What is exhibitor outreach?

Exhibitor outreach is outreach that finds the companies that belong on a trade show floor but have not booked a booth, and takes them through to a signed booth. It is exhibitor sales run as a campaign: a named list, personal outreach, calls to the companies that engage, and booths closed on the organiser's own prices and terms.

Selling booths is a list problem before it is a sales problem.

Some of every floor plan rebooks itself. The rest has to be sold, and the hard part is not the pitch, it is knowing which companies to pitch. Exhibitor outreach starts there: which companies fit the show's profile, sell to its attendees, and are not on the floor yet. Then it reaches each one by name.

At Bison Outbound the first touch is always email or LinkedIn, one to one. We only pick up the phone to the companies that engage, to qualify budget, timing and fit and move the conversation along. From there we take it all the way to a signed booth on the organiser's floor plan. No cold calling, and the organiser sets the booth prices and terms.

It works best on shows 4 to 2 months before doors, with 2 weeks of setup before the campaign starts. Pricing is $3,000 for the campaign, then 20% of what each new exhibitor pays for their space at this show. See the , , or .

What an exhibitor outreach campaign involves

Five things, in order. A target list of companies that fit the show and are not on the floor plan, built from the show itself rather than pulled from a database. Personal outreach to a named decision maker at each one, over email and LinkedIn. A phone call to the companies that engage, to work out budget, timing and whether the floor is genuinely a fit. The booth closed on the organiser's own prices and terms. And a weekly report naming every company contacted and every one that booked.

The hard part is not the pitch. It is knowing which companies to pitch. Most floors are sold to whoever the organiser already knows, which is why the same names come back every year and the new halls stay empty.

Who normally does it

An in-house salesperson. Works when somebody's whole job is selling the floor. It rarely works when it is one more thing on a marketer's list, which is where most independent organisers actually are. A hire also costs a salary whether the floor sells or not, and takes months to get up to speed on the sector.

A commission-only rep. Usually 20 to 35% of every booth they close, paid only on results, which sounds ideal. The catch is that they work their own contact book and their own priorities, and they go after whatever closes fastest. On an established show with a rebooking base that is fine. On a first edition or a new hall, where every booth is a cold sale, there is nothing for them to lean on.

An outreach agency. A campaign with a start date, an end date, a list built for that show, and reporting the organiser can audit. That is what Bison Outbound runs.

What it is not

It is not rebooking. Rebooking is working the exhibitors who were already there, usually on site at the last edition. Exhibitor outreach is the opposite job: the companies who have never booked.

It is not buying a list. A bought list is thousands of addresses and no idea who any of them are. It is also not a floor plan tool, a marketplace listing, or an advert in a trade magazine. Those make a show findable. They do not get a named decision maker at a named company to sign for 18 square metres.

When a campaign should run

Four to two months before doors, and the timing decides the result more than the copy does. Earlier and the floor plan is not real yet, so there is nothing concrete to sell. Later and an exhibitor cannot physically do it: stand design, build, shipping, staff and marketing collateral all need lead time, and the budget for the quarter has usually gone.

Two weeks of setup sit in front of that, building the list and warming the sending accounts.

What it costs, and the three ways it is priced

A salaried hire costs the salary plus tools plus management, paid whether the floor fills or not. A commission rep costs 20 to 35% of every booth, paid only on results but with no control over which deals get worked.

Bison Outbound sits between the two: $3,000 for the campaign, then 20% of what each new exhibitor pays for their space at that show. Most of the money only arrives if booths do. The 2 weeks of setup are included, and there is no long contract — one show at a time. Full , or see how it stacks up against .

What good looks like

Four numbers are worth tracking, and they should be visible every week rather than at the end. How many named companies were contacted. How many replied. How many got to a qualified phone call. How many signed.

Reply rate on a well-built list in a defined sector is usually somewhere between 3 and 8%. What matters more is the cost of a booth: a campaign that costs $3,000 plus commission and signs four booths at $3,500 has paid for itself several times over, which is the only test that counts.

The mistakes that waste a campaign

Starting six weeks out. Pitching every company in the sector instead of the ones whose attendees actually walk that floor. Sending from the organiser's own domain, which puts the deliverability of every other email the show sends at risk. Stopping after one message, when most replies come from the second or third. And never picking up the phone, because a booth is a considered purchase and it does not close over email.

Exhibitor outreach, answered

A rep works your floor for a cut and works whichever deals pay them fastest. They bring whoever is already in their contact book.

We charge $3,000 up front, build a list around your show specifically, and take the same 20% on what sells. The fee buys you a campaign that runs on your priorities, with a report every week you can check.

Whichever you prefer. We can take it from the first email all the way to a signed booth on your floor plan, on your prices and your terms.

If you would rather your own team handled the close, we hand companies over warm once they are qualified and ready to talk numbers.

$3,000 per show for a 2-month campaign, plus 20% of every booth or sponsorship booked. The 2 weeks of setup before the campaign starts are included.

Running attendee outreach on the same show as well is $5,000 for the pair instead of $6,000.

Build a named list of companies that belong on your floor but are not on it, reach each one personally, and work the ones who engage through to a signed booth.

Start 4 to 2 months before doors, while prospects still have budget to commit and time to build a stand.

It depends on the booth price and how much room the floor has. On a show with booths around $3,500 we would expect a 2-month campaign to sign four to six new exhibitors; on a $7,500 booth, two to four.

Those are the bands we price against rather than a promise. A show whose floor is nearly full has fewer to win.

It is one of the cases it suits best, because every booth on a first edition is a cold sale and there is no rebooking base for a commission rep to lean on.

What it needs instead is a clear story about who will be walking the floor. If the attendee side is vague, sell that first, or run both campaigns together.

Sponsorships count the same way and are charged at the same 20%. In practice they often come out of the same conversation, because a company deciding on a stand is the company deciding on branding around it.

We check the whole target list against yours before anything goes out, so no company already on your floor plan or in your database hears from us.

Existing exhibitors generally want a fuller floor, not an emptier one. A hall with gaps in it is the thing that makes them question rebooking.

The floor plan, what a booth costs, the categories you want filled, your existing exhibitor and prospect list so we can exclude it, and one call at the start to set the brief.

After that the work is ours. You get a report every week.

Booths to sell?

Tell us the show and how much of the floor is open, and we will size a campaign against it

Book a 30-minute call or email