Do’s and Don’ts of Trade Show Booth Staff Training
Trade Show Booth Staff Training Guide: How to Prepare Your Team for the Show Floor
Key Takeaways
- Even a stunning exhibit can fall flat with poorly trained booth staff.
- Learn common trade show booth staff training mistakes and how to avoid them.
- A great training plan includes more than your booth staff knowing how to talk to show attendees—they also need tools and resources from you.
Your company needs a strong and engaging on-site booth staff to succeed at every convention. Even the best-designed displays can fail if the team working the space isn’t well-prepared. Despite its importance, far too many exhibitors forego proper trade show booth staff training.
Understanding how to properly train your on-site booth staff starts with getting to know some of the on-site mistakes a lot of exhibitors make…and how you can avoid them.
Common On-Site Booth Staff Mistakes
Hopefully, you’re laying the foundation for a great event with an attractive and engaging custom display that draws a lot of traffic. However, you also need to control what people will encounter when they arrive at your booth space.
It’s pretty easy for conference attendees to spot an exhibit with poorly-trained on-site representatives. One of the key indicators of subpar trade show booth staff training is the team members sitting down and scrolling through their phones, completely disengaged from the event and booth visitors.
Other signs might not be that obvious, but can still hurt your lead generation. Here are a few more mistakes you’ll need to teach your team to avoid:
- No familiarity with the booth layout, a mistake that booth visitors may perceive as disorganization or apathy
- Lack of experience at the company or at expos in general, and thus an inability to answer questions and instill confidence in your prospects
- Not understanding how to work the lead retrieval machine or app, which prevents your company from collecting attendees’ contact information
- Poor staffing planning, resulting in too few or too many people working the booth
- Random attire instead of branded uniforms
- Uncertainty about how to interact and build rapport with booth visitors
Ineffective trade show booth staff training—or no training at all—can have a huge negative impact on your trade show ROI. In fact, a lackluster staff can put your entire convention program in danger.
The Danger of a Poorly-Trained Booth Staff
Many exhibitors use trade shows as their first introduction to their audience and a chance to make a strong first impression on potential clients. In other words, think of your presence at each event as a sort of handshake that introduces your company to new people.
If you haven’t provided your on-site team with the right trade show booth staff training, this first impression will fall flat.
A lazy or ineffective staff reflects poorly on your company. The team inside your booth space must be knowledgeable, engaging, and able to quickly communicate your organization’s products, services, and culture. If your team doesn’t check all of these boxes, they won’t generate leads, you won’t earn the sales, and your trade show ROI won’t come close to your goals.
This can also have a domino effect. Lower lead generation and sales numbers mean lost revenue, and your company’s executives might not see the value in investing in conventions…all because your booth staff wasn’t fully aware of how to do their jobs.
To avoid these pitfalls entirely, you can equip yourself with some professional tips for great trade show booth staff training.
Tips for Effective Trade Show Booth Staff Training
You don’t have to be an expert in trade show booth staff training to prepare your on-site team for an outstanding event. As long as you know the ins and outs of your custom display and the wants and needs of your audience, you’re on the right track! Here are some tips to help you along the way.
Pick the Right People to Work Each Event
Part of every trade show coordinator’s toolkit is a pre-show checklist that helps them identify who will work the booth. As you’re scrolling through the company roster, you’ll want to keep a few things in mind.
For example, dynamic and energetic salespeople are a huge asset on the show floor, but at certain events, it’s beneficial to have representatives from other departments as well. Sometimes, attendees want to ask members of your design, production, or operations teams.
You’ll also need to keep travel costs in mind if budget is a concern. Many companies have locations and employees all over the country (or all over the world). You can likely cut back on some expenses by asking team members who are local to the event to work the booth.
Create a Daily Schedule
Ensure you’ll have the right number of people in the booth at all times by creating a fair schedule and sharing it with your entire on-site staff prior to the event. Include meal breaks for each person, as well as time for them to leave the booth space to walk the rest of the show or attend a panel discussion that takes place elsewhere in the convention center.
Creating a daily schedule of where everyone should be at given times will help keep you sane throughout the entire show. It also creates accountability among your on-site team and, as long as you include break times, helps them avoid burnout on the show floor.
Walk Your Staff Through the Booth
Include an exhibit walkthrough in your trade show booth staff training regimen. Show them pictures or renderings of the display, and if possible, bring them to the live preview at your exhibit fabricator’s facility.
The better the staff knows the exhibit, the better equipped they’ll be to guide show attendees through the space. They’ll come across as confident experts who know exactly where to lead the booth visitors for product demonstrations, a private chat, or an interactive display.
Let Them Tinker With the Lead Retrieval
Picture this: your on-site staff is doing a great job drawing traffic into your booth and engaging with event attendees…but none of them understand how to collect the contact information, so their efforts result in very few tangible leads.
Your trade show booth staff training absolutely must include the lead retrieval system. Whether you’re using an app the team members will download onto their smartphones or hardware you’ve rented from the expo’s preferred contractor, every single person working your booth space needs to thoroughly understand how to scan a badge.
Offer a Script
Many salespeople who’ve been in the game for a long time are naturally comfortable on the show floor. However, if you have some team members who are brand-new to your company, your industry, or trade shows in general, give them a hand with some conversation starters.
Conferences and expos are loud and hectic—and that’s a lot to take on for a first-timer who’s also tasked with generating leads and sales. Everyone has to start somewhere, and offering a script or a few talking points can boost their confidence and make them more effective. You might even see that your efforts help them excel in sales well after the show has ended. In these cases, the positive effects of trade show booth staff training are immeasurable.
You Handle the Trade Show Booth Staff Training, and We’ll Handle the Rest!
We’re happy to share our convention industry wisdom to help you design an effective trade show booth staff training plan. However, we’re mostly known for our innovative exhibit design, expert booth fabrication, and unmatched on-site support.
Ready to get started on your custom display? Tell us about your upcoming show today!