Things Your Staff Could Be doing While Manning Your Expo Stand

One summer during college I had a job as a busboy at The Old Ebbitt Grill, just around the corner from The White House. The best piece of advice given was that a busboy had to be like a shark, and never stop moving. That same advice works wonders for a trade show booth staffe

Your best booth staffers have a strong work ethic, a wide variety of skills, and Gumby-like flexibility. Booth staffers are more than eye candy at the edge of the booth; they are the epitome of multi-taskers.

Here are 44 things booth staffers can do, in your booth and throughout the show:

Set up your trade show displays
Take leads
Be a brand ambassador
Advance the buying cycle
Engage attendees in the aisle
Establish relationships with prospects
Qualify leads to establish needs
Present how their company can solve a prospect’s specific needs
Overcome objections
Record each prospect interaction
Give presentations
Demonstrate products
Introduce your new products
Answer technical questions
Recruit potential employees
Gather competitive intelligence
Gather market research
Give interviews to industry press
Meet with potential suppliers
Forge new business alliances
Network with industry peers
Attend keynote and seminar sessions
Dine with clients, prospects, and business partners at breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Attend hospitality events
Host hospitality events
De-clutter the trade show display of accumulated cups, empty water bottles, scatter literature, and other trash
Spot-clean the booth surfaces and flooring
Enter leads into the database
Fix or find fixers for technical glitches with computers or internet connections
Sort leads by quality and pass on hot leads right away
Restock promotional items, literature shelves, business cards and candy bowls
Unwrap giveaways (or wrap with company branded paper)
Serve food and drink to prospects
Meet with existing clients
Refill lead form print pads and staplers
Take a break to recharge
Walk the show floor and take the pulse of the industry
Help rookie staffers learn faster
Ask veteran staffers how to succeed
Share with management their insights on what’s on the mind of the attendee
Share with management what went well and how to further improve the company’s trade show performance
Dismantle the trade show exhibit
Ensure the crates come back
Ensure the exhibit ships with the right shipper to the right place

That’s a lot for booth staffers to do, and rare is the person who can do it all. The first sign of civilization was the division of labor, so do the civilized thing and give your booth staffers the jobs they do best. For example, it’s almost certain that your top management prefers to meet with business partners rather than refill lead pads.

Choose your booth staffers who will both take full advantage of the many valuable business activities possible at a trade show, and will roll up their sleeves and smilingly complete even the most unglamorous tasks.

And never stop moving.

Via: http://www.skylinetradeshowtips.com