4 Ways To Prepare Your Staff For A Trade Show

If you’re thinking of participating in a trade show for the first time, it’s not just about designing an exhibit, printing out corporate literature, and thinking about swag. Your staff is the frontline for any trade show, and it’s important to make sure that they’re ready for this event. Here’s how to prepare them for your first trade show.

Define Your Goals

Ensure that you know what you want to accomplish during this trade show and brief your staff on these goals. Sending staff into a trade show without clear goals is like sending an army to fight without military objectives. You may want to:

• Generate leads

• Educate and inform about a new product

• Upsell or cross-sell to existing customers

Make sure you know what you want so that your staff is prepared to go out and execute this plan.

Master Demonstrations

If your trade show goal is to enlighten potential clients and customers about a new product or service, a demonstration is the most efficient way to make the point. However, a demonstration can only have an impact if it is impressive and effective.

Make sure that if you have a product demo or other demonstration, your staff have rehearsed the procedure enough to do it quickly, confidently, and with the ability to impress. If they don’t look like they know what they’re doing, this loses customer confidence.

Be Active Listeners

While your staff may have certain statements prepared ahead of time to discuss specific benefits of a product or service, there is always a right and wrong time to get into them. The best speakers are the ones that know when to speak, and listening to a potential customer or client to ensure that the engagement is genuine is one of the best ways to do this. If someone comes to the exhibit asking a question and gets a prepared, unrelated statement as an answer, it creates problems.

Ask Open-Ended Questions

A trade show should be an interactive experience; this is its greatest strength. One way to promote that interactivity is to ensure staff is not asking simple questions that can end a conversation with a “yes” or “no.” Asking potential customers about their goals, what they’d like to improve, or describing their current problems are better ways to engage and interact.

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