A few months ago I was in Birmingham for an event.
The event was a presentation of a sales training program, I was curious to learn more about (benchmarking against what I do). What surprised me was not that salespeople from the training program were in the room. That was smart. What wasn’t was how they behaved. Ever seen hyenas on national geographic circling around their prey? You got the picture. That's how they looked. And you could smell their hunger to close deals from a mile away. In their approach (what I call the sales "dance") their inauthenticity, their fake interest, picking up cues to make a link with what they were selling, and, of course, the famous objection handling, which makes conversations with them a battle.
With AI around these days, they made me feel like walking Chat GPTs, with their sales script embedded in them. No real emotions, no real connection.
Fast forward a few weeks. I'm in London for a trade show.
I had bought something I wasn't happy with (a steamer for my shirts, if you have to know). So I decided to go back to the shop to return it. The person who helped me was completely different than these guys in Birmingham:
-"We can't give you your money back, Sir, you've opened it, but if you tell me what the problem is I can maybe help you."
- "it doesn't have enough steam power"
- "OK, then I have this other model, it's more expensive, I have the green version on discount right now.
- why is the green on discount?
- can't say, probably the color, but if you don't mind the color, you're saving 50%. It's just a few pounds more than the one you had but much more powerful. Normally we don't accept returns, but I can make an exception and exchange it for this one if you want, but next time, know that we won't".
If it had stopped here I would have thought, "brilliant technique, but I can see it through". But he didn't stop here:
- "You have an accent Sir, visiting London? Are you on a business body? Is that why you need a steamer, for your shirts?
He showed genuine interest. And so the conversation continued for a few minutes. And after we discussed business, I left with a better device, and paid extra. You know why?
Because I found out he wasn't "really" in sales. I mean he was. What I mean is that he wasn't one of these fake salesguys. He was a young gentleman working in this shop a few days a week to fund his software startup. And that made me connect to him, and him to me, because I run a business. If you look at sales books, he used a very well oiled technique when he sold me the new model, but because he connected, in a way that felt genuine to me, I thought to myself he really wanted to help, not just make a sale. And indeed he was, we exchanged contacts and had a Zoom call a few weeks later about his business.
Same country, same job on paper, two different experiences. One made me feel like a target. The other made me feel like a human being.
Why visitors don't trust sales team
Because of the pressure they often use on their prospects. Which comes from what is expected of them: closing deals. Getting yesses. And because of the incentives they get for that (bonuses, or getting fired), many of them will resort to manipulation for that. And people can feel when it's the case. And that is why you've probably heard the expression "people like buying, but they don't like being sold to". That distinction explains why helpful, "consultative" sellers can be welcomed, while stereotypical "hard sellers" are resisted when not openly rejected.
This asks the question of sales management, and incentives given, but that's another subject. Today the way they are handled by management or the way they handle themselves, doesn't matter, gives us these results:
In a study for Pipedrive, the CRM, only 21% of UK respondents say they trust sales professionals (survey May 18, 2026 conducted in March 2026). That means 79% of respondents DON'T.
Another research published by Steve W. Martin in 2018, found that only 18% of B2B salespeople were seen as trusted advisors. Again, 82% DON'T.
And on a trade show it shows like this.
Your visitor walks past probably 50 booths before they reach yours. That means they got 50 pushes to buy: "We're the best in the market. Our solution will change everything for you. Nobody does it like we do."
So when they get by your booth and you are number 51 trying to get them to say yes, their blood is already boiling!
What state of mind is a visitor on a trade show
Statistics show the absolute majority (96% CEIR study) of visitors are here to see what's new. And 84% (CEIR study) have a buying intention. Are they ready to buy the new or benchmarking the old? Are they coming to confirm a choice they've already made (you can read What neuroscience says about trade shows for more information on that) or make a change? Nobody knows.
What we know is that the decision to make a change, to make a purchase, that is, is always a moment of stress. And a good salesperson's primary job is to manage this delicate moment, to favor its resolution. A bad salesperson's job is to force a yes.
And whether they actually generate good deals for your business depends on which behavior they choose, and that will depend on their incentives. And these incentives depend on your strategy.
Why sending salespeople is not a strategy
When a company has built a show strategy, they naturally know who to select and send from their team. For what purpose, and with what objective.
