A trade show meeting is short. Twenty minutes goes fast, and the first five are often spent figuring out who the other company is and why you are both there. A one-page brief fixes that. It lets whoever takes the meeting walk in knowing exactly what the conversation is for.
The brief should be readable in two minutes, ideally on the walk over. That means one page, plain language, and nothing your team would not actually use.
The five sections that matter
1. When and where
The day, the time, and the booth number or video link. Add the hall if the venue has more than one. It sounds obvious, but on a crowded show floor, a booth number saves ten minutes of searching.
2. Who they are
Two or three sentences about the company: what they make or sell, who they sell to, and roughly how big they are. Enough to hold an informed conversation, not a company history.
3. Who you're meeting
The person's name, title, and what they are responsible for. If they own dealer relationships, product decisions, or purchasing, say so. This tells your team what kind of conversation to have.
4. Why it's a match
This is the most important section. In a few sentences, explain the business reason for the meeting from both sides: why they should care about you, and why you should care about them. If you cannot write this section, the meeting probably should not happen.
5. The first question to ask
One strong opening question, about their business rather than yours. It gets the other side talking, and it shows you did your homework. Compare "So, tell me about your company" with "When a pizzeria buys a dough sheeter from you, who are they usually buying their oven from?"
Nice to have: a few notes
Add two or three short notes if they are useful: a recent product launch, a shared customer or dealer, or anything the other side is likely to bring up. Skip anything your team would not use in the conversation.
A template you can copy
Meeting brief: [Company name] When and where: [Day, time] · Booth [number] (Hall [letter]) or [video link]
Who they are: [What they make or sell, who they sell to, approximate size.]
Who you're meeting: [Name], [title]. [What they're responsible for.]
Why it's a match: [The business reason for the meeting, from both sides.]
Ask first: "[One opening question about their business.]"
Good to know: [Up to three short notes.]
You can see a filled-in version in our sample brief, or download it as a PDF.
Who writes it
The person who researched the company and set up the meeting is the right person to write the brief, because they already know why the meeting matters. For most exhibitors, that is exactly the problem: in the weeks before a show, nobody has time to research a dozen companies and write a page on each.
That is part of what Exhibit Meetings does. Every meeting we confirm for you comes with a one-page brief like the one above. If you have a show coming up, book a 15-minute call and we will tell you whether it's a fit.
