Getting results from tradeshows should be the first objective - Lee from Expo Stars Interactive
1. How to select a hostess agency?
It is very hard to make a choice when everything should be right– the agency, the staff, the approach, and all in all, the whole planning and unfolding of the event.
If you ever felt that selecting a hostess agency in Copenhagen is like the luck of the draw, then you should definitely consider asking yourself and your team – What kind of people are we looking for? Are we ready to gamble and bet on the cheapest option? Are we ready to take a risk by not preparing a face-to-face strategy and not matching the hostess agency to our actual needs?
No, it is not hard to make a choice. You have plan A, with a number of objectives. You want to make sure that people are trained, well prepared and ready to be the face of your brand. People who are ready to speak for your reputation, who are experienced enough to look like they’re part of your team and deliver a memorable experience at your booth.
You don’t know what you want? Then you’ve got to make sure you know what you don’t. You don’t want people who just hang around at your booth, who turn up late, who don’t even prepare and read about your company; you don’t want people who are doing a job just because it’s another paid job. You don’t want to pay people for whom the only motivation is money, standing around at your booth with no excitement, engagement skills, or initiative.
Now that we have looked at both what you want and what you don’t, the choice is much easier. Go for the hostess agency who’s philosophy and ethics your company shares the most with; go for the one with expertise, the niche agencies, who do their best in their sector and are experts in what they do. Ask questions, difficult questions. All agencies pride themselves to provide a great quality of staff, but how much are you willing to risk when your brand and time are involved? If they reply with the answers you need to make this choice, go for the one that’s right for your company, your event, and willingness to have a successful show.
2. Three tips you would give to the entrepreneur when he has to choose a hostesses agency.
Getting results from tradeshows should be the first objective of every entrepreneur.
Engaging visitors and creating a positive first impression at Tradeshows is a fine art, and when executed badly can have a huge negative impact on the Exhibitor’s ROI.
One of the most effective ways to attract and engage visitors at Exhibitions is by outsourcing external Promotion Staff from a specialist Exhibition Staffing Agency.
Either this process can be an excellent investment helping Exhibiting and Marketing Managers meet their ROI, or it can be the making of a bad nightmare, producing next to nothing for your hard-earned marketing dollar and causing you endless tension during the exhibition.
Tip 1:
Understand what the Tradeshow Environment is all about and do not choose the cheapest agency.
- A well-paid promotion staffer means that they are motivated, happy and willing to go the extra smile to help you achieve your objectives.
Tip 2
Ask Questions - What is the agency’s staff selection process? Do they give you any options to choose the staff or do they send whoever is available on their database?
- You should always ask to see profiles of available staff and if necessary ask to interview them by telephone or even Skype video to determine if they are the right people to help you meet your objectives.
Tip 3
Don’t leave it until the last minute. If you are booking Promotion Staff, to deliver a marketing message and increase the footfall to your stand then why leave such an important task until the very last minute? By booking Promotion Staff at the very last minute, you will have a limited amount of staff choices, the staff will not have time to prepare.
- All the best Promotion Staff are booked 2-3 months in advance. The very best are booked 6-12 months in advance. So get your orders in early!
If you are an entrepreneur and you want to find out more about the 5 biggest mistakes exhibitors make when hiring promotion staff, please click here.
If you wish to find out more about our 10 steps philosophy in generating sales by hiring the right hostess agency and the process involved, check out more tips here.
3. Which basic knowledge you think a hostess needs to work on CIFF? (languages, specific knowledge...)
At CIFF, like in every other tradeshows and live marketing events, there is a set of essential requirements that every hostess should be ready to demonstrate.
- Excellent communication skills
- Comprehensive understanding of the live marketing environment
- Experience in customer service and high professionalism
- Great attitude, posture, body language
- Speaking fluent English and other European languages
4. Which are, in your own opinion, the most difficult part of working on a trade show? And the advantages?
Advantages of Exhibiting at a Tradeshow: A Tradeshow exhibition is an opportunity to meet more prospective buyers face to face in one day than your sales people will potentially meet during a whole year! It is about face-to-face interaction. However the tradeshow environment is not a typical sales environment. Seldom will you have an opportunity to close a multi-million deal there and then!
What the environment does offer you however is the opportunity to meet new prospects potentially in the market for your product or service.
It allows you to go through two or three steps of the sales cycle efficiently without having to go through gatekeepers to the key decision maker. Your key tradeshow objective should involve a clear strategy of how to get your sales staff face to face with the show visitors.
The biggest challenges for attending a tradeshow are:
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Identifying your objectives. What do you want to achieve from the show? Why are you attending the show? Once you the answers to these questions, the planning and your strategy becomes much easier.
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Identifying and attracting your ideal customers to your stand. You need a strategy that focuses on attracting the right type of prospects to your stand. How will you achieve this?
- Following up & Measuring after the event. 70% of all sales leads from tradeshows are never followed up. You need to ensure that you have a post-show follow up process in place to make sure that you make the most of all the sales leads that you have worked so hard to generate from the tradeshow. You should also have a measurement tool in place that tracks the sales leads so that you can identify if you gained a return on your investment.