Peek a Boo - We See You -- 7 Trade Show Tips for Marketing Managers
Peek a Boo - We See You Does your company have a description for a full-time job
that says "Stand in the booth and hand out brochures."? Doubt it. "Working the booth" often falls to the person closest to the
show site, or part of a sales team. So, staffing for trade
shows might be haphazard, considered a reward for sales
performance, or based on corporate marketing criteria. Then the question becomes how many people in a booth
and what should they do? These are the basics the exhibit,
sales and marketing managers should use for the most
effective presence at each show. 1. Allocate space for two staff for each 10' x 10' area. This
decreases when you have conference areas,
demonstrations, theatre, large equipment, storage and
other space-eating situations. Know the floor plan when
selecting staff. 2. Make sure everyone has a copy of the floor plan for the
show. It should be marked with: * Location of your booth * Locations of competitors * Locations of partners * Locations of prospective clients * Location of exits for emergencies * Booth floor plan clearly showing locations of storage,
literature, conference area, demonstration, technical
equipment, etc. 3. Add a list of people responsible for keys for storage,
scheduling the conference area, etc. Most important, who is responsible for technical
equipment? To make sure it's in the booth, operating
properly and who to call if it isn't working. Finally, spell out very plainly any rules and regulations
affecting how the show space can be used. These should
be from Show Management and your corporate policies.
Think of all the unknowns and cover everything from
disposing of trash to liquor in the booth, from balloons to
swearing, from use of cell phones to dismantling before the
end of the show. 4. Understand the schedule of the trade show and the
surrounding events. You may need fewer people at certain
times and a larger staff during peak times. For example, if
the luncheon is on the show floor, there will be traffic,
thus you'll need more people. And conversely, if the show
floor is open during The Awards Luncheon, you may need
less staff. Past experience and corporate expectations are
required when you set the staff schedule. 5. Know when appointments are scheduled. You need
some flexibility in your staff scheduling. People will come by
early, late and unexpectedly. 6. Not everybody needs to be IN the booth, but may be
required to be nearby to handle a surge in visitors, such as
a buying group, or to cover when appointments run late.
This extra staff can be reached via beeper and should be
used to gather market intelligence - talking with competitors,
partners and general networking - while waiting to be called. 7. Staff needs to be aware that they are three-dimensional.
They have a front, a back and a side. Actually, two sides
plus a top and a bottom. So, there are lots of ways that
people can view us. We've all had staff who look like they're wearing blinders -
who think they're only responsible for the space directly in
front of them. They aren't conscious - or don't care - or
don't know that they should care - about what's going on
around them. There's a great tendency to assume that people only see us
from the front, as when we look at them and shake hands.
Not true. Visitors usually see us first from the side, and then
decide to approach us. So stand up straight. Smile. Get ready for business. Julia O'Connor - Speaker, Author, Consultant - is president
of Trade Show Training, inc. Based in Richmond, VA, Julia
travels the country helping companies in a variety of
industries put their best staff on the floor. http://www.TradeShowTraining.com -- 800-55-3910
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