Experts, Not Salespeople: Who Should Really Staff Your Stand
Half of trade show visitors told the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) they wanted to meet a company’s research and development people. Only 3% of exhibitors made them available. The study covered more than 9,000 attendees and 800 exhibitors, and CEIR’s later Attendee Floor Engagement Study found the gap still open. Freeman’s research points the same way. Visitors cross a hall to talk to the people who build the thing.
What the biggest stands are doing
At CONEXPO-CON/AGG in Las Vegas this March, Volvo Construction Equipment put more than 100 product experts into its 55,000 square foot booth. Its advice to visitors before the show described that team as engineers, product managers, service specialists and application experts, and urged owners to arrive with specific questions about fuel costs, uptime or jobsite safety. That is a stand designed around questions rather than pitches.
CEIR’s analysis of thousands of open answers shows why it works. Having questions answered on the spot ranked fifth among reasons to attend, behind seeing new products, interacting with them and engaging with industry experts. Almost every item on that list needs someone on the stand who knows the product inside out.
Small-stand version: Ask regular customers which question they can never get a clear answer to online, and make sure whoever is on the stand can answer it in under a minute.
Rota the expert, then publish the times
Few small firms can spare their lead engineer for three full days, and they do not need to. Put the expert on the rota for the windows last year’s scans or the organiser’s footfall data show as busiest, then tell people when to find them. Red Tractor did exactly this at the Pig & Poultry Fair in May, announcing in advance that its new chief executive would be on the stand from 12.15 to 1.15 and again from 4.00 to 5.00pm. A named person at a named time gives visitors a reason to plan a visit.
Small-stand version: Print “Ask the engineer: 11am and 2pm daily” on a stand graphic and in every email that goes out before the show.
Bring a customer onto the stand
Often the most persuasive voice on a stand belongs to someone who does not work for the exhibitor. Volvo CE booked appearances by members of Discovery Channel’s Gold Rush, the gold mining series, including Tony Beets. Visitors listen differently to someone who works with the kit than to someone paid to sell it. A small exhibitor can borrow the idea at its own scale: a loyal client who spends an hour on the stand, talks through a real project and takes questions from peers. That does more for trust than a wall of testimonials.
Small-stand version: Offer a favourite customer free tickets and lunch in return for one scheduled hour, with a seat and a screen showing their project.
Brief the whole team, not just the experts
Experts still need a front of house. InstallerSHOW’s own advice to exhibitors this year noted that installers “increasingly value technical expertise and face to face conversations before making purchasing decisions.” Refresh PR’s write up of the show’s exhibitor day recommended “a friendly, approachable person at the front who can guide visitors to the right rep.” That greeter needs to know who is on the stand at what time and how to hand a visitor over without making them repeat themselves. Engineers need a brief too, on lead capture, so a great technical conversation does not walk away unrecorded.
Small-stand version: Keep one A4 sheet behind the counter listing who covers what and when.
Layout plays its part: a meeting table, a demo point and an open front let a greeter and an expert work side by side. Stand Between introduces exhibitors to vetted stand builders who can plan a stand around those conversations. Our guide on how to choose an exhibition stand builder covers what to ask. If you have a show coming up, get in touch.
