In order to kick off a great show, you need to hold a staff kick off meeting in the booth before the start of the show. My colleague, Doug Fick of Retalix, is one of the best at it.
The meeting usually takes place in the booth a few hours before the opening of the show. Mandatory, the meeting is a place to set up the expectations to the staff and give the team a complete understanding of what is happening. The elements are:
- An overview of the show including orientation in the hall, rest rooms, hours and where to find food on breaks.
- Expectations: manners, no eating, drinking, when to take calls on their cell.
- How the lead device works and how to qualify and collect leads. Also: what the different color badges mean.
- A few words from execs to energize the team.
- Some notes on which customers of note might be calling.
- What to do with the press.
This is a starting place. Many times you can have a debrief at the end of the day and even repeat the morning meeting each day of the show. However, the single meeting usually works with a medium-sized booth (20×20 to 40×40) staff.
The point of all of this is that leads are by far the most importnat element of the show. If nothing else, be sure they understand that.
TTSG
