The Business Association Programs & Trade Show Coordinator is responsible for the planning, execution, and performance analysis of Crystal Clean's trade show and industry association programs. This role partners closely with Sales, Business Development, and Marketing to ensure event investments generate measurable business value through effective lead management, ROI analysis, budget oversight, and operational execution. The position requires strong project management, analytical, and relationship management skills, along with advanced Excel proficiency and the ability to deliver actionable business insights.
Essential Functions
- Plan, coordinate, attend and execute all assigned trade shows from initial registration through post-event lead reconciliation, including booth logistics, shipping, staffing, and on-site support.
- Serve as primary representative of Crystal Clean within the business associations and at all trade shows, cultivating relationships that strengthen brand presence and support business development opportunities.
- Manage the company's business association memberships, including scheduling event attendance, tracking engagement activities, and ensuring participation aligns with business development objectives. Prepare and maintain annual budget and quarterly and annual royalty reports.
- Build and maintain the annual Trade Show Program Budget; track actual spend against approved budget across all events and report variances to the Manager of Business Development.
- Calculate and report key performance metrics for each event including Cost per Lead, Cost per Appointment, and ROI using established Excel-based reporting templates.
- Integrate trade show leads into the company CRM system (Salesforce or equivalent) in a timely manner and coordinate with the Sales team to ensure prompt follow-up and opportunity assignment.
- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve Excel dashboards and Pivot Table reports that summarize trade show and association performance by event, region, and product line.
- Collaborate with the Sales Development Specialist (SDS) and Business Sales Manager (BSM) teams to align program execution with sales pipeline goals and regional priorities.
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date records for all events, association memberships, registrations, invoices, and vendor contracts.
- Generate periodic reports on trade show and association program activities and present findings and recommendations to the Director of Business Development.
- Perform all duties as assigned by the Director and senior staff in support of Business Development departmental objectives.
- Job Responsibilities:
- Improve the ROI of the trade show program through critical post-event analysis of lead quality, cost effectiveness, and sales conversion rates, and use findings to recommend which events to prioritize, scale, or discontinue.
- Strengthen the lead follow-up process by establishing clear handoff protocols with the Sales team, tracking follow-up activity in the CRM, and escalating non-compliance to the Manager of Business Development.
- Evaluate each business association membership annually using a consistent ROI framework (cost vs. attributed revenue, lead generation, and pipeline contribution) and present recommendations for renewal or discontinuation.
- Proactively identify operational inefficiencies in trade show or association program execution and propose process improvements to reduce cost, improve turnaround time, or increase lead yield.
- Stay current with industry trends in trade show marketing, association engagement, and event ROI measurement methodologies and share relevant insights with the Business Development team.
- Ensure all program expenditures are processed, coded, and reconciled accurately and on time in coordination with the Finance department.
- Recognize recurring performance issues across events or associations and conduct root cause analysis to drive sustainable improvements.
- Ability to travel to trade shows as needed – estimated 40 to 60% travel
Education & Essential Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree and at least 2 years of experience in event coordination, trade show management, marketing operations, or a related business development support role OR a High School Diploma/GED and at least 5 years of experience in event coordination, trade show management, marketing operations, or a related business development support role
- Experience paying close attention to detail and utilizing analytical problem-solving skills, in reconciling data across multiple sources
- Experience managing multiple events and deadlines simultaneously without loss of accuracy or quality.
- Experience building, reading, and presenting financial reports and ROI analyses;
- Experience with budget tracking and variance reporting.
- Experience presenting data and program recommendations clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences.
- Experience working with CRM systems, such as Salesforce or similar system, including lead entry, opportunity assignment, and activity tracking.
- Experience meeting established project schedules, event deadlines, and reporting timelines.
- Experience using Microsoft Excel at an advanced skill level for data analysis, financial reporting, and dashboard development including but not limited to: XLOOKUP, SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, nested IF statements, and conditional formatting.
Preferred Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree in business, marketing, communications, or a related field
- Experience managing vendor relationships, event logistics, and multi-event budgets
- Salesforce experience
Work Environment
While performing the essential duties of this position, the individual regularly works indoors in an office environment and may be required to sit for extended periods. The individual will regularly be required to talk, hear, see, use a computer keyboard, mouse, telephone, and other standard office equipment. The role may require occasional travel to trade shows and industry association events (estimated 40-60%). The noise level in the primary work environment is generally quiet. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential duties of this position.
Crystal Clean LLC is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Crystal Clean expressly values diversity, equity, and inclusion, and encourages the applications of individuals from diverse backgrounds, so that Crystal Clean reflects the communities and customers that we serve.
The anticipated hourly range for this position is $50,000.00 - $60,000.00 and includes benefits such as the following:
- Health, Dental and Vision insurance
- Wellness Program
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- Life Insurance
- Long-Term Disability
- Employee Assistance Program
- Tuition Reimbursement
