Trade Show Staffing Strategies

During your events, booth representatives carry the responsibility for pre-qualifying your exhibit visitors, establishing relationships that convert prospects into leads and then into buyers, and personify your product’s quality and image.

In other words, the effectiveness of your exhibit team can make or break your success at any given show. Therefore, you should staff your booth with the best and the brightest representatives from your organization.

These are individuals who deeply believe in your product, have superior communication and customer service skills, and fully understand your objectives.

This includes detailed background about your company mission, goals, target audience, products and sales message. These temporary individuals will be the "face of your company" at the event and need to effectively project your image and expertise.

Here are some guidelines for effective trade show staffing.

• Your booth personnel must be friendly, lively, and fully engaged in achieving your company’s goals.
  

• Training for trade show staffing should include a well-practiced script where attendees are greeted quickly; staffers introduce themselves with a one-minute overview of your company and its benefits; questions are asked to find out if the visitors are good prospects, followed by another 30 seconds of detail on products or services; and getting visitor information for effective follow-up after the event.
  

• Tell trade show personnel what will be expected of them. This includes how to dress, when to arrive, how long they will need to staff a booth, proper trade show etiquette (i.e. no eating, drinking, or sitting down), and above all remaining polite and professional.
  

• Don’t overstaff your booth. Staffing your exhibit area with too many people may turn away potential visitors, who may think your exhibit is too crowded to navigate. Click here for a trade show staffing formula to help you determine the number of representatives you need for effective booth scheduling.

When you return from the show, have your booth representatives contact each lead and follow-up immediately with phone calls, packets, personal letters, and invitations for meetings to discuss next steps.

Personal relationship building, need-based sales consulting, and attentive service are essential to fully leverage trade show efforts.

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