But if your company hasn't built that strategy, it will be difficult to know who to send. Much like in football. Are you playing full attack, or defense? Because it's based on this intention that you will send a certain type of player, right?
And that is why most exhibitors default to their salespeople, because their only strategy is SALE. Their strategy is "bottom of a funnel". And that on a trade show, is a bad approach. It will get them rejected at a high rate.
Why your trade show booth needs your best people, not just sales
On a show, your whole company is on display, and I'm not talking about your booth being on display. I'm talking about your company culture, values, and your people. The way they handle themselves. The way they treat a stranger who just walked in. The energy they show at 4pm on day two. The way they follow up, or don't.
Because visitors don't just evaluate your product or service at a show. They evaluate your whole company. And you can't fake that. So if you sent only your salespeople to close, close, close, this is what visitors will remember of your company. It doesn't mean you can't close on a booth, that's not what I'm saying. But if it's all you're showing....
The two trade show staffing strategies that don't work
A trade show is neither a sales shooting range, nor a branding exercise. It's larger than that. It is a holistic representation of your company that includes the top, middle and bottom of a funnel with customers relationship.
So your intention, not your teams, yours, as a business leader, matters.
Walking into a show thinking "my team has to close deals", or walking into a show with precise objectives, that can rank from getting new leads in the top of the funnel, to collecting feedback on a new prototype, and closing deals, of course, generates two different attitudes from your team. It creates two different mindsets, and so two different teams.
Most exhibitors don't understand that.
They either treat a show as a hunting trip, arriving with targets and treating every visitor like one. And that's why they bring sales for that job. Quotas. Closing objectives. Now don't get me wrong, you need those, but they're a byproduct of your strategy, not the strategy.
Or they're here for "branding". No sales people. And they look like most people in a night club, uncomfortable, hiding behind their drinks, their phones, or hiding in the back of their booth.
Who exhibitors bring says a lot about the intention of the company. And the reason these two intentions above are counterproductive, is because they don't understand the nature of shows, and why people come to visit.
Visitors at a BtoB show are not here to buy, they're there to discover, browse, benchmark, inform themselves, decide, and eventually, buy. The purchase comes as a by-product of you handling whatever of these phases they're in.
Most sales managers believe a purchase happens because someone closes the client. But that puts the client as a passenger in the seller's car. What if it was the opposite? What if all the seller was actually doing was guiding the buyer to align the steering wheel with the direction and helping him press the right pedal to go wherever he wants to go?
What bad trade show booth staff selection can costs you
If the only people you send are there to close, that tells visitors one of two things. Either closing really is all you wanted from them. Or there was never a strategy to begin with behind your presence, and so you switched to sales by default.
Both cost you more than you'd believe. You'd be tempted to push visitors to buy, and if it works with some of them, it will trigger rejection from others. Even if, down the road, they could have bought. Because when a closer meets someone who is still browsing, still comparing, still nowhere near a decision, that generates rejection.
So sure, sales should be part of your system. But not be your system. Not the whole of it. Most visitors haven't decided anything yet when they reach your booth, they're discovering, comparing, weighing offers. A team built only to close has everything to lose to meet them.
So the real question was never whether to bring salespeople. It's whether sales is the only thing your show was ever built to do.
Building the show strategy is, thus, first.
What actually drives trade show staff performance
Once this is done, you'll be able to pick the right staff for your shows. That can mean bringing some sales with you. But that will be because they can genuinely connect. Like real humans. Not like closers visualising commission. Not like pitbulls trying to bite a wallet.
Who matches the profile? Not a specific title, or function, but an attitude.
That is, by the way, the first thing we do with our clients, when we work on their shows. Once they have set their objectives, we give them the grid to evaluate attitudes that match that.
And when they have selected the right people: we teach them the approach that fits the objectives and the trade show environment. We make sure the team strikes a balance and doesn't fall in one of the extremes: connection without direction or direction without connection. One is just a nice chat, the other a not so nice chat, and neither will generate the ROI you are entitled to when coming to a show.
Care to see what a 360 trade show strategy looks like? You're free to watch the Exhibitor's Edge, it will walk you through the most complete system to be successful at trade shows that I know.