by Gail Gromaski

Created on: June 23, 2009

Companies can spend an infinite amount of money on trade show booth displays, but a luxurious display can only go so far in terms of generating sales. Your display may attract attendees to your booth, but does your booth staff attract attendees to your product? Competition among many trade show exhibiting companies can be fierce, so even the slightest faux pas in etiquette made by a member of your booth staff can cause a prospective customer to run to your competitors, possibly costing your company a lot of money in potential sales. Making sure your booth staff members abide by the following simple rules of trade show booth etiquette can ensure attendees are not driven away from your company by something that is easily preventable.

1. No cell phone use in or within eye-shot of the booth. Not talking on a phone while in the booth is a no-brainer; however, some booth staff members think it's okay just to step into the aisle and talk on their phone, even if they're only a mere two feet away from the edge of the booth. If there is any way that attendees can associate the staff member with your company-whether it be by company shirt, name tag, or just by seeing them in the booth earlier- this "talking in the aisle" strategy is futile. Make sure staff cell phones are on silent at all times, and only allow phone calls to be made when staff are out of eye-shot of the booth, preferably before or after their scheduled shift. It is also a good idea for staff members to change their voice mail greetings to reflect their booth work schedule, telling callers when they will be unavailable and when their calls will be returned so they can plan accordingly.

2. No computer use. Unless being used to facilitate a sale made by an attendee at the booth, computers should be out of sight and ideally locked-up during show hours. Urgent quotes and sales orders can usually be made after hours or by other company employees still at the office.

3. No grouping. Booth staff members chatting together in groups can be intimidating to attendees and may deter them from approaching. If your staff members cannot stay a reasonable distance away from each other, assign each person a "zone" in the booth from which they are not allowed to leave unless it is to greet someone approaching the booth. More than one staff member approaching an attendee can also be intimidating, so instruct staff members to approach each visitor individually. Additional staff members can be called upon later to provide

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