People Power
Listening to psychologist and HR consultant Helen Frewin the other night on the Workhorse Recruitment webinar, one of her comments really resounded with me. Helen stated that to really maximise performance from your team, it was essential to clearly define in the first place what is expected and what good performance would look like. As Stephen Covey puts it ‘…delegation involves clear, up-front mutual understanding and commitment regarding expectations…’.
This maxim holds true for your staffs’ performance on the exhibition stage. To send your team to spend one, two, or sometimes more days at a show is a big investment – it’s time off the road and time means money. So to be woolly and unclear about expectations risks a poor performance and a waste of that valuable time. Sometimes you might be tempted to skip the briefing and training stage, perhaps because you consider that you have experienced staff who know what they’re doing. But it is always helpful to redefine what you want to achieve – it’s unfair to expect people to instinctively know what’s expected and then criticise them when they don’t deliver.
So be clear, explain the objectives, plug any training gaps and bring them with you so you have a cohesive, effective team. Here are a few other tips to keep in mind before and at the show:
- Carefully choose your team based on the type of show and delegates, objectives and any targets. However don’t always rely on the same people time and time again. If you have a star performer, get them involved in the training process to pass on their knowledge and experience to other members of the team. Trying to bring everyone up to the standard of that person builds a stronger, more effective team and doesn’t leave you in a vulnerable position should that person decide to leave the company and move on.
- Of course, all the usual rules apply at the show- look smart, act professional, know where any needed literature will be and have business cards to hand. Be very clear that team members should not congregate and huddle chatting in groups. This is very off-putting to potential stand visitors, who might feel they’re being a pest if they need to interrupt to ask something. Of course, a quick chat helps to pass the time if the show is quiet at that moment, but they should be alert and ready to break off should someone show interest.
- Don’t sit behind a table or on a chair at the back of the booth waiting for people to take the initiative and approach you. It’s not engaging or professional, and gives the impression that you don’t have an interesting product or service to sell. If your people need to sit down, either schedule regular breaks if the team size allows, or for smaller teams, position a stool at the front of the stand and don’t allow them to slouch. Ideally stand towards the front of the stand (though don’t ‘guard’ it), use welcoming body language and smile!
- Setting targets and goals will help with meeting whatever objective you have defined for your show, but give some consideration to how you want those targets to be met. While it may seem a good idea to have some kind of competitive element within the team to encourage productivity, consider whether having a team goal might be more motivating. This helps encourage cooperation and synergy. Star performers can help to coach new or first-time show staff, or perhaps be given a team leader role to galvanise efforts.
In our next blog in this ‘Best in show’ series, we’ll look at the behaviour of delegates and how to engage with them.
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