Promotional Talent Management is an international provider of convention, trade show and event personnel. On that occasion we asked her for some tips to choose the correct agency and basic knowledges to work on a fair like Western Food Expo, held in Los Angeles on August.
Have you worked before for Western Food Expo? If it is a yes tall us about your experience. If it is a not, tell us if you have any references.
While we have not supplied staff for this trade show in the past, we are very pleased to have staff who will be working with exhibitors at the 2015 event. We are looking forward to working this show, especially because it here in Southern California!
How to select a hostesses agencies?
First, decide on the type of image that your company wants to project. Are you simply looking for just a pretty face to attract attendees and distribute flyers? If so, you may be able to find someone suitable at a traditional modeling agency. But if you are in need of professional trade show booth hostesses who are not only attractive, but also able to effectively pre-qualify and communicate the value of your company’s service or product to potential customers, then you should consider a hostess agency that specializes in conference and event staff.
What a hostess brings to a trade show stand?
A professional trade show hostess is engaged, energetic and effective. More often than not, your in-house staff’s typical sales techniques will not work as well at a trade show. Most trade show visitors agree that the most memorable impressions taken away from trade shows is often from their experience with booth staff.
Hostesses are responsible for engaging passers by, drawing them in, establishing your brand by creating an attractive and positive image, gathering information, pre-qualifying prospects, creating a responsive mood for your sales pitch and/or generating leads.
So, while booth and brochure design are certainly important to a company’s trade show presence, booth staffing should also be a primary concern. Experienced, well-trained professional hostesses can give your company an advantage over the competition by significantly boosting your corporate image.
Three tips you would give to the entrepreneur when he has to choose a hostesses agency.
It is extremely important that you choose a reputable hostess agency. If you outsource hostesses from the wrong source, you may risk more than just a low number of sales.
- Whenever possible it is always good to get a recommendation. Speak to someone whose opinion you trust or ask the agency for a referral;
- Consider how long the company been in business and if they have an ample number of staff in the area where you are exhibiting; and finally
- Does the agency representative seem to understand your goals for the event and does the image of the staff presented to you reflect the image you want for your company? If not, you may want to look elsewhere.
Which basic knowledge you think a hostess needs to work on Western Food Expo exhibition? (languages, specific knowledges...)
Because this exhibition will be in the US, hostesses will generally only need to speak English. However, as there is a large Spanish-speaking population in Southern California as well, you may also want to have at least one bilingual hostess at your booth.
While this is a trade-only event, specific knowledge of the food industry is probably not necessary for hostesses. But whenever possible, if there is no one who has an expertise, we will try to find booth staff who at least have an elevated interest in the industry, product or service being represented.
Which are, on your own opinion, the most difficult part of working on a trade show? And the advantages?
The most difficult part of supplying staff for trade shows occurs when an exhibitor is unable to communicate a clear picture of the company’s goals for the show and the duties that they need performed by the staff. As a first-time exhibitor, you may not know exactly what type of staff you need, but don’t worry, we can help! Is your focus on branding? Getting leads or new clients? Developing relationships with existing clients? Educating people about your company’s products or services? Recruiting? Something else? Outsourced event staff can assist with all of these and more, but before you hire, we must understand your aims and goals so that your strategy is most effective.
We believe that the best business relationships are based on personal interactions. The advantage of trade shows is that it gives exhibitors and potential (or current) clients to engage in direct, face-to-face conversations with people who meet the public with the spirit and knowledge of your brand.
