Trade Show Marketing

Choosing the Staff...
Picking vs. Selecting

There are many opportunities to pick things in life. Fruits, vegetables, berries and the like are usually chosen quickly and without a whole lot of fuss. On the other hand, there are those things that we spend a little more time and effort choosing. These are items we choose through the process of selection, e.g., out homes, automobiles and investments.

All too often, companies pick exhibit staff like they pick strawberries... grabbing what looks good on the surface or what is handy and available at the time. Often they find that what looks sweet on the surface can be bitter to the taste.

Here are a few tips that will help you match your staff to the job at hand. By taking a little extra care now, you won't be caught with a bucket full of strawberries when you really need cherry pie!

1. Determine your objective. Why are you exhibiting? Is it to: sell product, get leads, introduce a new product, recruit new employees, do market research, convey an image? You can't make intelligent staffing decisions until you know your primary objective.
    
2. Understand your audience. Misreading them can ruin you before you are out of the starting blocks. Know what you want to say and who you want to say it to.
    
3. Be certain that your staff is capable of understanding your mission and able to accomplish your goals. A shy, retiring individual probably won't be much good if your objective is to position your firm as a hard-charging, enthusiastic go-go company -- just as a great salesperson may not be the one to answer technical or administrative questions. Remember... objective and audience are the controlling factors for making staff decisions.

There are some characteristics that are universal for good staff:

• Outgoing. Someone who doesn't become a wallflower when your exhibit is bulging with visitors. Someone that lets visitors know that they are pleased to have them as guests in your booth.
   
• Energetic. This is no place for the person who hits a "down time" in the middle of the afternoon.
   
• Good communicator. This means listening as well as talking. Good communicators talk 20% of the time and listen 80%. A staff that talks too much will quickly find themselves talking only to each other.
   
• Aggressive. Not pushy. There is a fine line. Be sure to use people that understand the difference between being pushy and helpful.
   
• Adaptive. Good staffers are able to "roll with the punches". They are prepared for exceptions and handle them without becoming flustered. An angry clients has ruined more than one trade show experience by causing a scene in the booth.

After you are comfortable that the proper personalities are in place, make sure they have the necessary skills to be effective. Are they knowledgeable about the product? Do they understand the objective? Do you have confidence in their ability to represent your company?

If you can answer yes to these questions, then you have probably done a good job of selecting your staff.