How can you keep your trade show team healthy and energized?

Over-communicate; the more we clarify expectations the more impactful results we receive Partner closely with your Booth Captain; this gives the Event Lead a second set of eyes and ears on-site

As a practical matter, you’ve got to keep people hydrated and fed. A lot of time and money are spent on the guest experience, but staff are often overlooked. Due to locations and schedules, trade show staffers aren’t often given great options for healthy choices during a chaotic week. Add in the after-hours activities and it doesn’t take long for people to start to lose focus and energy. Find a way to work in space to provide bottled water, packets of sports drink powders, high-protein and salty snacks, and, if possible, some folding chairs.

Have a brief team meeting onsite, in the booth if possible. Review the basics, including booth layout, supplies, collateral, etc. A few other topics to include: -Booth locations and relevant info about competitors/potential competitors onsite -Key talking points/FAQs for any significant business news or issues -Swag - what it is, how to use it, who gets it The last one may seem a little silly, but I can’t tell you how many times we’ve had staff come afterward and ask what the swag WAS (laptop ring lights, cellphone wallets, etc.)!

1. Keep employee shifts short. 4 hours max so they remain energized. 2. Prep them: Their goal is conversation. 3. Keep booth open so employees have access to public & vice versa encouraging interaction. 3. Have a demo at back of booth to bring people into booth with various stations or things to look at to draw interest. They want to see, feel, touch, & talk. 4. Have a schwag giveaway combined with product info if possible. ie. plastic bag promotes your brand to everyone at show. 5. Always have a prize draw by your demo to collect contact info, business cards, scan tags for database - great conversation starter. Conversations are sales opportunities, & keep employees engaged and motivated. Time flies & shows do not become tedious.

Certainly schedule meetings with the team attending an event. Depending on number of people from your company attending, discuss who works the table and who walks the floor to meet other vendors. Make sure everyone's presentation is targeted and on point. Discuss the display that best invites people to stop at your booth. Change up the layout of your booth from one event to another to keep your approach fresh. Have a fun giveaway item. Never be caught sitting at your table with your laptop, stay focused and engaging.

2. Always pay for the x-tra padding on the carpeting so that teams' feet are crying at the end of each day & give the team breaks. It's good for them to see something other than the show floor.

It’s a fine line between an under and overstaffed booth. You want staff to be able to take breaks, get meals, and work the floor. That helps keep morale and energy up. Once morale drops off everything else doesn’t matter.

This year we provided new logo shirts for our team. This brings a sense of camaraderie while giving us a professional look! A bonus- it eases "what do we wear?" questions.

Footwear is the big one here! If you provide footwear, always send it out weeks in advance so they can be worn in. The last thing you need on day one is a massive issue with rubbing or blisters! Also, planning breaks and lunches is essential to ensure you are not left with an empty stand.

This is great for soft workers but my team has always been quick in & work hard & fast for their motivation is to be done by 4:00PM in time for Team Cocktails & a fun Team dinner since most people live in different states & enjoy a easy dinner with Friends so I always keep Work to a minimum an do out Show strategy at the next day breakfast & at the booth

If your team are PROFESSIONAL an they know the drill from years of Trade Show experience you do not need to treat them like Rookies! If you have new associates I would walk them through separately what are the show standards but before the show I always email the Agenda /everyone flight schedules/ floor plan / show times / Scheduled Buyer Appointments/ & a Standard page on Rules ie dress code/ no cell phones in booth or sitting or gathering together talking making you unapproachable to buyers We always had sales people positioned outside the booth handing out are sales brochure Then a new rookie had a experienced person helping guide them

While we want to have as many conversations as possible, it's essential to triage the people who visit your stand. Having a robust filtering system is vital to keep those people with the product or account knowledge busy to deal with the hot leads and the warm or colder leads to be followed up after the event.

To assist the team in performing at a high level you should, as part of the team, a sales manager or the company owner, all be on the floor supporting each other. All be visible, able assist in answering questions for sales member or clients. I always think it is fun and challenging to see the team results compared to yesterday or the year before. Call out to top producers with top sales, number of new accounts, largest sale, who sold the most of a new item or the most in a catagory. This can assist to giving a friendly challene and get them to set some personal goals. I do not like to get beat! Top people can give constructive ideas to others that are struggling. Collabrate! All in it together!

Involve them in the process and ensure they have downtime during the show to recharge. Make sure they are getting enough food and drink. Have a simple rota to give give people a break and time to themselves. After the trade show, show appreciation and recognition where appropriate and ensure this is communicated to the relevant people in the organisation, not just the team that delivered the trade show. It is important that people contributions are valued, appreciated and communicated to help them grow and develop their career.

Every other night off-duty. A lot of times your team is on the floor for 8-10 hours then must attend a dinner or cocktail hour. Insist on every other night off from dinners and mixers: room service, bathtub, and an early night.

Try to create a work environment that is engaging and challenging, emphasis the principle of "paying it forward" meaning whatever you do as a part of a team, is done with the next team members interest in mind.

Don't go mad on the first night in the bar! I know it is easy to do, but keep an eye on the teams and make sure you don't put pressure on them to be social after the show is over. It's often to the detriment of performance the next day.

Don't force staff to attend after hours functions that are not really essential. After 8 or more hours at a show, some personal time is important. Gather for a meal as a group but let individuals choose what to do later. A pre day meeting over breakfast is also good to plan the day and recap previous days.