It is no secret that sales reps do not enjoy working at trade shows. While they could be spending time in the field making money, they are instead standing on their feet for nine to ten hours with no extra compensation and a large room service bill on their expense report. It is simply unfair to require more than a few company employees to attend the event.
Hiring booth staffers can save your company money and morale during the trade show’s long duration. A team of local booth staffers will help you eliminate flight costs, hotels, and per diems. They are also experienced in dealing with people in an event setting and finding leads—a skill worth its weight in gold.
The Importance of Trade Shows
Just because a rep’s time could best be served elsewhere does not mean that trade shows in general are a waste of time. Trade shows benefit a company in two big ways:
- Trade shows provide easy exposure for your company and its products/services. If your company puts on a good presentation and gives potential clients a positive experience, your company’s credibility will increase tenfold. You have an entire exhibit hall of attendees at your fingertips, so take advantage of the opportunity!
- Trade shows are a microcosm of every type of client that you will encounter in the field. The best and the worst of your customers can enter your company’s booth. If you want to know your customer base in and out, then this is great experience. And, your company can build additional credibility by successfully interacting with diverse clients whose demands fall at different ends of the spectrum.
But how do hired booth staffers effectively become the face of the company? There are different levels of experienced booth staffers that can interact with customers and pique their interest in the company. We will start from the ground floor and demonstrate how these temporary employees can bring in an audience.
The Crowd Gatherer (Booth Assistant)
Crowd gatherers are professional men and women that are trained in the art of “catch and release.” In your legion of trade show superheroes, the crowd gatherer’s superpower is talking. It is not easy to approach people for hours on end, but an experienced gatherer can engage every person who walks by and convince them to come into the booth. Even more importantly, he or she can politely disengage unpromising conversations to probe more leads.
FoxDog does not recommend the “booth babe” approach. A booth babe is an attractive person, often a model, dressed in scantily clad clothing and used to attract attention to a booth. While a booth babe may add more interest to the day, it is not a very professional look for any company or brand. We recommend hiring an individual who is professional, approachable and unintimidating. Your reputation will thank you.
Finally, your crowd gatherer can perform more menial tasks while higher-level team members continue the conversation with a customer. This can be anything from keeping the booth organized to removing coffee cups left on demo stations and registration desks.
The Booth Ambassador or Product Specialist
A booth ambassador is similar to a crowd gatherer but with more insight into the product or service. Not to be confused with a sales rep, a booth ambassador can still do research ahead of time to have answers to basic preliminary questions. They may even come up with a set of questions to ask passerby in order to qualify them as leads or “tire kickers.” Once they have this information, they can then send the lead up to the next person in the chain of command. A great ambassador can emphasize quality leads over quantity.
As always, the booth ambassador should also be able to clear uninterested parties from the booth in a positive manner. You never know when an unsuccessful lead will become a future customer.
The Professional Presenter
Sales reps are good at speaking one-on-one with customers, but they are not usually professional speakers or emcees. A presenter is a trained spokesperson, and he or she sets the tone and personality for your brand’s message. To do so, the presenter must possess certain superpowers: charisma, confidence, articulation, and enthusiasm.
There are many presenters available, but FoxDog can assist in choosing the right one to match your company’s brand. The most successful presenters are the ones that can evolve your message naturally.
The Onsite Director
FoxDog knows that you know what you are doing. However, there are many demands during a trade show, as well as hundreds of emails to be answered while you are away from the office. That is where an onsite director is available to lift some weight from your shoulders.
Setup, AV, rehearsals and talent can all be managed by the onsite director before the show. During the show, the onsite director can manage staffers, schedule breaks, and follow up to make sure that lead scans are going through to the right people. Most critical, however, is their ability to troubleshoot issues that could derail the production, such as wrong signage or broken speakers.
Utilizing these four levels of booth staffers will free your sales reps to do what they do best: Create a credible and inviting space at the next trade cshow, and find a professional face for your company with the help of FoxDog.