How to Staff Your Education Conference Exhibits for Success

By Keith Reznick

I'm thrilled to be offering you a series of articles and radio interviews with STS on exhibit marketing and selling. Why? Because many professionals marketing to schools are experiencing a renewed focus on improving the results from their exhibits at education conferences. This is the first of a series of articles and companion radio shows I'll be delivering to you with STS, and it gets to the heart of the matter: your staffing strategy. I encourage you to take five minutes to read this article, then listen to me unpack the topic with Glen McCandless on STS Radio, and then share this valuable insight with your colleagues.

What we know is this: A key success factor is your choice of who will staff your exhibit. In attendees’ eyes, your exhibit staff IS your company or organization. Research conducted by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (ceir.org) has found: 1) 85% of an exhibitor’s success lies in the performance of the exhibit staff, and 2) on the show floor people are the most influential factor in educators' perceptions of a supplier, followed by the company brand, and finally its products and services.

Relationship Building Is a High Priority for Marketing to Schools at Educator Conferences

It's a fact that educators place a high value on personal relationships when making purchasing decisions. We all know that. Recognizing the impact of the relationship on sales outcome heightens the importance of how, and with whom, you staff your exhibit. People buy from people and your exhibit staff will influence potential buyers' perception of your company and your products as well. Having the right staff in the booth can make the difference between a good conference and a great conference.

Like All Education Marketing, Planning Is the Key to Exhibit-Marketing Success

Where should your exhibit staffing strategy begin? Planning for every educator conference should start with a goal-setting exercise. Clearly defined goals will guide the many decisions (including exhibit staffing) you’ll need to make prior to, during, and after a conference. Should you staff with sales, marketing, technical personnel and/or product development managers? Would it be wise to include some of your educator customers? How many, and which senior executives should attend? Clearly defined goals will make it easier to make staffing decisions and prep you to answer several other important questions about your staffing plan.

Answers to Important Questions Will Guide Your Exhibit-Staffing Plan

Your answer to many staffing questions depends upon the skills, knowledge, and capabilities required to accomplish each of your specific goals. For example, if one of your goals is to generate 200 qualified leads, you might ask yourself, “What will our exhibit staff need to know and be able to do with each exhibit visitor to accomplish this goal?”

To generate 200 qualified leads (or accomplish other specific goals), what will our exhibit workers need to know about:

• Our products, services, key messages, differentiators, and value proposition?

• Our target audience’s (conference attendees’) specific needs and goals?

• Education-market conditions, trends, competition, and legislative policies?

• Our pre-, at- and post-conference promotions, announcements, and activities?

• Our plans for post-conference follow-up?

To accomplish our goals, what communication skills (at what level of competency) will be required to:

• Engage, greet, and welcome exhibit visitors?

• Probe to identify each visitor’s specific goals, challenges, needs, and interests?

• Qualify the opportunity?

• Present attendee-specific information at the right technical level?

• Weave in your key messages and competitive advantages?

• Ask the right questions and capture all the appropriate attendee information?

• Stimulate interest and set expectations for post-show follow-up?

What are the requisite capabilities (the melding of their knowledge and skills)? Some key questions include:

• What product(s) need to be demonstrated one-on-one and to small groups?

• Will staffers need to be able to talk at a technical level with one prospect, and then at a strategic level with the next?

• What specific roles will they be in (i.e., greeter, demonstrator, etc.)?

• What specific tasks will they need to perform?

Answering these questions about the skills, knowledge, and capabilities of people you consider will help you select the right exhibit staff to accomplish your goals. If the pool of people from which you can select your staff is small, try to select a mix of people who have complementary expertise and experience. One emerging trend at education conferences is the staffing of exhibits with a mix of employees, channel partners, customers and/or professional crowd gatherers. Third parties, especially educators who have enthusiastically embraced your products and have an established relationship with your company, add credibility to your offerings and improve conference results.

School Marketing Summary: Extra Emphasis on Staffing Strategy Will Yield Improved Return-on-Investment for Your Educator Conference Exhibits

In summary, for anyone who is responsible for education marketing, and who is investing in conference exhibits, I encourage you to put some extra emphasis on who represents your company at your next conference exhibit. Establishing specific goals and objectives and then carefully staffing your exhibit will enhance attendees’ experiences and will increase the odds that you leave the show and head home with a stack of hot leads.

Hear More Valuable Tips and Insight for Your Exhibit Staffing

Glen McCandless, leader of STS, invited Keith to explore this topic a bit more with an STS radio interview, reflecting on the insight offered by educators who acted as "mystery shoppers" and evaluated the quality of the exhibits at the 2011 Texas Computer Education Association conference.  This is a 15 minute show you can download and listen to anytime, anywhere!  Visit STS Radio to hear this and other terrific school-sales boosting shows, or simply click on the radio player below and prepare for exhibit success!