Standing booth duty is not the most glamorous of jobs. But if you approach it with a positive attitude and with the anticipation of business opportunities, then this makes it all worth while. But even standing booth duty can be dangerous.
When you are finished setting up your booth, and before the attendees start coming into the facility you should take the time to find all of the fire exits, especially those closes to your booth. You want to be prepared, so that in case of a fire, and everyone converges on the entrance you will know where to go in the shortest amount of time, and get out of the building safely.
In some facilities where they have held trade shows, seminars or expositions the fire exit have been locked as a precaution to prevent people from coming into the build illegally. That may be good to keep the bad people out, but what happens in case of a fire? You must check these at every trade show that you attend or exhibit.
If you are given the task of standing booth duty, remember it is a major responsibility since you are the representative for your company. When an attendee comes to the booth, how you respond, your demeanor and enthusiasm all reflect on your company. Stand tall, look sharp, smile, have good breath and act as if you were inviting someone into your home.
If you wear a suit, please take more than one suit with you to a show that last 3 days. Unless you arrive the day of the show, just stand booth duty for one day, then you don’t have to worry about having extra clothes and shoes.
Many trade shows use woman as a “greeter” at the booth. While it is nice to be confronted by a beautiful woman at a booth, it is also important that they dress appropriately, and represent your company in a professional manner. It is also important that these “greeters” know something about your company and your product so that they are able to answer some of the basic questions that will be asked by the attendees. (Now I am sure you see how important a booth script will be in this situation)
Many companies now dress their booth personnel it company Tee or Polo shirts with logo’s and company colors. Unless these are quick drying shirts, the can be washed and pressed every night you certainly need more than one shirt at a 3 days trade show.(How many people do you know will take the time to wash and press their shirt every night?) But many time companies are short sighted and give one shirt to each and everyone of the booth personnel. You can imagine how the shirt looks and smells after three days of booth duty.
If you want your people to look sharp, and be a walking advertisement for your company then make sure that they have enough shirts to always be dressed for success.
