Every exhibition stand disaster starts the same way. A client liked the quote too much to ask the tenth question.
Every builder sounds confident on a call. None of that tells you what happens when a panel cracks in transit three days before doors open. That’s the gap this list closes. Ten questions, asked before anything is signed, that tell you more about a stand builder than a portfolio ever will.
The ten questions
1. Can you show me stands you’ve built for a similar industry or brief? A portfolio’s a given. What matters is whether it includes your kind of brief, with the story behind each one, not just pretty renders.
2. Who actually builds the stand, your team or subcontractors? Subcontracting isn’t automatically a problem. It becomes one when nobody can tell you how they’re vetted or who to call if something goes wrong mid-build.
3. Will I have one dedicated point of contact throughout the project? Ask directly, not generally. Some builders introduce you to “the team” and rotate whoever answers the phone. Others give you one name from first call to final dismantle, someone who wrote your brief and is still there when something needs deciding three weeks before the show.
4. What does your process look like from brief to handover? Listen for a structured timeline with named checkpoints, not a general assurance that “it’ll all come together.”
5. What’s included in the quote, and what isn’t? Go through it line by line. Electrics, flooring, furniture, graphics, delivery, installation and breakdown all need to be accounted for, not buried in small print.
6. How do you handle design revisions, and where do the costs kick in? Find out how many rounds your fee covers and the exact point extra changes start costing money, stated upfront, not sorted “as you go.”
7. Do you handle venue liaison and technical submissions? Most major venues demand drawings and approvals that eat weeks of run-up time. ExCeL London, the NEC Birmingham and Manchester Central all have their own build schedules and restrictions. Know who owns that responsibility early, and whether the builder’s actually worked at your venue before.
8. What happens when something goes wrong on site? Panels crack, graphics arrive wrong, lights fail. What separates a good partner from a great one is the response: spare materials, someone on site during build, a way to reach them once the show’s live.
9. Can the stand be reused, stored or adapted for future shows? Some builds reconfigure for a different floor plan next time. Others are single-use by design. Ask about storage too.
10. Can we speak to a previous client? A testimonial is curated. A past client gives you an honest account of what it felt like under pressure. Reluctance to introduce you tells you something on its own.
The bottom line
Ask every one of these and you can still get burned. What decides the outcome is whether the answers were specific or vague.
How we answer these questions ourselves
We hold ourselves to the same standard. Our own team carries out the build, bringing in trusted subcontractors on larger projects while staying your point of contact throughout, one name, the whole way through, not a rotating team. Our quotes cover design, production, delivery, installation and breakdown, with power and internet as the only standard exclusions, both ordered directly through the venue, or by us if you’d rather hand it off.
Every project includes one full round of revisions plus minor tweaks at any point before the show, with your sign-off needed before we move into project management. We handle venue liaison and technical submissions as standard, including at ExCeL London, the NEC Birmingham, Manchester Central and SEC Glasgow, and sort site issues there and then.
Stand elements can be stored and reconfigured between shows, which is a real part of why 84% of our clients rebook rather than start again with someone new. We’ll happily put you in touch with a previous client.
Tell us about your show and your brief. It costs you five minutes and nothing else, and you’ll have a straight answer to every question on this list before you decide anything.
