If you’re planning to invest thousands of dollars into your trade show marketing program, you should focus intently on training your booth staffers to know how to act within the trade show environment. Even if you use the best trade show display with the best promotional products on the entire exhibit floor, your booth staffers can ruin all of your hard work with their inappropriate behavior. The following is a list of some common mistakes made by exhibiting professionals that should be avoided at all costs:

• Eating in your exhibit space.
• Smoking in your exhibit space.
• Drinking excessively in your exhibit space.
• Leaving your exhibit unattended (even for a few minutes).
• Standing with your back to the aisle.
• Chatting with other booth staffers in such a way that potential clients feel as though they are interrupting.
• Talking on your cell phone.
• Wearing new or uncomfortable shoes (you will be standing/walking all day).
• Talking negatively about other exhibitors or attendees.
• Swearing or using profanity.
• Complaining about having to work the trade show.
• Eating foods at lunch that could give you bad breath.
• Leaning on exhibit furniture or accessories.
• Blocking access points for potential clients.
• Raising your voice (whether in anger or to call out to someone who is far away).
• Speaking negatively about your company.

In general, these mistakes are pretty easy to spot and should be even easier to avoid. Chances are that you’ve had some experience with a booth staffer who has made you uncomfortable or caused you to lose interest in a potential business deal, so think carefully about what caused that negative experience and avoid it at all costs.