Outline for Booth Staff Training
posted on 05.07.10

A recent study conducted by Center for Exhibition Industry Research suggests that 68% of exhibit managers claim that a properly trained booth staff converts a higher percentage of booth visitors into qualified leads. Further, 74% of exhibit managers believe that staff training is an important factor in assuring return-on-investment at trade shows and events. Yet 73% of exhibit managers report their companies have no plans to invest in training efforts, and 31% of exhibitors provide no form of pre-show training or preparation for their staffers whatsoever. So what gives?

My own personal experience in working with many of my clients would suggest that “time” has more to do with this predicament than “budget”. Let’s face it; planning and coordinating a trade show consumes a lot of time. And we often take it for granted that our sales staff can simply show up at the trade show and hit the floor selling; so they wouldn’t need any training, right? Well, as pointed out with the opening statistics, training is important. And it doesn’t have to be a 3-day seminar complete with guest speakers and tasty bagels (well, the bagels may be necessary). Just a quick (maybe one hour?) pre-show meeting with the exhibit staff can pay off big. Here is a brief outline to consider for a pre-show meeting:

General overview of show:

where? when? what has our experience been at this show in the past? what worked, and what didn’t? Schedule: who will be staffing the exhibit? who will be in charge of the staff? what is schedule, and when are breaks? Expectations: this is a big one! make sure your staffers understand the commitment, effort and expense it takes just to be at the show; reinforce why the show is important; clearly spell out what the expectations are for lead generation, client interactions, etc.

Exhibit Ergonomics:

explain the layout of the exhibit; indicate where key graphics are located; explain any interactive areas within exhibit (multi-media presentations? workstation areas? demo areas?); make sure staffers can quickly and efficiently walk prospects through the exhibit and provide the information that attendees desire; if there is a definitive plan for how to use the exhibit, it will function so much better than just the “if you build it, they will come” approach. There is nothing more frustrating to an attendee at a show than feeling like they’ve wasted their time in a booth space with someone who can’t provide them with information they want.

Post-Show plan:

your exhibit staff should have a clear understanding of what qualifies as a lead/prospect, as well as be clear on what the follow up steps should be following the show. Who gets the leads? Do they go into the database? When will they get them? How will they follow up? If the plan is communicated to everyone, there is a much better chance that the plan gets executed. The value of trade show leads diminishes with each passing day, so it is critical that they be followed up on quickly.

This outline could be expanded or condensed as time and budget permits. A little planning goes a long way, and one hour spent to train your exhibit staff to help ensure everyone’s success is time well spent. As I see first-hand every day, trade shows are not cheap; but well worth the investment if handled correctly. Happy trade-show’in!