The following article is the Second article in Exhibit City New’s Show Floor Etiquette Series. Please click here for the first installment.
On Your Best Booth Behavior
by Danelle Dodds, Exhibit City News
When it’s your first time in a convention booth, it’s easy to feel like a deer in headlights. The pressure to be brilliant is significant; after all, 85 percent of exhibitors believe the performance of their booth staff influences their success on the show floor. The weight of achievement, especially in an unfamiliar landscape, can shake you. But how do you steady yourself when it’s your first time in the field?
Welcome to our second installment of Rookie on the Exhibit Show Floor, where we demystify the exhibit experience and make authorities out of amateurs.
Meet Our Expert
Meghan Shott, CMP, DES, is a critical player in Meeting Professionals International (MPI) at the global and chapter levels. Shott serves on the MPI Association Professionals Council and chairs its Marketing Communication Committee for the New Jersey chapter. Her volunteer commitment to the industry also includes being a dedicated International Association of Exhibitions & Events (IAEE) member.
Professionally, Shott has over 15 years of experience in meeting planning, exhibition, marketing, and communications in the fields of non-profit, agency, corporate, and associations. She has managed hundreds of events,meetings, and tradeshows. She is the Manager of Business Partners and Exhibits for the New Jersey Association for Justice, a statewide association of trial lawyers.
She brings her decade and a half of experience and training to the ECN Rookie on the Show Floor education series and coaches you on preparing for your first role in an exhibit booth.
Pre-Game Preparation
As any seasoned pro will tell you before you walk onto a show floor, you should have already traversed thousands of steps in the preparation process.
Create Your Online Presence: Create a robust online profile in the exhibitor portal. Include your photo, logo, company details, and social media handles. By establishing a presence in the directory, prospective clients can find you more easily, both in advance and on the show floor.
App-solutely Essential: Download the convention app for the exhibit experience in your back pocket. Not only will it save you on the show floor, but it will also allow you to see event details at a moment’s notice.
Study Guide: The exhibit portal is the CliffsNotes for the entire convention. Before arrival: find client, competitor, and layout information. Take advantage of appointment scheduling and pre-set appointments with key clients.
Survival Kit: Build and bring your booth survival kit. Include must-have items like breath mints, hand sanitizer, pain relievers, antacids, and Band-Aids. Helpful elements like scissors, tape, and a stapler and staples can be handy. Pack a refillable water bottle and a few shelf-stable snacks to fuel you if you can’t step away. Remember a sweater or light jacket, as temperatures can fluctuate. Grab extra business cards, pens, and small notebooks to scribble details. But pack tight, booths are notoriously limited in storage space.
Healthy Hustle
The art of business requires a healthy body and mind. Caring for yourself first makes you into a professional masterpiece.
Early Bird Advantage: Conventions often mean traveling to different time zones. Whenever possible, arrive with enough time to allow your body to adjust to the time difference.
Get Your Beauty Rest: A full night’s sleep ensures some pep in your step. Studies show adequate sleep lowers your stress, improves your mood, and sharpens your mental capacities.
Immunity Boost: The convention floor is a haven for handshakes. To keep your immunity up, take your vitamins and wash your hands often.
Just Add Water: Travel and full days on the show floor can sap your body of hydration. Remember to hydrate well and often.
Be On Your Best Booth Behavior
The world is a stage, and your booth is in the spotlight. Remember that you’re always on.
Don’t Back It Up: As guests approach your booth, they want to see a friendly face. Stand facing the aisle.
Take a Stand: The show floor has an active atmosphere. Shott points out, “The best and most effective exhibitors are engaging. Being a friendly and active participant in all aspects will be far better than sitting behind your table in your booth.” Her advice is to avoid sitting down and position yourself in front of tables and open areas.
Get on the Same Page: If you’re lucky, you’ll share booth time with a team. Coordinate lunch and break schedules with your colleagues before the show floor opens to ensure you always have someone in the booth—and that everyone gets adequate time to enjoy the show and take breaks.
Food for Thought: Never eat in your booth unless you have an in-booth reception.
Be a Guiding Light: Impress your clients by pre-scouting essential locations on the show floor. You’ll be the resident expert when someone needs to know how to get to the nearest restroom, lunch spot, or their next appointment.
Dress for Success
You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Savvy specialists know that your style must also be strategic.
Don’t be a Heel: If one item of clothing is the foundation of a successful show, it’s your shoes. Exhibit floors involve miles of walking and hours of standing, so don’t try out new shoes. Wear a professional pair that is comfortable and can go the distance. If appropriate, embrace the current trend of nice sneakers with business suits.
Well-Positioned: The events on the exhibit floor can find you standing, sitting, crouching, and hustling. Ensure your business attire can stand up if you must sit down. Wear clothing that fits your situation.
Final Thoughts
Before you walk onto the floor, Shott has some final advice.
Capture the Content: Consider the whirlwind of the exhibit. You may meet hundreds of contacts in a few short days, so remember to capture the details. Write notes in the lead retrieval system, the Notes app on your phone, a small notebook, or on the back of a business card. Hone a system that works for you that doesn’t rely on your photographic memory.
Connection is Everywhere: You may think your networking is only happening on the carpet of your booth. But the reality is that engagement possibilities start the minute you leave your hotel room. From standing in line at Starbucks to chatting in the elevator to making a serendipitous connection at the Welcome Reception, every moment has the potential for magic. Some of your best conversations can happen in a more relaxed atmosphere.
Attend Everything: To the above point, try to attend every ancillary event you can. Exhibits are the hub for networking receptions, client dinners, continuing education classes, workshops, and more. Experience as many as you can. You can potentially make a connection and learn something new about your craft or industry in the process.
It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint: ROI after an exhibit can appear in many forms. Not every handshake will end in a sale. Relationship-building is relevant to every industry. Each moment of engagement is a building block. Calculate your success not simply by sold business but also by the new connections you’ve made.
It’s Not a Goodbye; It’s a Hello: The biggest mistake you can make after the event is to file away the connections you’ve just spent three days planting. The post-event follow-up is crucial as the leads and contacts you made on the show floor are warm. Create a follow-up drip campaign to stay engaged. But be mindful and respectful not to come on too strong. Bombarding new connections is a no-no.
Everyone starts their journey somewhere. With our tips and tricks, you’ll be a few steps ahead of the pack.
Do you have additional suggestions to add to the list? Join the conversation on LinkedIn @exhibitcitynews! Keep following us for our next installments.
This story originally appeared in the Q3 2024 issue of Exhibit City News, p. 36. For original layout, visit https://issuu.com/exhibitcitynews/docs/ecn_q3_2024/36.
