3 Ways To Prepare Your Staff For Trade Shows

One of the key factors of any trade show is the human factor. After all, if you’re just trying to lay out the raw facts about the product or service your business provides, a website or direct mail like a pamphlet or brochure fulfills the same function. But meeting prospective clients and customers, providing a face for your company, and having positive interactions are what lift facts off a page or screen into action to do business. Here are a few of the things you should train your staff for when it comes to participating in trade shows.

Attentiveness

This can be difficult with all the hustle and bustle in any big venue with many people. However, in the same way that people can be negatively impacted by neglect in a restaurant, the same thing happens at a trade show. People who come to an exhibit are looking for reasons to give or deny business.

As a general rule of thumb, no person to an exhibit should be left unattended for more than 15-20 seconds. Some may simply want to look at the exhibit first or consult the corporate literature, while others always have questions they want answered. Always check to see what they need.

Inquisitiveness

What truly separates a brochure or website from a customer experience is interaction. Clients and customers come to your exhibit to see if your product or service can meet their specific needs. You won’t know the answer to this question unless you know what those needs are.

Instead of a flat recitation of the facts that can be outlined on your website or corporate literature, staff should ask about a client/customer’s needs. Find out exactly what their problem or concern is to better align the product or service with those needs.

Endurance

A final piece of training that staff should have is knowing that this is a marathon, not a race. Trade shows are generally multi-day events, and it’s not unusual for some of the biggest deals and transactions to occur on the last day. Management should be aware that staff needs to “go the distance” and last for the duration of the event, not just be at peak efficiency on the first day, and gradually lose effectiveness and efficiency with each passing day.

If you’re thinking of taking part in a trade show and want to plan your exhibit and get your staff ready, we can help. Contact Lighthouse Exhibits, and we can assist you with designing and constructing your trade show exhibit.