At a trade show the most important element is not your product or how your trade show display is set up. The most important element is your staff. Your trade show staff is the key to having a successful show. They are the ones who represent your company and have the responsibility of prequalifying the visitors to your exhibit. They are also the ones who convert prospects into buyers.

The ideal staff will truly believe in your company and products. They will have to have good customer and communication skills and know what the goals and objectives are for the trade show. Your staff should have extensive training before the show. It is helpful to use a practiced script that greets the visitors, introduces the staff member and has a brief overview of the company.

Everyone who is going to be working in your exhibit should know exactly what is going on and what you expect out of them. They all should know when to arrive, what to wear, and how long they will be on the trade show floor.

One important thing to remember is not to over staff your trade show exhibit. If your area is too crowded it may keep visitors from coming into your area. You should also have a plan for doing follow-ups right after the show ends. Each staff person should have a list of people to follow up with. Effective ways to do this include sending out marketing materials, phone calls and letters.

To get the most out of your trade show exhibit you need to have an excellent staff. They are the key to closing sales and getting new leads to follow. You can have the best displays and the biggest trade show exhibit. However, if you don’t have a friendly and knowledgeable staff your trade show will not be as effective.

No-one said I couldn’t have some fun with this so while the boss is not looking I checked out Booth Babes which is a tongue-in-cheek look at what happens at conventions and trade shows around the country with an eye for great looking products and fantastic concepts and … OK I’m lying – it has pics of really hot looking babes at trade show displays so now I have to write some words but on the basis a picture says a thousand words have some eye candy too:

There is something about a great looking car with a cool looking woman spread all over it but I have never had the same reaction with tire booths until now:

While babes are one of the #1 methods of gaining attention for your booth at the event, remember when you are hiring them that you are not just paying for a pretty face and a great looking body in a skimpy outfit.  There is a very serious side to all of this – the eye catching allure is supposed to turn into a cold, hard business deal and sales and revenues for your company.

Take your time interviewing booth babes; you are looking for someone who can hold a conversation, is approachable and convivial as well as professional – yes you can have a great time and laugh and have fun BUT this is business first; you are looking for booth babes who will think business and let the attendee think whatever else is on their mind but they also need to bring the attendees around to a business demonstration or discussion and hand off to booth staff who are their to take the conversation on to a business level.

There’s no harm in looking though so knock yourself out

Car Show Booth Babes

The clock is ticking down, your team is down by 6 and a tense silence has fallen over the field. Then you hear it…”We want a touchdown! We want a touchdown!” The cheerleaders have taken hold and start to jump around, clap and scream. The crowd is on its feet cheering right along with them. The bleachers start to rumble with excitement. The players turn and look at their personal pep rally and pump their fists with a newfound energy. The ball is snapped…its in the air…the receiver catches the ball…breaks one tackle…then another…he clears the goal line…TOUCHDOWN!!! The crowd goes crazy; the cheerleaders start their dance and lead the crowd in the victory song.

What would a football game be without the cheerleaders? They aren’t necessary to the game but they add a level of excitement that no one else could bring. So, why are the girls who grace us with their presence at trade shows often looked upon as tacky or a gimmick? They have the same job to do as cheerleaders. They are there to get customers excited about a product, get them interested and eventually to hopefully open their wallets.

The days of “booth babes” seem to be slowing exponentially. Women empowerment is on the move again and society is focusing more on ‘real beauty’ rather than superficial standards. This is not good news for the scantily clad babes of auto and gaming trade shows. There are always going to be women in this world who are going to make their living off their looks but their employment opportunities are being seriously limited. What better way to attract people’s attention to your product than with beautiful smiling women ready and willing to flatter your potential customers at the drop of a dime?

Consider the girls seen at every auto trade show across the globe. In a world of fast cars, bumping systems and roaring engines, it just wouldn’t be complete without beautiful women. Call it a stereotype, sexist or whatever you wish, but these shows are generally geared towards a male audience. There is no better way to get these testosterone pumping men to open their wallets than to have gorgeous girls flatter them. Think about this for a minute…how empty would photos of bright, shiny sports cars be without a beautiful woman dressed in a bikini sprawled out on the hood? Very, very empty.

Let’s switch gears now and think about gaming trade shows. Almost every video game released today has been sexed up with at least one sexy female lead character. Again, these shows and the games are aimed at a mostly male audience. Most of the guys attending these shows are geeky (at least by our typical societal standards) who only dream of having a scantily clad model as their very own. Bring in the booth babes. Many of these girls dress up like the characters in the video game they are promoting. Real life girls as video game vixens is every gamer’s fantasy. These girls make the guys feel good, tell them about a new game and hopefully in the end get the company a loyal new customer.

During such hard economic times, companies need to get creative in order to let their product stand out among the crowd. Some people deem booth babes as a gimmick and claim that their use degrades the reputation of the company. I think gimmick is a harsh word. Booth babes are just another marketing strategy used to appeal to a specific audience. So I say let these girls don their short shorts, fishnets and knee high boots. Let them loose in the trade show arena and sell their little hearts out. In the end, you walk away with higher sales and they can walk away knowing that somewhere, they are the focus of a guy’s dream and all they had to do was collect a paycheck.

About the Author

Mat Kelly is the president of ExhibitDEAL, a leading provider of trade show displays and accessories. While not employing booth babes themselves, ExhibitDEAL can be found line at: ExhibitDEAL.com .