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Trade Show Staffing Strategies

Without dynamic trade show staffing, your pre-event marketing activities, eye-catching exhibit, excellent signage, product demonstrations, and high-appeal giveaways can be wasted.

trade show staffingBooth personnel are the lifeblood of your exhibit strategy.

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… those who deeply believe in your product, have superior communication and customer service skills, and fully understand your objectives.

If you must use volunteers, they need to have extensive training on all aspects of your organization, products, goals, target audience, and sales message.

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.
  • Luggage OnLine
    When you return from the show, have your booth representatives follow-up with leads 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.

    Related Articles

    Trade Show Staffing Formula
    Tips on Booth Staff Scheduling
    Booth Staff Training Tips
    Beyond Mints: 4 Keys to Tradeshow Success
    Assign Each Staff Member a "Trade Show Specialty"
    Determining Tradeshow Staffing Needs
    Avoid These Booth Staff Blunders
    "Reading" Your Prospects
    Trade Show Booth Jobs
    Staff Professionalism Delivers Results
    Allow Ample Space for Staff to Work Your Booth
    How to Prequalify Prospects



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