For some, staffing the booth at trade shows is as rewarding as cleaning up after the elephants at the circus. It’s hard to get excited about long hours, strenuous work, aching feet and backs, and cleaning up messes you didn’t make.

The trick, however, is to brainstorm with your employees about how to make booth staffing exciting. That way you’ve thrown the problem in their laps and put them in control of the solution.

Set up a series of bi-weekly brainstorming meetings with the staff at least three months before the show. Start off by explaining that the purpose of the sessions is to find a way to make staffing the exhibit more attractive, and then ask them two basic questions: 1) What do they feel they gain when they staff the booth, and 2) What do they feel they lose when they staff the booth? Once they’ve explored those areas, let the group generate ideas on how to craft incentives and rewards that could increase the benefits and decrease the drawbacks. For example, find out what they think would compensate for less time at home or getting behind at their “real” jobs.

Getting staffers involved in the problem-solving process will help them invest in the solution, and before you know it, staffing the booth will be seen as a premium, not a penalty.