Investing in an exhibition stand costs a lot of money, from booking the space, to building and staffing the stand. Strangely this third cost is also one of the biggest assets that an exhibitor is likely to overlook and underprepare. And yet priming your staff to man a stand is straightforward and easy. Just follow these five tips.
- The right person for the job
It’s critical you have suitable staff on your stand. Only pick those people who you know will serve your company well as brand ambassadors, and who have the right knowledge and expertise required for the exhibition. If possible, always having at least one senior person on the stand at any time, to handle important prospects and generally ensure the team stays motivated and professional throughout the show.
If you are hiring promotional staff to man your stand, ensure they are very well versed on your company and what you are promoting at the show.
- Have adequate staff
Manning an exhibition stand can be tiring work. It’s only fair to make sure you have enough staff on the stand to relieve each other for breaks, and that their shifts are not too long that they are drained and not performing well towards the end. Make sure they know what time to arrive, which should be some time before their shift starts.
- Share your objectives
This is probably the most important piece of advice, so if you only do one thing, do this: brief your staff clearly on your objectives for the show, and what they need to do to help you achieve those objectives.
For example, let’s assume you are exhibiting because you want to capture leads. Explain to your staff what kind of leads you want (e.g. for a specific product), how they need to be captured (e.g. on iPads), who will follow up with them (e.g. the person who captured the lead will follow up with that lead), and how they will do follow ups (e.g. an email the day after the show, and a follow up call a week later).
It is also a good idea to run over the message you want them to convey – giving them a rough script of what benefits they should focus on, for example, while talking to prospective clients.
If you have set targets, share these with your team. To motivate them, consider offering incentives. For example, any team on a shift that collects 15% of your lead target gets a prize, or the staff member who collects (and possibly even converts) the most leads gets a cash bonus.
- Have a uniform or dress code
Make sure your team look presentable, professional and recognisable. A branded uniform is a popular and effective way to do this, but alternatively have a dress code. This could be smart causal and in black, or it could be business attire, and so forth. It needs to be suitable for the exhibition, as well as for what kind of company image you want to portray.
- Train your staff
Train your staff about how to behave on the stand. For example, they must:
- talk to attendees and not colleagues
- greet attendees who are passing by
- smile and be polite and friendly
- only sit down if you are talking to an attendee who wants to sit down
- thank everyone for their time, after talking to them
- not slouch or lean against the furniture
- not eat or chew gum on the stand
- not answer their phone on the stand
- ensure the stand looks neat and tidy at all times – don’t leave rubbish, business cards or notes lying around
Make sure senior staff lead by example, and enforce these rules throughout the exhibition.
