Boost Show Results in 30 Minutes
Exhibitor Magazine recently published an article on staff training, and the statistics on the use of booth training is shocking: nearly 50% of exhibitors rarely train booth staff as part of their overall booth engagement strategy. Onsite training for booth staff does not have to take long – just 30 minutes can do the trick. And in those 30 minutes, you can boost show results by hitting these key points in your training:
Your company’s brand message: Whether your message has been consistent for years or you are launching a new brand strategy, review the key points of your brand message with your team. It reminds your staff what your company stands for, and helps to maintain consistency in your message on the show floor, and back at the office.
Booth set-up, including demonstrations: A critical part of your booth training should focus on the booth itself. Walk your team through the booth layout, so they know where everything is (including your go-to arsenal). This is also the time to talk through your demonstrations and make sure your booth staff understands what you are trying to achieve with the demos and how the demos work. Using training time for this gives your staff a chance to play with the demonstrations to make sure they understand how to work them when the show starts.
Best engagement practices: You can also use your training time to provide gentle reminders for booth etiquette, housekeeping items, and even introduce some best practices for booth engagement. This is the time to review how the lead reader works, how leads will be distributed, and what the expectation is for follow-up (i.e. not in 4 weeks). Booth staff can also share if they are expecting a high-level client, and what the protocol should be to get that staffer connected with that client. Get your staff involved in this part of the training so they come up with solutions that work and own the best engagement practices.
Company spirit: Last but not least, training is a time to get your booth staff excited about the show! Trade shows are a huge investment for companies, and they provide a potential wealth of leads if the staff is engaged and committed to working the floor and talking to those leads. Use training time to build excitement with your team so they are energized to perform.
Take a minimum of 30 minutes to provide onsite booth training and see what results you can achieve.
I will not be posting next week due to the 4th of July holiday, but rest assured I will be back on July 13. Have a safe holiday everyone!