Don't Hack the Booth Staff!

You’ve been told to cut your trade show expenses.  Right Now.  So what do you do?

One of the most visible places to trim costs is your booth staffers.  Your management, especially financial management, may ask you to trim 25% off the staff, because it’s easier to do than cut 25% off a booth space you’ve already paid for in advance. 

But while trimming booth staff may save a few thousand dollars, it could also ruin your R.O.I.

For example, if you have a show that costs you $50,000 to exhibit at, and you trim 2 of your 8 staffers to save $2,000, you will cut your costs by only 4%, ($2,000 divided by $50,000) but potentially trim your leads by 25% (2 divided by 8).  Cutting 4% of costs but giving up 25% of potential sales decreases your R.O.I. with minimal savings.

Sure, if you really know that attendance will be down significantly (like in construction or finance), you should bring fewer booth staffers.  Otherwise, trim carefully — you may save some money, but loose more profits in the long run.