TSEA’s website has a new article written by Gordon Nary titled, Improve Your 2012 Exhibiting Results. In the article he is interviewing Keith Reznick, President of Creative Training Solutions and Ed Jones, President of Constellation Communication Corporation.
Keith starts off in the article by saying:
Access to the web enables attendees to hit the show floor with an agenda. They know who they want to see and the questions they’ll ask; exhibit staff need to be prepared for this. Unfortunately most are not. A few years ago a colleague and I interviewed attendees as they left the floor. One of the questions we asked was, “What do you expect of exhibit workers?” Here’s what they had to say.
Then Ed makes the point that:
Attendees must be engaged in a valuable and persuasive experience that results in a commitment to take the next step in the sales process. Exhibitors who recognize this make sure that their exhibit staff has the knowledge and skill required to meet or exceed attendees’ expectations. When exhibit staff lacks the requisite skills and knowledge, acceptable ROI is difficult to achieve.
Gordon asks: What is the most surefire way to consistently and measurably improve exhibiting results?
Ed: Improve exhibit staff performance with prospects and customers.
Keith: 85% of an exhibitor’s success is determined by exhibit staff performance according to CEIR. Select, train and motivate your most important asset on the show floor – your exhibit staff – and you’ll generate better ROI.
Ed: Exhibit staff impact the success of almost everything exhibitors do to improve results. New exhibits, promotion, social media, these are all ultimately dependent on the dialogue between company personnel and the exhibitors’ target audience. The better the dialogue, the better the results.
The CEIR research that Keith was referring to is a report titled: Exhibit Staff Practice Summaries. A key point in the study is:
Attendees place a high importance on product knowledge; this coincides with attendees’ desires to utilize the face-to-face interaction throughout the purchase process. Attendees chose the following attributes as the three most important (in order):
1. Knowledge about product or solution
2. Willingness to provide information (helpful)
3. Credibility
The conclusion is that exhibiting companies must continue to bring the most experienced and best-trained staff members to exhibitions.
Francis Friedman of Time & Place Strategies strongly recommends you bring the A-Team. Listen in as he outlines the attributes of the A-Team:
Let me know how you are handling your booth staff training and what results you are experiencing.
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