No matter how good a trade show display you have, it is not going to be the most important component of your trade show campaign. Nor will it be how well you plan and research before you execute your trade show plans, and nor will it be how well you perform pre-trade show promotion.

The most important component of your trade show campaign is going to be your people. If trade show booth staff is not up to the task, you will fail, miserably. If your trade show staff are motivated and understand their responsibilities, you are going to succeed beyond your wildest imagination.

Everything hinges on your trade show booth staff, so make sure you do not neglect them as part of your trade show preparation.

Attire

Be professional in your appearance, but pitch the dress code to what is expected for the industry you are in. A professional convention is more likely to expect an image of suits and ties, but a video gaming convention is less likely to need such formal attire. Nevertheless, you should ensure what the dress code should be and for imposing it upon your booth staff,

Business casual is pretty much acceptable across the spectrum.

One serious hint is to ensure all of your staff wears good fitting shoes. Trade shows demand your people spend the bulk of the day on their feet and they need good footwear to help them get through the day comfortably. A further hint is to add a soft floor covering rather than hard laminate to soften the impact on tired and aching feet.

Staff should not be seen sitting down

Following on from the tip for good fitting footwear is that staff should always be on their feet and never seen sitting down (unless they are working with a prospect). Attendees will not be impressed by your staff sitting around – in addition, staff cannot expect to project themselves or be on hand for attendees if they are lounging around. Trade shows are a place where high energy activity is premium and you can only expect to be able to hussle when you are on your feet.

No Food or Cell Phone Calls on the Booth

Make sure everyone eats, drinks and takes cell phone calls out of sight. Attendees will be put off by people eating and on the phone; because these are activities we all associate with being personal. If you see someone on the phone, you are likely to not want to disturb them even if you are an attendee with a burning question on your products.

Attendees Should Talk, Booth Staff Should Listen

It is a basic principle of selling that the prospect should do the talking and the sales person should do the listening. It is a common failing amongst customer facing staff that they take over and dominate conversations because they ‘know’ about the product or service. This is a major error because what is most important is finding out about the prospect’s problems for which the product or service can provide a solution. Simply talking at a prospect about features is boring and disengaging – booth staff must listen for the problems the prospect has, and that will only happen if the attendee is allowed to do all the talking.

Author Bio: Find out more information on Trade Show Displays and pop up displays from http://www.monsterdisplays.com/

Category: Business
Keywords: business, marketing, trade shows, conventions, exhbits,