As a small business owner with a degree in Aerospace Engineering who participates in a lot of trade shows, I often wonder why engineers and executives get such a bad rap from their colleagues in the booth.
The way I see it, having an engineer (or other technical expert) in your booth is a bonus because he actually creates your offerings and knows them better than anyone else. Also, your company’s executives are great to see on-site because they care about your company’s success and they have the authority to influence decisions (buyers love to meet executives). What could be wrong about that?
I know, I know… it’s not always that simple. In my experience, there are four main challenges that come from inviting your engineers and executives to spend time in the booth. In this article, I’ll identify these potential issues and then provide solutions so that you can better utilize the presence of these VIPs during your next trade show.
Challenge 1: Engineers may lack the social skills required to draw in and engage attendees who are walking by your booth.
Most engineers won’t be offended when their profession is stereotyped as less outgoing than others. In fact, there’s an old joke about this,
Q: How do you tell the difference between an extroverted engineer and an introverted engineer?
A: An extroverted engineer stares at the other person’s shoes when they talk (while an introverted engineer stares at his own shoes).
That being said, especially these days, few engineers are socially inept.
Solution 1: Prepare before your event (discuss who will be attending, how the process will work on-site, and anything else that may have otherwise come as a surprise). Then, position your technical experts near the back of your booth and introduce appropriate visitors to them (instead of requiring your engineers to draw attendees in from the aisles).
Challenge 2: Executives may lack the patience for salespeople, attendees who are attending to learn about your industry, and poorly/un- qualified leads.
In their regular lives, your executives go out of their way protect their time, hiring assistants to screen calls and selecting only the most important meetings to attend. However, trade shows provide the rare opportunity for industry professionals to enjoy in-person access to your executives; you have a choice to make this a positive or negative experience.
Solution 2: Just like your engineers, it is important to position executives near the back of your booth so that you have an opportunity to pre-qualify any attendees they will speak with (if you discuss your executives’ areas of interest before the event, you will be able to make the most relevant introductions). Also, schedule booth staff shifts so that executives aren’t required to spend extended hours in the booth (this further reduces their potential interactions with the wrong attendees).
Challenge 3: Both engineers and executives may become too chatty about specific technical details, their vision for the company, and special projects they are currently working on or have just completed.
One of the best qualities of engineers and executives is that they tend to be very passionate about their work. This passion is inspiring, contagious, and propels the kind of conversations that last for hours. The issue is that a trade show booth really isn’t the right place for lengthy conversations like these.
Solution 3: Focus in-booth conversations by planning for organized demonstrations (or mini-presentations) with talking points, etc. which will progress from a set beginning to a set ending. Then, bring extra business cards so that you can manage the flow of traffic by politely interrupting a lengthy discussion and offering a way to continue later. Finally, schedule time for your engineers and executives to meet with important contacts outside of the booth (it is best if most meetings are arranged before you arrive in the convention city, but it can also be beneficial to leave a little flexibility to accommodate any last minute requests).
Challenge 4: Your remaining booth staff may feel less comfortable around company engineers and executives, causing them to perform poorly in the booth.
The presence of engineers and executives can be intimidating to fun loving, social booth staffers and, while a certain level of professionalism and attention to detail is important, it is not necessary to remove all of the enjoyable aspects of exhibiting to ensure your company’s success. It is in everyone’s best interest to do a great job on-site and it is your job to help them work together.
Solution 4: Oftentimes, a brief discussion amongst all parties can remove most of the discomfort. Explain to engineers and executives that your staff has been trained in exhibiting best practices so they can respect your staffers’ expertise. Also, remind your team that they will need to be on their best behavior at all times (whether or not your company’s VIPs are in the booth). Once everyone understands their roles, it will be easier to work together. If you are still seeing issues, arrange your booth schedule so that there is less overlap between the appearances of the most intimidating and intimidated staffers or add an extra representative to act as a buffer.
The key to exhibiting with engineers and executives is to provide opportunities for them to do their best. Remember that your company’s VIPs aren’t making your life more difficult on purpose; they are just as interested in helping your company succeed as you are (and in some cases more so). Help them do that by taking their strengths and weaknesses into consideration as you plan for your next event.
Robyn Davis - Owner, When I Need Help (WINH)
Robyn helps exhibitors improve their results at conventions and trade shows by providing on-site sales and marketing support, pre-/post-event consulting services, and convenient products. Contact Robyn to discuss your situation today!
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