Article Written By Mike Thimmesch.
There is no greater asset to your trade show program than a platoon of capable booth staffers. Staffers who can turn booth visitors into qualified leads, forge strong relationships, and consistently represent your brand.
But you can create a booth staff even greater than the sum of its parts, by taking a balanced approach in assembling your team:
Male and Female Booth Staffers
Some attendees will feel more comfortable entering your booth when you have both genders on your booth staffer team. And while I don’t have any scientific research to back this up, I’ve heard a lot of chatter about this from fellow booth staffers. Plus, my own intuition accepts this idea: Some people want to talk to someone of the same gender as themselves, while others prefer the opposite. And by having both genders in your booth, they can. The booth just feels more welcoming. This still works even if your entire buying audience is almost all the same gender.
Experienced and Rookie Staffers
I don’t mean young and old, or new employees and veteran employees. I mean mostly having proven staffers who know how to fill the lead box, with a portion who have never staffed before. That’s because you have to keep refreshing your bench of expert booth staffers, as they will get new jobs, move away, or get too busy. (Excellent booth staffers tend to also be excellent employees, and are therefore in demand for other projects.) Now, that doesn’t mean picking total greenhorns to try out. Instead, pick new staffers with promise, that want to be there, have (or are willing to learn) product knowledge, and will work hard the entire show. To find those promising rookies, just ask your best staffers who they would pick.
Sales, Marketing, Technical, and Top Management Staffers
Attendees who visit your booth will be in all phases of the buying cycle. Some will want to hear about the latest new products, some are just learning about your product category, some want product details, some want to meet the management behind the company, some want to do a deal, and some just want to visit their existing vendor. Having a blend of staffers from various functional areas of your company means you can speak to your prospects’ needs, no matter what they want. Plus, you’ll find that if a staffer gets stumped by a visitor’s question, they can turn to a teammate and get the answer right on the spot. Which makes for a better attendee experience, and better business for you.
All your individual staffers still need to have the right attitude, product, customer and industry knowledge, and strong work ethic. Yet, by considering the gender, experience, and job position of your various booth staffers, you’ll get a stronger team that produces even better results.
About the Author: Mike Thimmesch is Skyline Exhibits’ Director of Lead Generation and Industry Relations, with 25 years of Marketing and Trade Show Display Marketing experience.
