It’s April -- and usually on the East Coast, that means spring. But no! A late nor’easter has walloped this part of the world, burying highways and delaying flights. The Boston Marathon took place-- despite a predicted five inches of rain. Those marathon runners are in a situation not unfamiliar to tradeshow exhibitors: circumstances aren’t exactly as planned, yet they need to perform well anyway.
This is where the value of training becomes clear. When marathon runners train, they don’t just practice during ideal conditions. They go out in the rain, in the snow, in the heat, in the fog -- no matter what mother nature throws at them, they learn how to deal with it and win the race.
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The same is true for successful exhibitors. They’ve spent time learning how to handle all sorts of conditions -- not just the ideal. Sure, it’s great to know how to talk to an attendee who wants your products and services. But what do you do when you’re faced with an irate attendee intent upon making a scene and attracting negative attention to your booth? What happens if half of your booth staff is sitting on a plane in Chicago and the show is in LA? What happens if the home office drop ships all the sales literature to the show -- and it’s in Chinese?
Practiced, trained booth staffers will know what to do. They’ve dealt with irate attendees before -- or they at least know what to do when one crops up. They’re all confident in their skills, and devoted to team success, that they’ll be able to pinch hit for missing team members until the next flight comes in. They’re prepared enough to have brought a back up CD of sales literature with them -- and empowered to have a super rush print job done to ensure that attendees leave with the information they need to make good purchasing decisions.
I wish you all nothing but sunny skies and ideal conditions for all of your shows. However, more than that, I want you to be prepared for stormy skies and unexpected events. Training is the key: training is what will separate the marathon winners from the also-rans.
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