You might sometimes experience visitors strolling around the trade show floor glancing at your trade show booth. You are unsure why they don’t approach your beautiful booth that your company has spent a lot of money from the trade show marketing budget, building. Everything should be perfect and new leads should be pouring in. But they are not!
Beware. Your visitors have seen you long before you see them, and they register every move you make. You might be looking at your smartphone, you might be standing with your hand in your pockets, you might have a closed body language, or you might be sitting down. Whatever the case might be, you are signaling that you are not available and that your focus is not 100% on providing the best visitor experience. Instead, you should do everything you can to welcome your guests, ie. facing towards your guests and avoid standing behind a desk.
You cannot rely solely on your beautiful trade show booth to attract event attendees. You need to start focusing your attention on training your staff. This might be the single most important area you need to address when preparing for your next trade show. Your staff plays a key role in connecting with your potential customers and often only small adjustments are required to achieve great improvements.
You do not want to see your staff being responsible for missing that great lead that could have secured your company a huge deal and made your trade show preparations and investments worth it all. You must therefore assemble the “right” team and ask yourself the following questions.
- Are you training your trade show staff?
- Are you practicing with your staff?
- Are you motivating your staff?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses regarding their face to face marketing skills? And so on…
The importance of asking yourself these questions cannot be emphasized enough. Trade Show preparation is key if you want you and your company to succeed and selecting a great team who are given the proper amount of training and motivation will help your company tremendously achieve its exhibition goals. And more specifically remember to make good impressions, beware of your body language, include your team and remember to celebrate good results. If you accomplish this, you are well on your way to becoming an exhibition pro.
Summary
Which personnel you choose when you select your trade show staff is imperative and the key to unlocking the full potential. Make sure your team is carefully selected before you attend. Make sure you do everything you can to train, practice, and motivate your staff. Avoid standing behind a desk or turning your head away. Formulate objectives together before trade shows, make sure you are aware of the best ways to collect lead information at trade shows, have a follow-up plan, prepare your trade show techniques, and remember to celebrate good trade show successes when you achieve them. It’s a party and if you are well prepared you will have a fantastic party. Especially if you manage to create trade show experiences and entertain trade show visitors.
Comments