We've walked past thousands of booths at EdTech trade shows. We've worked on dozens of them. And we've made every one of these mistakes ourselves.
The following is an honest (and affectionate) roast.
1) The chairs
If there are chairs in the front half of your booth, you've given your team explicit permission to sit. They will, and your prospects will walk right on by. Being eye level with prospects makes it easier to catch their attention.
Sit in the back of the booth, only when on a break, out of sight. The front of the booth is for standing.
2) The table
A six-foot table across the front of your booth is a moat. It says "do not enter." Prospects will respect the moat.
Push the table to the side. Or push it to the back. The front of your space should be open and walkable. We've seen booth conversion rates change measurably when teams move the table six feet to the right.
