How Many People Do You Need For A Trade Show?

Of all the things a trade show is best known for, the human touch is the biggest benefit. Trade shows are where interested businesses and business people can interact directly with the companies behind the products or services that are the focus of a trade show. It’s a way to get both the personal touch and expert access so that queries and even deals.

Of course, aside from having an experienced trade show company construct your exhibit for you, you need the staff to manage it. But how many is enough?

The 10 Foot Rule

The general line of thinking is that most exhibit spaces will, at minimum, but a 10X10’ area. This doesn’t seem like much, and some are tempted to think that a small space doesn’t require much management, so only one staff member will be sufficient.

However, the reality is a trade show will attract thousands of visitors. On average, exhibits, depending on factors like location and visibility, can expect about 20% of those attendees to come by the booth daily during a trade show. So if even only 1000 people attend a trade show, that’s still about 200 people every day.

So even for the smaller spaces that are only taking up a 10x10’ area, there should be two staff on hand to handle visitors and support each other when required. No one should ever manage an entire exhibit space by themselves.

Expanding Personnel

As the exhibit size gets larger, it will be more visible and attract more attention, especially with an eye-catching design. In that case, not only can the exhibit space hold more visitors, but it will inevitably attract more visitors. Two people will not be enough to comfortably manage that kind of traffic, especially if you want to leave visitors with a good impression that makes them want to know more.

As a general rule, for every additional 10x10’ space you have, it’s advisable to add one more staff member. If budget or personnel isn’t an issue, then two people per 10x10’ area are ideal. However, all of this is contingent on your budget and the goals that you’ve established for yourself for a trade show. The one thing you don’t want is for visitors to come to an empty booth with no one to help them.

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.