here’s nothing that will alienate an on-site exhibit team faster than being left in the dark about what’s going on at a trade show. Yet that’s exactly what happens when exhibit managers get so entrenched in the details and deadlines. They can overlook the communications and find themselves assuming the staff will pick up on the show goals and objectives by mind reading, osmosis, or intuition.

Communication takes work. Fifteen years ago, I haunted the company halls distributing my show plan in hard copy to every appropriate person — exhibit staff, stakeholders, and vendors. Today, I still use the same show-plan outline, but e-mail makes it quicker and easier to distribute. Still, e-mail doesn’t replace the need for face-to-face orientation and training, especially when it comes to hands-on demo training. Exhibit staff need both an on-site orientation to the booth, and an off-site meeting to review corporate strategy, products, and sales/boothmanship training. The following outlines will help you plan and conduct these critical components of your program. Use them as outlines when planning your on-site orientation and off-site training meetings to make sure you cover all of your bases without forgetting anything important.

On-Site Orientation
I usually hold on-site orientation the afternoon before the show opens; 5:00 p.m. is a good starting time. By then, the exhibit construction is completed and all of the staff will have arrived on site. The meeting can last from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on 1) the size and complexity of the exhibit, 2) the number of presentations that need previewing, and 3) how much pre-show communication people have already received. Given the noise and distraction of the show floor, I try to limit the on-site orientation to items that need in-booth, hands-on props to explain.

Exhibit Layout:
Give your booth staff an exhibit walkthrough and point out the location of each product displayed. During the walkthrough, take a moment to introduce the personnel who will be staffing each area, if they’re not already well acquainted.

Preview any product demonstrations, live presentations, or in-booth entertainment so staff are familiar with them.

Note the location of the exhibit’s meeting rooms and discuss any scheduling procedures.

Make sure everyone knows who has the keys to any locked areas, kiosks, or cupboards. Stress the importance of keeping these areas locked at all times to avoid theft.

Point out available in-booth storage space that staff members can use for storing coats, laptops, purses, etc. It is an exhibit manager’s worst nightmare when staff members bring bulky suitcases on the last day of the show, expecting to store them in the exhibit. To head this off, show them the minimal storage you’ve set aside and identify any on-site coat-check or luggage-check areas.

Identify the location of your exhibit’s first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, gang box of supplies, and any beverages/snacks for staff members.

Venue Floor Plan:
Explain where your exhibit sits in relation to the rest of the show. Identify the location of any business partners or competitors.

Point out the location of any entrances/exits, restrooms, coat-check areas, shuttle-bus pickup locations, fire alarms, etc.

Discuss the location, offerings, and hours of operation for exhibitor lounges, on-site catering services, concession stands, and/or restaurants.

Staff Tools:
Point out the location of collateral literature to be distributed to attendees.

Arrange for a binder of company information to be kept at the reception desk or information counter. This binder should include press releases, data sheets, company phone lists, sales-territory maps, product-pricing guides, etc. Make sure staff members are aware of its contents and location.

Discuss all promotional programs, including the location of giveaway items and the qualification procedures involved in those promotions.

Identify a message center where staffers can leave notes and business cards for other staff members.

Distribute a staffing schedule with cell-phone numbers for all exhibit-staff members.

Lead-Retrieval System:
Give each staff member a hands-on demonstration of the exhibit’s lead-retrieval system.

Discuss the criteria for a qualified lead and explain any rating systems involved in the qualification process.

Create and discuss a lead-gathering plan B in case your electronic system fails during the show.

Explain the importance of accurately and completely recording information on lead forms. Communicating the monetary value of a good lead vs. the worthlessness of a poor, illegible, or incomplete lead can help staff members to understand the need for detail and accuracy while capturing leads.

Off-Site Training
Some information, however, shouldn’t be provided within your exhibit — and within earshot of your competitors. Some of my best corporate reconnaissance missions have taken place outside of my competitors’ exhibits during their pre-show product-training meetings. Your off-site training session can be held in a meeting room in the convention center, a local restaurant with private meeting rooms, or at the hotel where your exhibit staff is staying — preferably the evening before the show opens. Provide transportation if your meeting location and staff hotel aren’t in close proximity.

Management Kick-off:
Invite the highest member of the management team attending the show to kick-off the training with a brief welcome. Ask him or her to 1) highlight corporate and individual-staff goals and objectives, 2) share management’s commitment to and support of the trade show program, and 3) explain the preparation time and corporate investment involved in exhibiting at the show. This kick-off helps to demonstrate the actual value of the program.

Remind all staff members that they are representing the entire company throughout the show; professional behavior is required at all times. This is also a good time for management to express its appreciation for the long hours and sore feet staff members will experience during the show.

Introduce all staff members and announce any assignments (i.e. PR contacts, technical staff for demos, competitive intelligence/research, attendance at educational seminars or sponsored events, etc.).

Strategy Review:
Review the attendee profile and the projected attendance.

Discuss your target audience.

Identify any VIP customers/prospects who may visit the exhibit — and the company’s strategy for making them feel especially welcome.

Note all measurable objectives and explain all key messages.

Explain all pre-show, at-show, and post-show promotional programs.

Product Overviews:
Discuss the features, benefits, applications, specifications, availability, and pricing of all products.

Conduct a competitive product review. Make sure to focus on your company’s differentiators.

Consider providing pocket-sized, laminated cheat sheets to staff members, highlighting this information.

Frequently Asked Questions:
Review the 10 most frequently asked questions (FAQs) from your last trade show and offer appropriate answers and/or key messages.

Boothmanship:
Explain the difference between selling on the show floor and selling in the field. Discuss successful verbal and non-verbal communication. If you aren’t familiar with these distinctions, find someone in sales or a professional staff trainer to help you.

Offer suggestions for effective opening lines that will help customers open up to a conversation. Consult a sales expert if you don’t feel comfortable or qualified in this area.

List the three most effective questions staff members can ask to qualify a suspect into a prospect. For example: 1) Which products do you currently use? 2) What kind of projects are you currently working on? 3) What’s the size of your usual project?

Review basic booth etiquette (i.e. no eating, drinking, gum chewing, talking on cell phones, messaging with Blackberries, talking in closed circles with other exhibit staff, reading the newspaper, etc.).

Housekeeping Details:
Inform your staff of all show dates and hours of operation. Communicate the expectation that they will be at their stations in the exhibit 30 minutes before shift changes.

Make sure all staff members have received their show badges, and remind them to wear their badges at all times on the show floor. Explain the color codes.

Discuss the dress code for your exhibit and after-hours events. Handing out staff’s show shirts at your off-site training is a great incentive for them to attend.

Inform staff members how to get to and from the show. Identify available transportation (shuttles, taxis, directions if walking, etc.), including pick-up and drop-off locations, hours of operation, etc.

Review the staffing schedule and introduce daily booth captains.

Set a time and location for a mandatory, daily debriefing at the end of each work shift or day.

Review the events schedule and identify mandatory vs. optional events.

Communicate your expectations for after the show, including any duties staff members are responsible for during tear down.

You don’t have to do it alone!
If all of the items on these checklists intimidate you, know that you don’t have to do it all yourself. Recruit upper management, sales management, product managers, and even outside sales trainers or videotapes to help you prepare your staff. e