Great question, Emily. A lot of booth staffers simply fail to apply fundamental rules of human behavior at trade shows. Two or three staffers will just stand around in a cluster talking to each other. That’s basically saying to a tradeshow attendee, “Don’t bother us; we’re busy.” Then, if an attendee actually gets close enough, the booth staffer says, “Do you have any questions?”

You wouldn’t engage a friend that way.

You would first make a comment relevant to the both of you. You know, make some conversation: “Did you watch the inauguration?” was a natural question I was asked in January. Or how about something simple like, “Are you staying at a hotel nearby?”… “Did you walk over?”… “Isn’t this weather amazing?” It doesn’t really matter so long as it feels human. Booth staff should first be in the business of finding a way into the middle of a conversation.

The best stories are the ones that start in the middle and circle their way back to the beginning, anyway. When you do that successfully at a trade show, you get the attendee “into the mix.”

Most booth staffers just don’t get that. The main problem is a lot of people who show up at trade shows to man booths don’t have the necessary skill sets. That’s why Magnet Productions ends up doing so much consulting and booth staff training. These folks need to understand appropriate and fruitful ways of approaching attendees.

When conducting a training session, I sometimes just give the booth staffers a simple exercise. I say, “All you do is read their badge.” That’s it. I tell them to walk up to an attendee, flip their badge over, if necessary, and just say, “I see that you’re with [insert company name]. What do you do for them?”

People will answer that question. They’re not going to say, “None of your business.” But if you ask them a question for which there’s a “no” response, (such as “Can I help you?”), there will be a “no” response. It’s just simple sales technique.

It also works because people love to talk about themselves. It gets the trade show attendee engaged. It’s about making contact and asking the types of questions that get desired results. And it’s essential that your booth staffers “get that.”

Do you have an industry-related question you’d like answered on “Hey Newman”? Send him an e-mail and get your inquiry answered on the blog.