--- title: "Event planning checklist for exhibitors" description: "A free 12-week event planning checklist for B2B exhibitors and sponsors: pick the event, source the attendee list, outreach at T-4, event days, follow-up." canonical: https://www.luminik.io/resources/event-planning-checklist/ source: html generated_at: 2026-11-11T06:37:00.690Z --- 1. [Home](/) 2. [Resources](/resources/) 3. Event planning checklist for exhibitors Free checklist # Event planning checklist for exhibitors: 12 weeks out to follow-up A week-by-week plan for sponsoring or exhibiting at a B2B event, built around who you need to meet and when your outreach goes live. [Get the spreadsheet](#get-the-file) [Read it on this page](#template) Use this checklist when your team sponsors or exhibits at a B2B event. It skips venue contracts and catering and covers 6 phases: decide and book, logistics and the attendee list, outreach, final week, the event days, and follow-up. Outreach goes live 4 weeks before the event (T-4). The weeks before that date get the attendee list and the messages ready. The weeks after it turn meetings into records with owners. How to use it ## How to work the checklist from booking to follow-up 01 ### T-12 to T-9 Pick the event by who attends, book it, set the pipeline target and the attribution rule. 02 ### T-8 to T-5 Order logistics, source the attendee list, score it against your ICP and split it by tier. 03 ### T-4 to T-1 Outreach live at T-4, dinner invites out, meetings confirmed, team briefed. 04 ### Event and after Daily stand-up and debrief, personal follow-up within 2 days, review at 30 days. Free spreadsheet ## Get it as a spreadsheet The same template as an Excel file that opens in Google Sheets, Excel or Numbers. Work email, one email back, and you are not added to any list. Work emailFirst name (optional)Email me the spreadsheet One email with the download link. You are not added to a mailing list. Read the [privacy policy](/privacy/). The template ## The checklist, week by week ### Checklist Owners are suggestions. Put a name in every row. | When | Task | Owner | Done | | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ---------- | | Decide and book (T-12 to T-9 weeks) | | | | | T-12 | Check the attendee profile, sponsor list and past agenda against your ICP | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-12 | Write the pipeline target: meetings, opportunities and pipeline value | Event lead and sales lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-11 | Fill in the budget and the cost per opportunity you need to hit | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-11 | Agree with RevOps which opportunities count as event-sourced and which as influenced | RevOps | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-10 | Book the sponsorship or booth, and read the exhibitor manual deadlines | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-9 | Create the event campaign in Salesforce or HubSpot, with member statuses | RevOps | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Logistics and the attendee list (T-8 to T-5) | | | | | T-8 | Order booth build, furniture, power, internet and freight before the early-rate deadline | Ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-8 | Book hotel rooms and travel for everyone on site | Ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-7 | Source the attendee picture: registrants if the package includes them, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors | Marketing ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-6 | Score the list against your ICP and split it into tiers | Marketing ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-6 | Check every tier 1 account against open opportunities and customers, and assign an owner | Sales lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-5 | Write messages per persona and per tier, and the dinner invite | Marketing | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-5 | Book the dinner venue and order lead retrieval | Ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Outreach (T-4 to T-2) | | | | | T-4 | Outreach sequences live in the sequencer the reps already use | Marketing and SDRs | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-4 | Dinner invites sent to tier 1 accounts and open opportunities | Host AE | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-3 | Meeting schedule started: room, time slots, owner per meeting | Meeting owner | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-3 | Draft the run of show | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-2 | Second touch to non-responders, with a specific reason to meet | SDRs | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Final week (T-1) | | | | | T-1 | Confirm every meeting by email with time and location | AEs | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-1 | Install the capture app and send a test record to the CRM | Ops | \_\_\_\_\_ | | T-1 | Send the briefing: accounts by owner, meeting schedule, capture rules, run of show | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Event days | | | | | Daily | Morning stand-up: today's meetings and unmet tier 1 accounts | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Daily | Capture notes, owner and next step within 10 minutes of each conversation | Everyone on site | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Daily | Evening debrief: every capture has an owner, hot conversations routed the same day | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Follow-up | | | | | Day +1 | Personal follow-up to every meeting and hot conversation, sent within 2 days of the event ending | AEs | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Day +2 | Triage the rest by fit and intent, start sequences for the warm ones | SDR lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Day +5 | Debrief: results against target, what worked, keep or drop | Event lead | \_\_\_\_\_ | | Day +30 | Count opportunities created and pipeline, update the budget sheet | RevOps | \_\_\_\_\_ | Get more from it ## Keep outreach on track for T-4 ### Start from the attendee list The decision at T-12 is about who will be in the room. Booth size and location come after. ### Fix T-4 in the calendar Outreach that starts in the last 2 weeks lands next to every other sponsor's. 4 weeks gives buyers time to reply and you time for a second touch. ### Agree attribution before you book If RevOps and marketing agree on the counting rule at T-11, the 30-day review counts the same opportunities you planned for. With Luminik, your meetings and booth conversations reach Salesforce or HubSpot with an owner and a next step, so you fill this sheet from CRM records. [See how it works](/product/). ## Questions about planning for a trade show How far in advance should you plan for a trade show? 12 weeks is enough for most B2B trade shows if the booth is already booked. Larger builds and international freight need longer. The fixed point is outreach at 4 weeks out, so the attendee list has to be sourced and scored by week 5. What should an exhibitor checklist include? The decision and booking, the pipeline target and attribution rule, logistics before the exhibitor manual deadlines, the attendee list and ICP scoring, outreach and dinner invites, meeting confirmations, lead capture setup, daily on-site routines, personal follow-up by day 2, and a 30-day review. When should pre-event outreach start? 4 weeks before the event. That leaves room for a second touch, and it reaches buyers before their calendars fill with other sponsors' meetings. Keep going ## What to use before and after this one [ Run of show template for B2B conferences An hour-by-hour plan for a sponsored conference: setup, meeting blocks, booth coverage, the customer dinner and the follow-up, each with an owner.](/resources/run-of-show-template/) [ Event budget template for trade shows Plan what a trade show or conference will cost you, track what you spent, and see cost per meeting and cost per opportunity, in cash and fully loaded.](/resources/event-budget-template/) [ The Event ROI Business Case Turn the budget and the results into break-even and the one slide a CFO reads.](/resources/event-roi-business-case/) [ Event ROI calculator Model expected closed-won revenue from your conversion rates.](/tools/event-roi-calculator/) ## See your next event's attendee list, meetings and CRM records Bring the event you are planning. In 20 minutes we show who is attending, which accounts match your ICP, and how meetings reach Salesforce or HubSpot. [Book a 20-min walkthrough](/demo/) ![Prasad Subrahmanya](/founders/prasad-192.webp) > I take every walkthrough myself. Bring the next event on your calendar. Prasad Subrahmanya, founder