Ensure that the entire exhibitor application process is as efficient and smooth as possible by following our best practices. This article details our suggestions regarding setup of application and registration forms, as well as structuring of pricing groups and passes for exhibitor representatives.

This article outlines how to use the Exhibitor Workflows, Exhibitor Levels and Profiles, Passes/Price Groups/Registration Codes, and Registration for managing a complete Exhibitor lifecycle.

1. Define your event’s available exhibitor levels

Typically, exhibition deals are sold through packages. These packages are set at different price points, with the price of the exhibitor package proportional to what is included. In the Attendease platform, these are described as exhibitor levels. Enter the exhibitor levels that will be available for your event on the Exhibitors screen, under the Event tab.

2. Configuring Passes, Pricing groups and Codes

Once an exhibitor application has been approved you will want to receive payment and allow the exhibitor to register the attendees with their included passes.

Pricing groups when an event exhibitor invoice is handled through Attendease

Typically, exhibitor packages will include at least one pass for exhibitor representatives - and usually include more than one for higher levels. If managing event exhibitor deals via Attendease, we recommend you to set up the following configurations:

On the Registration tab you can add new passes by clicking the Passes menu item. Add a pass for exhibitors, called e.g. “Exhibitor” or “Exhibitor Pass”
For each exhibitor level of your event, create a Pricing Group for that level and associate it to the Exhibitor Pass. As an example, if your exhibitor levels are “Platinum”, “Gold”, “Silver”, and “Bronze”, create a Pricing Group for each of these levels. Add an additional Pricing Group named e.g. “Exhibitors - Free passes”.
For each company that you intend to approve as an exhibitor, add a unique registration/promo code in the Pricing Group of their selected exhibitor level. The format of this code should be LEVELcompanynamePAID and the capacity should be set to 1. This code will be sent to the exhibitor representative to pay for the exhibitor deal and register for their pass.
In the Pricing Group that was named “Exhibitors - Free passes” add a unique registration/promo code with the format LEVELcompanynameFREE. Set the capacity as n—where n is the number of passes included for that exhibitor level.
When the approval email is sent to the exhibitor include the LEVELcompanynamePAID code, so the representative can complete the transaction. You may decide to include both codes immediately, or you may decide to send the code for the “free” passes only once the exhibitor invoice has been paid.

Pricing groups when an event exhibitor invoice is handled outside of Attendease

If the exhibitor transactions are handled outside of Attendease the process will look slightly different. When you approve an exhibitor application, you must reach out to the exhibitor representative separately to complete the transaction.

On the Registration tab you can add new passes by clicking the Passes menu item. Add a pass for exhibitors, called e.g. “Exhibitor” or “Exhibitor Pass”
For each exhibitor level, create a corresponding pricing group and for each approved exhibitor for that level add a unique registration code.
Since the exhibitor transaction is handled outside the Attendease platform, the cost for all the included passes can be set as free. Once the transaction is completed via your selected method, send the exhibitor their unique registration code, e.g. LEVELcompanyname, so they can register attending exhibitor representatives.

3. Setting up the registration form

When configuring registration forms, it is generally best practice to utilize the additional forms function. For the vast majority of events, we strongly recommend making no alterations to the default form. For questions that are pertinent to only a specific group - such as attendees, speakers, exhibitors, or exhibitors - we suggest you use the “Add Forms” option to create a form specific to each of these groups. This will include the default fields, plus the questions on the form assigned to a particular group, such as Exhibitors.

Once you have configured the pricing groups—as described above—ensure that the correct registration form is enabled for that particular pricing group.

4. Configuring the exhibitor application form

While each event has unique needs, there are some questions that are more common. Although it is not mandated, we suggest that you add a drop-down question (Select List) so the applicant can choose what Exhibitor Level or package they want to apply for. This way, once an application has been approved, you and your event team know what package you are approving and can ensure that the applicant receives the right codes for payment and registration of additional attendees—if included in the package. Additionally, this will allow you to immediately assign their exhibitor profile to the correct Exhibitor Level. Click here to learn more about creating exhibitor application forms.

Once approved, your exhibitors will be added to the approved Exhibitors List and once published, their profiles will automatically be updated on your public-facing event website.

We recommend that you create a page on your event website that details all exhibitor package options. This way, when a prospective exhibitor applies to exhibitor your event, they know what the available options are.

6. Invite and approve exhibitor applicants

Once you have completed the above steps, as well as properly set up the Exhibitors Workflow, you are ready to invite, receive, and review exhibitor applicants.