How to Motivate Your Trade Show Booth Staff

Your trade show exhibit attracts attention, but it’s the employees that get people to stay. It’s important to hire the right staff to manage your trade show booth and find ways to keep them motivated. After all, standing in front of an exhibit and talking to people takes a lot of physical and mental effort!

Below we share the best ways to keep your trade show booth staff motivated and engaged for your events. As a result, you can stimulate your marketing efforts, generate more leads and increase ROI.

Let’s get started!

Choose Experienced Employees

Not everyone loves attending trade show exhibits, but don’t make the mistake of throwing someone inexperienced in there. This is your opportunity to leave a long-lasting impression on visitors, so choose employees that will represent your brand in a positive light. The employees you select for your trade show booth should be knowledgeable and experienced in your products, services and promotions.

Pick People Who Want to Attend

If you’re lucky, you’ll have seasoned team members who are willing to attend. People who are naturally friendly and personable – and also excited about attending a trade show – are your best candidates. Not all companies have this luxury, however, so you may be forced to choose people who are less than enthusiastic. Fortunately, an incentive might make the commitment more attractive…

Provide Incentives

For those who need a nudge, incentives and rewards can pay off. Everyone loves to be recognized for their efforts, so consider ways to reward individuals in your company. Ideas include a cash bonus, gift card, paid time off or free lunch. Even small incentives go a long way in motivating employees at a trade show and making them more willing to represent your company at an event.

Set Realistic Goals

No matter how great your team is, they need direction. Be sure to send your employees off with a list of goals. Each trade show should have its own objective. Some of the most common goals include a new product launching, generating more leads, building brand awareness, retaining current customers and entering a new market. Knowing the milestones you plan to reach can also help you select the best booth attendants.

Prep Them with Information

A week or two before the event, provide your team members with relevant information for the event. The information should align with your goals and position your employees as industry experts. Review the goals you have set for the event so that everyone is on the same page. Now is also the time to go over trade show etiquette such as dress code, behaviors and making first impressions.

When the trade show is complete, have a follow up meeting to discuss successes and failures. Use this information to guide your next trade show event. Over time, you’ll build a dependable, motivated trade show team that knows the secrets to success.