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Training your booth staff

Often the best sales people find themselves ill equipped to handle the pressures of a show. Working a show is different than working anywhere else and the reason is time. You simply have too many people and too little time. To help your booth staff handle the pressures of a show, conduct a pre-show briefing.

Your briefing should include the following items:

· Your objectives. Each staff member should know their corporate and personal objective.

· The booth – A quick overview of the booth, demonstration materials, collateral materials, lead cards, etc will help make the booth a bit friendlier to work.

· The show – Your staff should learn the layout of the show including amenities, special events and other exhibitors. You never know when an attendee will need some direction.

· The audience – It is crucial to have a detailed description of your target customer and be able to articulate this to your booth staff.  Knowing ahead of time who might be attending will keep them on their toes as they are talking to show visitors.

· Special promotions – If you have undertaken any pre-show promotion campaigns, make sure your staff knows about them.

· The skills – All staff whether they are seasoned professionals or neophytes need to understand the skills of approaching strangers, qualifying, making the presentation and disengaging. Without a grasp of these four skills all is lost.

· The do's and don'ts of exhibiting. While much of these may sound like common sense, they are important reminders to your staff. Create a list that applies to your specific situation. You may want to include the following:

o Don'ts – smoke, sit, eat (send one person at a time to get lunch), make outgoing calls, leave the booth or read.

o Do's – Dress appropriately, be honest, keep the booth neat and attractive, treat all visitors equally, and act professionally at all times.