4 Tips for Happy Trade Show Staff

Trade shows are long days of smiling and repeating the same message in different ways to a wide range of people. They can be days of watching non-qualified attendees grab your pens or sit in your booth. It is a day filled with rejection for those who staff the booth. I have a few tips to help keep your booth staffers happy – especially if they are also your sales team.

1. Let them figure out their own schedule

This was an eye opener for me. My last two shows I asked the sales people when they wanted to work and for how long, keeping in mind that the booth had to be staffed for the whole show. They stepped up and worked out the schedule that worked the best for them and their family. If your sales people want to work in one hour shifts, break for an hour and then come back for four more hours – let them. Just be firm in the number of people you need in the booth and the time frames. I had a dramatic drop in complaints and many of them actually stayed on the show floor – if not in the booth 80% of the day.

2.  Make sure they know why they are at the show.

Explaining the benefits of trade shows is helpful, but put it into terms they will understand. What is in it for them? The lead list that you will distribute at the end of the show. The industry connections that they can make. Then make sure to follow through with the lead list. 

3.  Keep water, mints, and snacks on hand. 

If the show will be more than 8 hours in a day or two days long, I always make sure that I keep water and snacks on hand for the booth staff. This ensures they are not wandering around looking for something to eat and drink when they should be in the booth. When the show starts early, I will often bring in breakfast for the first shift. (This also helps with the hangovers that often occur at trade shows)

4.  Listen to them

I give anyone who was on the trade show floor from our company (staffing the booth or not) a survey that I ask them to complete within a week of the trade show end date. I ask them about the booth, the quality of the attendees, competitors, and what they would change next year or if we should attend next year. This allows me to keep upgrading my designs and gives them input into the shows.

I work hard to ensure my people are happy and taken care of when working my booths. I will go so far as to book hotel and airfare for them. Working trade shows has become much less of a drag and more of a perk. The biggest being – if you work the booth, you have access to the leads and can help shape the future of the trade show program.

How do you keep your trade show staff happy?