Exhibitions are undoubtedly a great way to promote your brand, product, or service to hundreds, if not thousands of potential customers. Having a well-presented exhibition stand and a sufficient stock of the right products is not enough, you also need engaging, enthusiastic, and skilled staff to truly succeed at an exhibition.

In 2019 the exhibition industry amassed a whopping £11 billion in total sales (including direct, indirect, and induced output), as well as providing 114,000 jobs. The exhibitions industry is a big business, with hundreds of exhibitions taking place in the UK each year, with hundreds of thousands of individual exhibitors.

Customer service really can make or break a company, and so hiring the right exhibition staff to represent your business is vital, and can help you to stand out against your competition. Depending on whether you are the exhibition organiser or an exhibitor, you will require different types of exhibition staff, a variety of which are listed and described below. 

Types Of Exhibition Staff

All of the following types of promotional staff are available to hire through Push Promotions who have extensive experience working at exhibitions and have a database of over 3000 skilled staff to choose from. We have previously worked at some of the United Kingdom’s largest exhibition venues including Birmingham’s NEC, The ExCel London, and Manchester’s Event City. We have supplied staff to the London Produce Show, The Caravan, Camping, and Motorhome Show, The International Boat Show, and more.

To read a more detailed account of our previous events, click here

Sales Staff

Exhibitions aren’t just about displaying and showing off new products, they are an important event for company sales! ‘Sell sell sell’ and sales targets are fundamental at exhibitions, and so it is a good idea to have specific sales / retail staff with experience in upselling, cross-selling, and other sales techniques. Push Promotions has sales staff with experience in various industries (beauty, cars, household appliances, technology, etc.), so can fulfill any brief and help you to sell your product!

Product Demonstrators

Product demonstrations are the key to presenting, explaining, and therefore selling the latest technology to the public. Good product demonstrators can explain the benefits of a product, how to use it, and the impact that it can have on your life in a clear, concise, and engaging way. Studies have shown that product demonstrations really do increase product/service sales, and so should not be underestimated. Within Push Promotion’s staff database, we have technology demonstrators, appliance demonstrators, kitchenware demonstrators, make-up demonstrators, electrical demonstrators, and more.

Leaflet Distributors

How often have you intentionally avoided a leafleter, or declined a leaflet when offered? Leaflet distribution may appear straightforward, but in reality, getting leaflets into the right hands (your target audience) and actually read (rather than binned or stuffed into the bottom of a bag) is not as easy as it first appears. Leaflet distribution is one of the most cost-effective and targeted methods of reaching potential customers, and with millions of UK exhibition attendees, they are a great place to distribute information about your company, products, and services.

Mascots / Character Costumes

With hundreds of individual exhibitors within one venue, mascots are an exciting way to stand out and capture attention. Mascots, or character costumes, are a great way to interact with the public, create photo opportunities, and generate social media buzz (especially if families with young children will be attending). In addition to mascots, Push Promotions can also provide chaperones who help the costume-wearer dress and guide them safely around the event location.

Event Managers

Having an event manager present at your event helps to ensure that everything is running smoothly, that all duties are being completed, that staff are all working to a high standard, and that tea and lunch breaks are being taken appropriately. They are natural leaders, able to think on their feet, professional, and usually have several years of experience working in events.

Data Capture Staff

Data capture staff skillfully merge with the crowd, and collect data naturally and non-confrontationally from the public, getting the best possible feedback about your company, products, and services which you can take away and analyse. Data capture staff needs to be personable and excellent communicators to collect the results that you need. Data capture staff are invaluable when attempting to improve your marketing, customer service, and products. Real-time, honest public feedback should not be trivialised.

Hospitality Staff

Hospitality staff are often overlooked when it comes to exhibitions, but if you have VIP guests or guest speakers, then consider hiring hospitality staff to host a VIP lounge and deliver a high-quality hospitality experience. Some exhibition stalls may want to include a hospitality area to give their clients a high-class luxury experience. Hospitality areas include meeting and greeting clients/VIPS, serving food and drinks, comfortable seating, and more-  overall a more personalised experience.

Registration Staff

Registration staff are often the first point of contact for exhibition attendees, and so create their first impression of the event. It is therefore very important that they are courteous, well-presented and professional, and able to handle the registration process quickly and efficiently. They may also need to distribute badges, stickers, or lanyards to relevant exhibition visitors or staff. Push Promotions have a vast array of registration staff who are proficient in using various computer systems and registration software.

‘Here To Help’ Staff

‘Here To Help’ staff welcome the exhibition’s attendees, answer questions, guide people around the venue, distribute goody bags, maps, or other leaflets, and more. As the name suggests, they are ‘Here To Help’ and work to support the smooth running of the exhibitions and create positive visitor experiences.

Lead Generation Staff

Lead Generation staff chat with exhibition visitors, seek out potentially interested customers, find out as much information about the individuals as possible, and then where possible, introduce them to your sales staff or take their contact details. Your company, therefore, has a direct sales pipeline, and staff who are focused on raising brand awareness and interest. Many companies choose to use their sales staff to generate leads and capture data, however, we believe it is best to have your best sellers focused on sales rather than client research and data collection.

General promotional staff, brand ambassadors, and exhibition staff can also be hired by the event organisers and exhibitors to work in various promotional roles at the Ideal Home Show.

This article is brought to you by Push Promotions; a promotional staffing agency that supplies staff nationwide to support some of the UK’s largest brands at their promotional events. We can supply a variety of staff including leafleting staff, product sampling staff, hosts and hostesses, and promotional models.

For more information check out our website or get a quick quote here