#12. Success at the Booth

What do employees who work a company’s booth at a conference and marathon runners have in common?  The answer is unflappable endurance.   Turning on the charm and keeping your wits sharp on little to no sleep can be hard.  The key to functioning under those conditions is to plan ahead so you don’t have to sweat the small details when you are busy representing your business.  Here’s a list of things to bring to survive working the booth.

1. Comfy Shoes – Working the booth involves a lot of standing.  It’s important to select the right shoes that will allow you to be up and on your feet in comfort for hours.  In general, make sure to dress up and be weather appropriate.  A wool suit in summer in Las Vegas is not the best choice as sweating during a client conversation doesn’t engender confidence.
2. Coffee / Tea / 5 hour Energy – A little pick me up isn’t a bad thing, but don’t overdo it or experiment if you don’t normally drink coffee or take 5 hour energy.  Caffeine shakes won’t go over well with clients.
3. A Fully Charged Phone – You never know who you are going to meet at a booth or what will come up in conversion.  If something time sensitive comes up, you don’t want to lose out due to a dead cell phone.
4. Cell Phone Numbers – Keep the phone numbers of other conference attendees from your company so that you can reach everyone without trouble.
5. Altoids / Breath Mint – You’re going to be talking to a lot of people.  Don’t let bad breath leave a bad impression.
6. Hand Sanitizer – A lot of conference attendees are flying in from all over, operating on little sleep, and partying it up at after hours events.  This is the perfect cocktail to weaken an immune system.  Working a booth means shaking hands with a lot of people.  Keeping your hands clean can make the difference between a happy flight home or catching a cold on the road.
7. Healthy Snack – Standing all day will burn a lot of calories.  It’s important to bring a snack, preferably not sugary, to avoid an energy crash.

After a long day of working the booth, your next survival kit is how to grab some quality zzz’s so you can get up and do it all again the next day!