No matter how big or small your booth is and how well you’ve laid out strategic plans for your show, it’s not likely to be successful if you don’t have buy in and cooperation from your booth staff. Most of the time you don’t get the support you need from staff because they don’t feel connected to the process and they don’t understand how important their role is in the success of the show. To get staff on board, be sure to communicate the “big picture” to help them connect to the program by:
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- Clarifying show goals (and why they are important to the company)
- Explaining the show strategy (make sure they know what’s going to be happening in the booth and when and why it’s important to the success of the show)
- Preparing the staff to meet the attendees – (Make sure staff understands how to engage, ask qualifying questions, convey your message, and disengage. Think about assigning roles (i.e. greeters, demonstrators, lead takers, etc) if you have a bigger booth and staff.)
- Making sure that the staff knows the products/services that you’re highlighting and if there’s anything new they should be aware of.
Remember, whether your booth is big or small, if you have 3 team members or 30, your staff can make or break your program. Be sure to give them the tools they need to be confident working in the booth and help make the show as successful as it can be.
About Susan Brauer
Susan, CME, is the President of Brauer Consulting Group (brauerconsulting.com) Susan has more than 20 years of experience in the trade show and events industry and works with organizations to help them set strategic, quantifiable objectives, promote and strengthen key corporate messages and demonstrate ROI for their face-to-face marketing programs.