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by Richard Kensett on May 9, 2025
Every successful event begins the same way: with a blank floor plan and a big vision.
The challenge is turning all that open space into a sold-out exhibition floor, packed with exhibitors, opportunities, and energy.
These fully booked events don’t happen by accident. They result from detailed planning, strong relationships, and the right tools behind the scenes. When you combine strategic rebooking tactics with an optimised stand sales process, or booth sales for those of you in the States, you’re not just filling a hall but laying the groundwork for long-term success.
Let’s explore how today’s top event organisers are turning empty exhibition halls into sold-out shows.
Content written by Richard Kensett, Regional VP of Sales at Map Your Show, based in London, UK.
1. Rebooking Begins Long Before the Event Opens
If you're waiting until the event begins to think about rebooking, you’re already behind. The most effective rebooking strategies start with early conversations, preparation, and managing expectations well before the doors open.
What this looks like:
- Secure Your Anchor Exhibitors Early: Get your key exhibitors signed up for next year or at least on the floor plan first. Their early commitment helps build momentum and credibility.
- Personal Touches Count: Have your sales team reach out to exhibitors ahead of time. Let them know that rebooking will be taking place onsite and that it’s a no-pressure opportunity to secure premium locations.
The typical rebooking process starts about 8-10 weeks before the event. This means you’ll need to have rates secured, collateral ready, and perhaps most importantly, the new edition floorplan prepped and ready to go.
It’s about opening the door, not pushing anyone through it. When exhibitors feel respected and informed, they’re much more likely to rebook. This early start is an essential part of a successful strategy. Key decision makers don’t always make it onsite for events, so starting early gives you the best opportunity for engaging decision makers and discovering any objections or early warning signs of churn.
Map Your Show’s new tool, MYS Insights, will also be able to provide you a list of exhibitors, before you even begin re-book, who are ‘at risk’. This is developed using our proprietary algorithm, combining data points from exhibitor behaviour at previous events and leading up to this event, and carries 50-75% accuracy. Well worth a look to give you a head start with these conversations.
Make Rebooking an Experience, not a Transaction
Rebooking doesn’t have to be a high-pressure sales exercise. In fact, it’s often more effective when it isn’t.
How to make it easy and even enjoyable:
- Create a Welcoming Rebooking Area: Choose a space that’s highly visible, accessible, and staffed with friendly, knowledgeable team members.
- Empower your team: Enhance engagement by equipping your sales team with tablets or laptops displaying real-time floor plans of the event venue. This technology enables personalized service and support for exhibitors and attendees, leading to improved interactions and an overall enhanced experience.
- Stay Consultative: Assign manageable groups of around 10-15 exhibitors per account manager/representative, per day of the event. This approach will foster meaningful and personalised conversations, ensuring that interactions are more than just rushed pitches.
- Listen and Collect Customer Objectives: This is a fantastic opportunity to better understand the goals, product launches, and short to mid-term objectives for each exhibitor. Take the time to really listen. This will help you shape strategy for future events and create tailored sponsorship proposals.
Treat Your Floor Plan as a Sales Tool
Your floor plan isn’t just a map—it’s one of your most powerful sales tools.
Add these tactics to your sales process:
- Keep It Live: Utilize a software system that continuously updates the plan in real time, ensuring that changes are made promptly as stands are sold throughout the event or sales period.
- Highlight Hot Zones: To ensure that everyone is aware of the bustling activity areas within the venue, it is essential to mark the entrances, lounges, catering areas, and stages, as these locations tend to attract a higher volume of foot traffic throughout the event.
- Show (Don’t Just Tell) Scarcity: As inventory continues to decrease, potential customers feel a natural sense of urgency to make their purchases.
When exhibitors can see their options disappearing, they’re far less likely to delay and far more likely to act.
Be Structured—But Stay Flexible
A well-organised rebooking process greatly benefits both your team and your exhibitors. It ensures smooth coordination and communication, fostering a productive environment for everyone involved.
Explore options that work:
- Priority Appointments: Booking times should be allocated considering the loyalty and participation history of each exhibitor. This method not only ensures that dedicated exhibitors receive priority but also helps in fostering relationships within the community. Furthermore, even if some exhibitors do not show up, the allocation process can still promote valuable conversations and networking opportunities among those who are present.
- Walk-In Flexibility: Keep your rebooking desk open throughout the show. This ensures that attendees have a convenient option for drop-ins whenever they need to reschedule their bookings.
- Mobile Sales Setups: Equip sales representatives with mobile technology so they can finalise bookings on the spot—no need to bring exhibitors to the office unless they prefer it.
Create and Display Scarcity on the Event Floor Plan
People tend to make faster decisions when they believe they might miss out on something valuable.
How to build urgency:
- Utilize Real-Time Floor Plans: With the right event management technology provider, you can create a visual representation of the event layout, clearly indicating which stands have been sold and which are available. This immediate transparency not only informs potential buyers but also enhances their sense of competition for the remaining stands.
- Live Updates: Live updates can effectively create a sense of urgency, such as messages that announce, “Only 20 stands left in Hall B!” These timely notifications can trigger prompt decision-making among attendees, encouraging them to act quickly to secure their space.
- Further Create Urgency: Incentives that expire when the show ends can motivate exhibitors and attendees to finalize their decisions promptly. By highlighting that discounts or special offers are only available for a limited time, you create an environment where swift actions are necessary to avoid missing out.
This isn’t about adding pressure. It’s about helping exhibitors take timely action while their preferred options are still available.
Lean on Technology to Streamline the Process
No one wants a clunky or confusing rebooking process.
Event tech tool features worth investing in:
- Digital Applications & E-signatures: To speed up the contract process and easily keep records for show management teams.
- CRM Integration: Export data daily—or better yet, in real time via API.
- Exhibitor Portals/ Exhibitor Dashboards: Allow clients to review contracts, select locations, and manage preferences with minimal friction.
- Analytics and Reporting: Track event performance through comprehensive metrics and analytics dashboards to measure success and identify areas for improvement.
- Mobile Event Apps: Provide attendees with a personalized experience, featuring schedules, networking opportunities, and event information on-the-go.
Keep the Momentum Going Post-Show
Even if an exhibitor doesn’t rebook onsite, the conversation shouldn’t end there. It’s important to maintain open lines of communication and explore other opportunities for engagement in the future.
Effective follow-up:
- Quick post-show emails with floor plan updates.
- Personalised calls reviewing the exhibitor’s event success and outlining next steps.
- Early access to next year’s marketing packages or premium sponsorship opportunities.
Momentum is everything. Let too much time pass, and you risk losing the energy—and the easier sale that comes with it.
Final Thought: Sold-Out Shows Are the Result of Strategy, Not Luck
An empty floor plan isn’t daunting with strategic and thoughtful planning, reliable technology, and a customer-first approach to rebooking and stand sales. With this, you can transform any blank space into a thriving, sold-out event.
Because ultimately, it’s not just about selling stands. It’s about creating something even greater: a show that exhibitors want to return to, year after year.
