Most of us have been to a convention, conference, or expo during our journey in the telecom industry. This year has personally been the year of shows for me with exhibits at ITExpo, FISPALIve 2017, WISPAmerica , ChannelPartners and upcoming NENA and INDATEL. Each show has its share of ups and downs, but that is normal. As they say, you cannot please all of the people all the time.
Over the years, I have noticed 6 basic types of employees who man the booths. You may find some or all of these types in one booth depending on the exhibit size. Here are a few personas that you will likely find at a booth:
The Carnival Barker - These people are able to talk to anyone about anything and find a link to shamelessly (?) plug in their company’s services. They are able to comfortably talk to you to find out what you do, how you do it, and how they can help you do it better. I have been told that I fit nicely into this category.
The Shy Wallflower - We all know this type of booth personnel. They would rather stand behind the booth and wait for someone to come find them. These people know quite a bit about the company and products but don't feel at ease when talking to strangers.
The ACB (Always Closing Baby) – Similarly to the Carnival Barker, the ACB is a talker. The biggest difference is they feel the constant need to try closing each and every discussion with a sale. They are very skilled at finding out quickly if you are a prospective customer. If you are not, they drop you like a hot potato and move on without a second thought.
The “Don't Fence Me In” - If you ever had booth duty with this type of co-worker, you’ll instantly recognize it. Every few minutes you look up and they are nowhere to be found. Like a wild horse stuck in a pen, open the gate and they are gone. You can almost feel them starting to get that itch to leave if you keep them there too long. The best part of these booth types is they can roam the expo hall and will bring back twice as many leads as they would if they stayed home.
The Big Bang Theory Cast Member - This group gets excited about each and every technical aspect of every service ever offered anywhere. You can just tell by the glow in their eyes when you start talking about your network, services, and/or data systems.
The Hired Hand (a/k/a Booth Babe) - "I was just brought in to take cards and scan badges. Don't ask me a thing about what this company does as I just started yesterday.” There are times that I have been called TMI's Booth Babe. Well, only once, and that person had just lost their glasses that day.
I am sure that, if you think long and hard, you can put some faces or names to these characters based on the last shows you attended. You can probably add a few more booth personas as well. The funny part is that, in some form or fashion, they all have their place on the showroom floor. After all, when you think about it, the showroom floor is just like life and it takes all kinds of personalities to make it work. So, next time you see me a show, just ask me when the Carnival is in town. I will understand.
