The single most important thing you can do to ensure your tradeshow success is to pick your very best people to staff the exhibit. Exhibits that are staffed by friendly, engaging, well-informed staffers can easily generate two to three times the amount of leads than booths staffed by lackluster staffers who lurk in the back of the booth, reading magazines and avoiding eye contact!
The question is: How do you identify your very best people? Which of your staffers will excel in the tradeshow environment, and which ones will turn in a lackluster performance at best? Can you tell the two apart?
Absolutely you can! Paying careful attention during the selection process is the best way to ensure that you’re sending the right people to the show.
Many managers select booth staffers from their sales staff only, but it may be prudent to expand your horizon. Consider your call center personnel, re-sellers, distributors, and members of your creative team. They may have product knowledge that equals or even surpasses that of your sales team — and more likely than not, a fresh approach and excitement about exhibiting that will translate into a more enjoyable experience for the attendee.
Experienced sales people are always valuable, but they sometimes come to the show jaded and cynical. Expanding your talent pool beyond the sales staff can result in staffers who come with ‘baby eyes’ — an openness and enthusiasm that simply can’t be matched.
Consider mixing some of your experienced sales professionals with the staff members you recruit from other departments. Changing the make up of your team can have surprisingly positive results!
