forgotten half of what they experienced.

Nine to twelve months out: the returning exhibitors

Last edition's exhibitors are called before the floor plan opens to new names, because stand position is the first thing they will ask about. This is the densest calling campaign of the year and it runs on a list you already know: the difficulty is not reaching people, it is holding the volume over a few weeks.

Six to nine months out: new business

A new exhibitor is committing a marketing budget that was fixed in advance. Called after their year has been allocated they will not say no, they will say next year. The right reflex is to note when their budget gets built and to call back exactly then, rather than three weeks later.

Six weeks out: the audience

The visitor campaign starts once the programme can be published and exhibitors can invite their own customers. Work both lists together: an exhibitor who is reassured about expected attendance rebooks the next edition more easily.

Ten days out, then fifteen days after

Calls in the final days are only there to confirm: a short call followed by a message repeating venue, time and badge beats a long recap of the programme. After the event, the first fortnight is the only window in which the exhibitor still remembers precisely what happened to them, and that is when the decision to come back is made.

Two shutdowns cut the window: the school summer holidays through August, and the fortnight from Christmas to New Year. A September show is sold before the end of July, a January show before the offices close in December. Both go into the plan before you spread the calls across it, not after.

The script

Rebooking an exhibitor, then filling the hall

You are calling during the rebooking campaign, on a list you know well: last edition's exhibitors, to be called before the floor plan opens to new names. The conversation is about stand position before it is about price. The last two lines cover the visitor campaign and the post show call.

The opener, last edition's exhibitor

“[First name], it's [name] from [show]. I'm opening the [year] floor plan next week. You were on [hall, aisle, stand number]: I'm calling you before anyone else to ask whether I'm holding that space for you.”

Stand position is the only thing an exhibitor stands to lose by waiting. That is what opens the discussion, not the rate.

If they say the show did nothing for them

“Let's take two minutes on that. How many people did you have on the stand, and how were you capturing contacts?”

An exhibitor's results depend heavily on their own set up. Asking the question opens a useful conversation instead of a defence of the show, and gives you something to work with for the next edition.

If the budget has not been signed off

“Understood. When does your marketing budget get built? I'd rather call you at that point than chase you three times between now and then.”

Called after their year has been allocated, an exhibitor does not say no, they say next year. When the budget is built is the fact to bring back from the call.

If they think the stand is expensive

“The rate per square metre is the one on the plan and I don't negotiate it on the phone. What I can move is the size, the position and what goes into the package. What budget are you working from?”

Confirming a registered visitor, ten days out

“Hello, [name] from [show]. You're registered for [date]. Two things: are you coming in the morning or the afternoon, and have you downloaded your badge?”

Asking for a detail commits somebody more than a general confirmation, and an undownloaded badge remains the clearest signal you have before the day.

The post show call, within a fortnight

“You've just got back and the show is still fresh. I'm not asking you to sign anything today: tell me what worked and what didn't on your stand.”

This is the only window in which the exhibitor remembers precisely what happened. What is said here comes back in the rebooking campaign.

At Skipcall, every call is recorded, transcribed and summarised, so the script gets corrected against what your reps actually say rather than what we imagine they say.

Avoid this

Three mistakes this industry makes on the phone

The mistake

Opening the floor plan to new exhibitors before calling the returning ones.

Do this instead

Run the rebooking campaign first. A loyal exhibitor who finds their space allocated to a competitor does not come back, and the position argument is lost for the rest of the campaign.

The mistake

Chasing an exhibitor every fortnight when their budget is already committed.

Do this instead

Note when their marketing plan gets built, call back exactly then, and invite them as a visitor in the meantime. They will judge for themselves, which is worth more than one more chase.

The mistake

Calling an exhibitor while they are building their stand or working another show.

Do this instead

Check the calendar of shows in their sector before you start the session. In those weeks the exhibitor is unreachable, and a call that gets through anyway leaves a bad impression.

A calendar full of meetings starts with a call.

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions, Events & trade shows

The plan is built backwards from the date of the event. Rebooking exhibitors starts during the current edition, on the stand. Returning exhibitors are called nine to twelve months out, before the floor plan opens to new names, since stand position frames the whole discussion. New business follows, and the visitor campaign starts around six weeks out, once the programme can be published.
Confirmation calls belong in the last ten days, with a written message repeating venue, time and badge. Ask for a detail rather than a general confirmation: what time they will arrive, which session they picked, whether they need parking. Somebody who has committed to a concrete detail turns up more often than somebody who just said yes. Prioritise the registrations that have never downloaded a badge, which is the clearest signal you have before the doors open.
Two situations, and they are not the same. Calling somebody who has already registered to confirm their visit is servicing their registration, not marketing. Cold calling a list of consumers who have not registered is direct marketing: under PECR you cannot call anyone registered with the Telephone Preference Service unless they have told you they are happy to hear from you, so consent has to be collected and kept at source, in the registration or competition form. Note that sole traders and ordinary partnerships count as individual subscribers too. Business to business calling remains lawful, screened against the CTPS.
The need is seasonal: absorb a concentrated call load without hiring for three months. Look at parallel dialling, voicemail detection, the call then SMS chain for confirmations, and how easily licences can be added or removed. Skipcall dials four lines in parallel and is billed per licence per month, from $25 to $240 depending on the plan, with an Enterprise plan quoted from six licences upwards. Check as well that your records carry the show date, because that is the date every follow up runs from.
Start by writing down the real reason, which is almost always one of three: budget already committed, dates that clash, or doubt about who will be walking the floor. Budget and dates can be recovered on the next edition, as long as you know when the exhibitor builds their plan and call back exactly then. Doubt about the audience is answered with evidence on the visitor profile, not with another chase. In the meantime, invite them as a visitor: they will judge for themselves.

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See what it does on your own lists

A demo runs on your own contacts, not on a sample data set.

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