How to Plan a Dealer Meet: A Production Checklist

A dealer meet has one job: your dealers should leave clear about the plan and proud to be part of it. Most of that comes down to preparation. This is the checklist our producers work through, in the order the decisions need to be made.

1. Six to eight weeks out: lock the basics

• Headcount and seating. Theatre, cluster or round tables. This decides the hall size and the stage size.
• Venue. Check the ceiling height, the loading access, the power supply and how early the hall is handed over for set-up.
• Agenda. List every segment: welcome, business presentation, product reveal, awards, entertainment, dinner. The production is designed around this list.
• One owner. Name one person on your side who approves the design and the run of show.

2. Four weeks out: design the room

• Stage and set. Ask for a 3D visualisation before approving. It shows sight lines, branding and where the awards will be handed over.
• LED wall. Size it for the last row, not the first. Confirm the pixel resolution so your presentation team builds slides to fit.
• Sound. Speech must be clear at every table. A line array covers a long hall evenly; a pair of speakers at the front does not.
• Lighting. Plan a look for each segment: bright and even for business, focused for the reveal, colourful for awards and the evening.

3. Two weeks out: content and awards

• Collect all presentations in one place and in one format. Test every embedded video.
• Prepare a slide for every award category and winner, and a walk-up music cue.
• Print the trophy order to match the script. Keep two blank spares.
• Record or brief the voice-over for introductions.

4. The day before: build and rehearse

• Complete the build with time for a full technical rehearsal: every slide, every video, every microphone.
• Walk the presenters across the stage. Show them the confidence monitor and the clicker.
• Rehearse the product reveal at least twice with lights, sound and screen together.
• Check that the stage looks right on camera if the event is being recorded or streamed.

5. On the day

• One show caller runs the cue sheet. Changes go through that person only.
• Keep spare microphones, batteries and a backup laptop at the console.
• If sessions run across two days, plan the overnight changeover in advance.

One of our clients described it this way: “Four hundred dealers across eleven states, and the overnight changeover between sessions went unnoticed.” That is what a good production should feel like from the audience.

Common mistakes

• Booking the venue before checking the ceiling height and the set-up time.
• Designing slides before knowing the screen size and shape.
• Leaving the awards sequence to the last evening.
• Using several vendors for stage, sound, light and LED with nobody in charge of all four.

See our dealer meet work, or share your dates and headcount and we will come back with a plan and a quote within four business hours.