Exhibit Staffing: Avoiding Chameleon Staffers, When it's Okay NOT to be an Expert

Chameleons were blessed with the ability to mirror its surroundings in an attempt to blend in. It's their great survival mechanism.

Do you have a chameleon among your booth staff? Then you have a problem.

People like to do business with those they like and trust. Never pretend to have knowledge and insights about your visitor's situation when you really don't. That's where trade show booth staff chameleons go wrong. In an effort to create a rapport with the attendee, they create the impression that they know just as much about the visitor's industry as the visitor. Visitors in your trade show exhibit quickly figure out when staffers have legitimate knowledge and when they're being fed a line of malarkey.

Remind your staff that they don't have to know every aspect of their visitor's business' and that they should never claim insights they don't have. Their job is to concentrate on concerns and to find a solution to visitors' problems.