Create the Perfect Trade Show Team

Transcription

1 HOW TO Create the Perfect Trade Show Team SUCCESSFULLY HIRE THE RIGHT TALENT TO WORK YOUR TRADE SHOW BOOTH

2 SUCCESSFULLY HIRE THE RIGHT TALENT TO WORK YOUR TRADE SHOW BOOTH Without the appropriate staff, your trade show efforts could easily be wasted. Anyone who has been to a few trade shows can tell you that having the best booth in a prime location with a huge promotion may not garner the sales or even leads if you have the wrong team representing your company. Compiling a great team to work your company s trade show booth is the secret between a successful show and a complete waste of time, energy, and finances. Following this guide will not only save you time and help increase your sales, it will help you to create an all-star team that will attract potential buyers at your next trade show, expo, or promotional event. Allocate a Budget for Hiring Temporary Booth Staff HIRING TEMPORARY BOOTH STAFF IS A CRITICAL PART OF BUILDING AN ALL-STAR TRADE SHOW TEAM. You might be thinking, Why would I need to hire additional staff for a trade show? This is a valid question, and there are a few very good reasons behind why you would do so. 1. The first reason is that you want to keep the experts where they work best back at the office or in their sales territory. Using temporary booth staff allows your existing staff and sales force to keep running the business while you provide professional representation on the show floor. Salespeople often complain that being at a trade show puts them further behind in the work that they have to do at the office. Stressing about work clearly impacts their personalities and ability to sell on the show floor.

3 2. Your best salesperson might not be very effective on a show floor. The trade show experience is very different from selling in an office or boardroom. Not every salesperson is able to adapt to the high-sensory and high-intensity flood of interaction that occurs on a trade show floor in addition to being on his or her feet for 8-10 hours per day. Temporary booth staff regularly attend trade shows and are accustomed to the trade show environment. They understand how to sell and to be entertainers or facilitators in that atmosphere. 3. Your office staff knows your product better than anyone else, but how good are they at presenting it in a formal stage presentation? Your best boardroom presenters can easily get overwhelmed on a trade show stage if they aren t used to large moving crowds. Hiring a professional narrator who is comfortable speaking in front of large audiences can have a big impact on how well your product is perceived. A professional narrator has the stage presence, the vocal quality, and the ability to convey information clearly and engagingly that a non-professional would not. Ensure that your company is able to hire temporary trade show staff by setting aside some of your show budget to hire them. Set a Goal BEFORE YOU DIVE INTO HIRING PROFESSIONAL BOOTH STAFF FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT, YOU WILL WANT TO SET A CLEAR GOAL. This will help you to choose and hire the right type of staff. Ask yourself the following two questions: 1. What is my company s goal for attending the trade show? EXAMPLE: Our goal is to get 25 qualified leads who are ready to close within the next 3 months. 2. How can additional staff help us to achieve this goal? EXAMPLE: We need additional staff to qualify leads before passing them along to a senior sales representative.

4 Asking yourself these two questions will not only help you to set a goal for the trade show, it will also begin to make clear what type of additional staff you should hire. In the example above, it would make sense to hire an additional sales associate who could help to sell your product or services while qualifying the seriousness of the potential buyer. In the next section, we will go over all of the different professional representatives that you can hire to assist at your next show and how to choose the correct person. Know Your Staffing Options THERE IS A WIDE VARIETY OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PROFESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES THAT YOUR COMPANY CAN HIRE TO WORK WITH YOU AT THE EVENT. Some trade show managers are often surprised by how many different categories you can choose from, and it can be overwhelming. We have broken down the traditional and more specialized staffing categories to help you determine what would be best for your show. BOOTH HOSTS/HOSTESSES Booth hosts/hostesses are great for meeting a wide variety of different needs. If you simply need additional staff to assist in handling heavy waves of traffic, then a host would be your ideal hire. A good booth host will provide great customer service, distribute promotional material, and direct potential buyers to the appropriate staff member. If your booth is looking to provide excellent customer service with smiling faces, then a booth host/hostess is the right person for you. SALES ASSOCIATES Professional sales associates are specialized lead generators. These staffers have learned about your product and company ahead of time. They focus a majority of their time and energy on actively pulling people into the booth and qualifying the lead before passing the person to the company salesperson for further conversation.

5 Sales associates often blend in as an employee of the company, answering general questions about your company and/or product as well as taking orders from those who are ready to buy. If you are looking to increase the amount of leads you acquire from a trade show, then hiring a sales associate is the perfect addition to the campaign. NARRATORS & DEMONSTRATORS These highly adept and confident public speakers will convey your presentation or product demonstration with clarity and style. They will familiarize themselves with your company, products, and services and will always convey the appropriate image. All of our spokespersons are skilled professionals and can utilize an ear prompter or ad lib when required. If your company does not have a presenter who is comfortable with speaking in large crowds or giving product demonstrations to groups of people, then hiring a narrator or demonstrator is a great option. INTERPRETERS Does your trade show attract a lot of non-native English-speaking attendees? If so, you can hire a professional interpreter to make international customers feel right at home. Interpreters greet potential buyers and help to bridge the language barrier. This will help your sales team to effectively communicate valuable information with buyers. SPECIALTY TALENT & CHARACTERS These are the crowd gatherers at a trade show. Specialty talent such as shoe shiners, chair massage therapists, and sommeliers can all be great additions to your booth to help draw people off of the floor. If your company has a mascot, having a costume character is a great way to attract and hold a crowd with a friendly, outgoing, highly visible character. Once you have a good idea of what type of staff you want to hire, you ll need to get into contact with a staffing agency.

6 Contact A Staffing Agency CONTACTING A NATIONAL EVENT STAFFING AGENCY IS THE NEXT STEP THAT YOU NEED TO TAKE TO HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF FOR YOUR TRADE SHOW BOOTH. An excellent staffing agency such as JVA, Inc. will help you to find the perfect staff member for your needs. Staffing agencies have large databases that are full of professional talent. The right agency has the experience to help you find the right staff member that will fit your brand and work great with your existing team. A staffing agency will send you pictures and bios of potential staff members so that you can learn more about them before hiring. At JVA you can even browse our talent selection. If you see someone that you like, you can get them on your team. Another bonus of working with a staffing agency is that they have talent that is nationwide and will be able to help you staff on location to avoid travel costs. Don t Wait Until Too Late YOU SHOULD GET INTO CONTACT WITH A STAFFING AGENCY AS SOON AS YOU DETERMINE THAT YOU WANT TO HIRE ADDITIONAL STAFF. Talent for trade shows goes quickly. Get into contact with a staffing agency as soon as possible to ensure you get the best match for your company. Contact JVA, Inc. today, and we can start working with you to find the best match for your company. WE HAVE BEEN IN BUSINESS FOR MORE THAN 45 YEARS. As the official staffing provider for most trade shows in North America, we can take care of all of your event staffing needs. Our account representatives work tirelessly to ensure that you have the best talent for your booth, and that your company is well-represented. Call us today at (800) , or send us an at info@jvainc.com.