Staffing Trade Show Exhibits
An important ingredient to being a successful trade show exhibitor is understanding the ins and outs of staffing trade trade show exhibits - specifically, what to do, and what not to do. Your trade show exhibit will only be as successful as the staff that is in it. Follow these ten "golden rules" for staffing trade show exhibits and insure your trade show marketing efforts pay off. Whether you have a staff of one (just you) or a staff of ten, the same rules apply. They may sound like common sense, but if you've been to many trade shows, you'll know that these ten rules aren't necessarily all that common at all of the trade show booths. Follow these rules and make sure your trade show booth stands out from the crowd!
RULE 1. STAND. Get off your posterior and stand up. Don' sit down. Keep standing up. Staffers who stand are much more approachable than those staffers who sit with their arms crossed staring off into space. You should plan to stand the whole time you are in your booth (you will want to wear a pair of comfortable shoes).
RULE 2. STAY HEALTH. Make sure that you take care of yourself! Get plenty of sleep the night before, eat a good breakfast, drink lots of water, and don't forget to wear comfortable shoes.
RULE 3. IDENTIFY YOURSELF. Make sure you have a professional name tag with both your name and your company name on it. Make sure other people can read it. If your name is difficult to pronounce, consider adding a nickname.
RULE 4. BE FRIENDLY. Greet your prospect and ask them what their name is. Then address them by their name. People appreciate a personal touch. Find out who you are talking with and use their name. When your conversation is over, thank them for stopping by your booth and taking the time to talk to you, and again, use their name.
RULE 5. ASK QUESTIONS. It may seem obvious, but before you can propose a solution, you need to find out what your customer's problem is! Don't start telling a prospect what you can do for them until after you know what they need. Ask questions. Listen to their answers. Ask more question. Find out what they need. It's only after you know what your prospect needs that can you then tell them how you can help them (if they really need your help in the first place).
RULE 6. DON'T ASK YES-NO QUESTIONS. Ask open ended questions, not yes-no questions. When you ask yes-or-no questions, you get simple yes-or-no answers, and that's the end of the conversation. Instead of asking, "Do you have a problem with XYZ", try asking "How does your company handle XYZ and balance it against needing to do ZYX?" Always make your questions open ended, and then ask follow up questions.
RULE 7. LISTEN. Follow the 80-20 rule. 80% of your conversation should be listening. 20% should be talking. You learn a more about your prospect when you are listening instead of talking. Ask questions, and then listen. Listen, Listen, Listen... and listen some more.
RULE 8. IGNORE. Don't ignore your prospects, but do ignore the other trade show staffers and trade show booth distractions. Trade show exhibit hours are not the time to discuss where to eat dinner or what movie should win the Oscar. Don't talk to the other trade show staffers in your booth (unless it's because you can't answer a prospect's question). Of course, if you're the only staffer in the booth, this rule is a lot easier. That said, it seems I often see trade show booths with staffers that spend more time talking with each other of on their cell phones than they spend time greeting prospects and talking business.
RULE 9. GIVE. A great way to generate trade show traffic and to "reward" people for stopping by your booth is to hand out trade show giveaways (aka trade show freebies, trade show swag). A simple but useful trade show giveaway (with your company name and contact info on it) is an excellent way to thank your prospects for talking with you, and it also help them remember you and your company later. While trade show giveaways aren't mandatory, most successful trade show exhibits use them and hand them out. There are plenty of trade show giveaway ideas out there. You can have cheap trade show giveaways (i.e. pens) for the general public and more expensive trade show giveaways (i.e. autographed calendars or logo polo shirts) for existing customers that stop by.
RULE 10. FOCUS. Focus on your trade show exhibit, not the exhibit next to you or your competitor's exhibit in the next aisle (even if they have a "booth babe"). Resist the temptation to slide away and do "competitive research". Do your competitive research after show hours are over. You can watch the ball game when you get home. During the hours the trade show floor and trade show exhibits are open, you must be staffing your exhibit booth, standing, smiling, greeting people by name, and ready to do trade show business.
Follow these ten "golden rules for staffing trade show exhibits, and make your next trade show exhibit a wild success!
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