How to Get the Most from Exhibiting at Conferences: Advice and tips on optimizing your return on investment when getting an exhibit hall booth at an industry trade show, convention, or conference.

Companies exhibit at conferences for a variety of reasons.

Some look at the process as an expense as they seek to protect their market share.

Others approach exhibiting as an investment in their business. Those are the companies that build and maintain real relationships during and after the event.

It is essential to set measurable objectives in advance of the conference, so you can determine the ROI on your investment. Just showing up, setting up a booth, and waiting for the magic to happen is not going to cut it.

Over the ten years that we've run Affiliate Summit, we've seen thousands of companies exhibit, and there are some right ways and wrong ways to represent your company.

There are three outcomes that routinely result from having a presence at an event: hitting it out of the park with all sorts of new business and plans, maintaining a presence and achieving some branding, and then having a counter-productive experience.

You know that thing from the movie, Field of Dreams, “If you build it, they will come”? Well, that’s not true. There are strategies you should apply to make the maximum impact with your booth.

In the book, I share how you can make the most of your time at a conference, as well as pitfalls to avoid.

Shawn Collins has been an affiliate marketer since 1997 with a number of active affiliate projects, and a decade of affiliate management under his belt. He is a Co-founder of Affiliate Summit, the leading global conference and tradeshow for the affiliate marketing industry and Co-Editor-in-Chief of FeedFront Magazine. He authored the books Affiliate Manager Boot Camp: Recruiting, Educating, and Retaining Affiliates, Extra Money Answer, and Successful Affiliate Marketing for Merchants, and was an editor and contributor to Internet Marketing from the Real Experts. Also, he co-publishes the annual AffStat affiliate marketing benchmark reports. Shawn blogs daily on affiliate marketing at Affiliate Tip and co-hosts the weekly 7 Minutes in Affiliate Heaven podcast on GeekCast.fm. Additionally, Shawn has been quoted in numerous publications, including Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, Inc. Magazine, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal.