Six questions mid-tier leaders should ask before any trade show
Trade shows can fill your diary and drain your travel budget. Before you block out two days and book the train to Birmingham (or anywhere else), pause and run through these six questions. They will help you decide whether the event earns its place in your diary – and whether your team should be there with you.
1. Does the content solve real mid-tier pain points?
Look past the headline speaker list and drill into session detail. Will the talks tackle the pressure points you manage every quarter – margin squeeze, AI implementation, staff retention, ESG reporting? A good trade show pushes clear learning outcomes, not marketing jargon. If you can’t see a link between the agenda and the issues you and your board are dealing with, keep scrolling.
2. Are speakers qualified to give evidence, not opinion?
A mid-tier firm can’t afford theory. Check that technical slots are led by practitioners, regulators or researchers with street-level experience. For vendor sessions, look for case studies with numbers, not product pitches. When you get back to the office, you need proof you can share, not platitudes you can’t use.
3. How easy is it to make focused vendor connections?
Your tech stack review is already tight on time. You need structured 1-2-1s and product demos, not stroll past pop-up stands. Ask whether the organiser offers a meeting-matching service, quiet pods and diary tools. If the show treats vendor meetings as a side-line, you risk walking away with freebies, not solutions.
4. Will I meet peers who share my growth targets?
Networks feed referrals, benchmarking and even talent pipelines. A trade show with the wrong focus can leave mid-tier leaders stranded between start-ups and enterprises. Scan the delegate profile: is there a specific stream, lounge or roundtable for £3–20 million firms? If not, your peer conversations may be thin.
5. What data drives the event?
Next April’s challenges will not match last April’s. Ask how the event team chooses topics. If they rely on an annual advisory group, content can lag behind real-time change. Shows powered by people with their fingers on the pulse of the industry, like active newsrooms, keep the learning current on the day you attend.
6. What follow-up support is on offer?
A show should not drop you at the exit. Look for post-event slide decks, on-demand recordings, benchmarking surveys and peer forums. These resources turn two days off-site into a 12-month knowledge stream that guides new services, tech pilots and cashflow planning.
Why these questions matter
Mid-tier firms sit in a sweet spot: big enough to scale, small enough to pivot. The right event accelerates that growth; the wrong one burns budget and momentum. By testing content depth, speaker quality and networking design, you make sure every train fare converts into insight, partnerships and revenue.
The FAB answer
The Finance, Accounting & Bookkeeping Show is built on these six pillars. The AccountingWeb newsroom tracks policy changes the moment they land, and with more than 30,000 professionals visiting the site for straight‑talking coverage of tax, tech and regulation every day, our connection with the industry is unmatched.
We have also listened to our 2025 attendees, and among other improvements, the capacity for pre-booked 1-2-1s has been doubled. Arrive with a problem; leave with a shortlist, a quote and a peer reference.
Sound like the event for you? Book your tickets today and put FAB 2026 in your diary.
