A fairly common question for companies exhibiting at trade shows is the number of people that is needed to staff its booth. Having too low of a number means people will visit the booth and leave, a possible lost sale or lead walking away. Too many staffers and the booth may look overcrowded making people hesitant to visit.
Using the following mathematical formula will help you figure out how many staffers you need at any given time to be stationed at your booth. You’ll need to do some research first and figure out a few key numbers before figuring out the formula. First contact the conference organizer and get an anticipated count of attendees and figure out how you what percentage will potentially visit your booth. This number can range from 12 to 20 percent, with higher figures representing more interest among attendees in your company, booth or product.
Once you have those figures you have to determine if the show is either highly targeted or a general show towards your company. The more targeted the show, the lower your percentage will be. If the show is highly targeted use numbers between 30 and 40 percent, and 50 percent if the show is broad to your industry. Finally, get the total amount of exhibiting hours.
After you figure out these important figures you can use the following formula to determine the number of trade show staffers needed to work your booth.
Attendees x Popularity of Exhibit = Visitors to Booth
Visitors x Type of Show = People Interested In Booth
People Interested x Hours Exhibiting = People Visiting Per Hour
Per Hour Visitors x Amount One Staffer Can Handle An Hour = Total Staffers Needed
Example:
You work for a highly reputable and successful company in your business. The show is one of the larger more important trade shows in your industry and you expect 20,000 people to attend the convention. Your company recently purchased a new custom trade show display that will be located in a 40×20 booth space. Since you have a new booth and it is one of the larger industry shows you anticipate a great deal of buzz about your display and new product being launched.
The show is four days long with six hours each day for people to visit exhibits on the floor, giving people 24 hours to visit your booth. Typically your customers come in groups of four people and it takes approximately 30 minutes for someone on your staff to explain your company and its products to potential clients.
20,000 attendees x 20 percent = 4,000 potential clients visiting your booth
4,000 visitors x .40 (large show) = 1,600 people truly interested in your product
1,600/24 / 24 hours exhibit is open = 67 number of people per hour visiting your booth
67 / 8 each staffer can handle per hour = 8 staffers needed
Assuming these figures are fair representations for the amount of people visiting your booth and the expected buzz that your company and its booth generate, you should expect to have at least eight staffers at your booth.
