Preparing your Exhibit Staff for Success
When you don’t take the training of your trade show staff seriously, the trade show attendees will not take your staff – or your company – seriously either. A well-prepared exhibit staff can mean the difference between a trade show program that flourishes and one that flops.
The three most widespread mistakes which are made – by big and small companies – are 1. Sending your normal sales staff / sales personnel to the trade show without specific training. 2. Not educating the trade show personnel in every area required to enlarge their achievements. 3. Taking for granted that your normal booth staff has all the information they need to be successful. There is an enormous difference between selling a product or service face-to-face and selling on the trade show floor in a limited time without seeming pushy and aggressive.
Booth Staffers are the Face of your Company
Offer qualifying questions along with a quick elevator pitch to keep everyone on point. Remind everyone about booth protocol – not just the cell phones but front of booth space eating, drinking, gum smacking – off putting behaviors. Remind everyone that they are not part of a defensive front four standing on the aisle, or worse yet, back to the aisle, so attendees hesitate to come in.
The people working your exhibit during a show are the face – and voice – of your company, and the way they interact with attendees can make or break your program. So, teach them the booth-staffing basics before setting them loose on the show floor.
