Trade show ROI calculator
Put in what the show cost, including your people’s time, and what came of it. The calculator gives you the return on gross profit at three, six and twelve months, and what each conversation, quote and order cost you.
It starts with a made-up example so you can see how it works. Replace the numbers with your own show. Nothing is sent anywhere: the figures stay in your browser and in the page’s address, so you can bookmark it or send the link to a colleague.
Gross profit, the full cost, and the twelve-month count.
ROI = (gross profit from the show’s orders − total cost of the show) ÷ total cost of the show
Gross profit, never revenue. An order worth forty-five thousand dollars at a thirty per cent margin earned you thirteen and a half thousand. Measuring a show against revenue makes every show look several times better than it was, which is how a losing show gets booked again.
The full cost, with staff time in it. The stand space is the biggest single line, and US exhibitor surveys put it at a bit over a third of the spend. The rest is the build, the show services, travel, freight and promotion. Your people’s days away are a real cost too, and they’re the line most businesses leave out.
Three horizons, because the sale takes time. In a business where an order takes months to close, a show judged at the end of the quarter nearly always reads as a loss. The same show at twelve months can read as the best thing you did all year. The calculator shows both so the gap is in front of you, and the decision about next year’s shows is made on the twelve-month figure.
Cost per conversation, prospect, quote and order are the total cost divided by each count. They’re the numbers to put beside what an enquiry costs you from search or ads.
The method, the sources and a worked example are in Trade show ROI: how to work out whether a show paid for itself. If you don’t know how many orders your last show led to, that’s the first fix, and it’s covered in trade show marketing: before, at and after the show.
Trade show ROI: how to work out whether a show paid for itself
The full cost, gross profit not revenue, and why counting at three months makes most shows look like a loss. With a worked example.
Read itTrade show marketing: what to do before, at and after the show
The stand is the expensive part, but the work is won before and after it. What to do in each stage, and what to ask a trade show marketing company.
Read itWhat can you afford to pay for an enquiry?
How to work out what an enquiry is worth to your business, and so what you can afford to pay for one. The sum, a worked example, and the mistakes to avoid.
Read itFifteen minutes on what your shows should come back with.
Tell us which shows you do and what you'd like them to come back with. We'll work out what's worth doing before the doors open, how every conversation gets captured, and how the follow-up runs so the twelve-month figure is one you can actually count.
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