Transcript | 2 : How to Staff Your Event Like a Pro with Jessica Shields | The Experiential Table Podcast

CYNTHIA SAMANIAN: Hello there, friends! Welcome back to another episode of The Experiential Table. After an incredible season with some great guests last year, we are back in it with Season Two. I am so excited to be chatting with this week's guest, Jessica Shields, the founder of Health and Fitness Activations. Her agency connects health and fitness related brands with their target consumers through demos and events. Health and Fitness Activations' client roster includes many brands I'm sure you've heard of, and most likely have enjoyed, including Perfect Bar, Kodiak Cakes, and Kettle and Fire. In this week's episode, Jessica is sharing her top tips to help you get the right people representing your brand at any event. She is incredibly passionate about this topic, so get your pen and paper ready. This episode is filled with a wealth of information that you can put into action for your brand right now.

Welcome, Jessica. It's so great to have you on the show today!

JESSICA SHIELDS: Thank you, Cynthia. It's so great to be here.

CYNTHIA: Alright listeners, I said it before, but I absolutely mean it. Grab your pen and paper because today's guest, JESSICA:, is going to drop some serious knowledge all about staffing your events. As I mentioned before, Jessica is the Founder of Health and Fitness Activations, a boutique Austin-based agency that staffs events nationwide on behalf of their health and wellness brand clients. What I love about Jessica's agency is her passion for the health and fitness industry. Jessica and her team have built an incredible reputation of putting the best people in front of target consumers on behalf of brands. And this responsibility is not something she takes lightly. If you're a brand owner then you know that your brand is your baby. I don't have to tell you that right? Chances are you've been the face of your brand at practically every demo and trade show. And perhaps you're still the person running around from store to store sampling your product. Well, if you're looking to scale your events team beyond yourself, you'll want to keep on listening. Jessica will be sharing how to find the best people and how to train them the right way. Or perhaps you already have experience working with brand ambassadors (or BAs) either as a food brand owner or an experiential marketer. If that's the case, then it is time to step up your staffing game. We'll be talking goal setting, metrics, and so much more in this podcast.

Jessica, can you tell us a bit more about your background and how you got into the staffing space?

JESSICA: Yeah, absolutely. So I was actually touring with our major race property and we were outsourcing our staffing and the staff we got just did not match the message we were trying to communicate. So we were at running events, the staff we had maybe weren't athletic, they weren't runners. You know, they might have been really beautiful and very made up, but that really wasn't resonating with the marathoners that we were trying to reach. So I just thought, there's got to be a better way. We've got to find people that are really passionate about, you know, the brand and our mission and our messaging, and those people will be connecting better with our consumers. So I started Health and Fitness Activations, and we just we run things pretty differently. I know we'll talk about that today.

CYNTHIA: Great. Thanks for sharing some background for us. And I can't wait to get into your story a bit more, especially, you have some pretty interesting anecdotes about the fact that some of the people who actually work the marathons didn't even know what the basics were around a marathon and what runners had to train for. So, like I said earlier, you definitely have passion for this space, which I think really sets your agency apart.

So let's dive right into the meat of it all. Let's say you are a brand and you're just starting out with staffing. And here we're talking about staffing events, whether it's demos, sampling, or perhaps larger events like trade shows. Now, maybe up until now, you've been the only person to show up to those events. I'm sure you've talked to many founders who've been in that position, and they are now looking to grow. So how should they go about finding the right people to represent their brand at an event?

JESSICA: So the first thing you're going to look for is somebody that is really passionate about your brand and your messaging. That person is going to identify with your target consumer, they're naturally going to want to spread your message. So let's say, if you have a healthy snack, then you're going to want to find somebody who really is all about better-for-you snacks. That person is really just again, it creates a natural connection between person and your brand and the consumer, you're also going to want to look for somebody who's outgoing. So just because someone is passionate about your product, doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be able to articulate your brand messaging in a clear and effective way. You don't want someone that is asking, "do you want a free sample?" You want somebody that's really outgoing, "Hey, have you ever tried this product? You know, what do you think about this, fill in the blank snack". You know, they're trying to get on board with your cause you want somebody who's really out there going for it, drawing people into the sampling space. And you're also going to want someone who's approachable. So depending on what your product or service is, you might want that person to, you know, for us as an example, if we're doing something for a sport-related client, you know, that person is wearing minimal makeup, they've got their hair pulled back, they're friendly, they're smiling, they're coachable. So just kind of thinking about what image you're trying to portray to your target consumer and finding a person that embodies that.

CYNTHIA: Yeah, that's great. That's super helpful. And I know you had an example that you have talked about before, but perhaps you can share a bit more about when you were working on the other side of things as a tour manager, right. And one of the reasons that you were so disappointed with the staff was that they didn't understand anything about marathons. Is that right?

JESSICA: Yes.

CYNTHIA: Can you tell us more about that? I think it's just such a funny story.

JESSICA: Yes, absolutely. So, at this particular race we were doing, I think we had 30 races that year. So every weekend, we were doing the grind, the tour manager thing. And about 80% of the runners are running a half marathon. And one of our brand ambassadors, again that we had outsourced ask someone what a 13.1 was because they had it on their backpack. So if you're not familiar, 13.1 is the distance of a half marathon. And again, 80% of people were running that race, running that distance. So it just was an immediate disconnect between our brand and our target consumer, because it just put a big spotlight on the fact that this person is not part of this community. And I am a marathon runner. So I travel all over the world doing marathons and actually found it kind of offensive personally, as a runner and a tour manager, just, you know, "hey, where are these people at these events?" So yeah, when I started Health and Fitness, I started with a few running clients, actually, who are also exhibiting at these same kind of races. And I mean, we actually included that who did that, "What does 13.1 mean?", in our interview process to try to weed out people that clearly wouldn't identify with our target demographic

CYNTHIA: That is so smart, and I think something that our listeners can relate to, because, you know, most of them are food brand owners, or they work in the wellness space. And we're all really passionate about the products that we're building in this space that we're in and I imagine you know, if you're selling a paleo product and you have a brand ambassador who doesn't understand the difference between paleo, Whole 30 or gluten-free, that could really be disastrous for your brand. So, thanks for pointing out that example. I think it's one that will really resonate with our listeners.

So, now that you have this criteria in place, right, you want someone who's outgoing, approachable, relatable. How do you actually in a tactics-based way find those people? What are some places where people can go? Perhaps if they can't afford working with an agency, and they need to do it on their own? Where should they start?

JESSICA: You know, depending on their social media following, I would recommend reaching out to your own following. So a lot of brands when they're first starting out, they have a strong push to get social media followers and you would be surprised you know, if someone is already following your brand because they're keto and you make the best keto products in your category, that person may naturally be interested in helping you share your message. So you can start with your own social media platform. At Health and Fitness we go through a lot of alternative channels because we are very niche. So, not to say we never reach out to some of them our main channels, which I'll talk about, but a lot of times our best staff members come from different kinds of places. So as an example, a physical therapy student or a running group, if it's a running product. Or maybe we met someone at, you know, Paleo FX and we have a paleo product. So if you can connect with someone in your network, that's my first go to. If you're reaching out and you're saying, "Hey, I need people in based in California, I need people in Texas and I just don't know anyone there." You also can go to Facebook Brand Ambassador communities. If you have a strong community on Facebook of brand ambassadors. Those people are not necessarily committed to your cause, like your internal social media or network would be, so you are going to have to ask tougher questions. So, you know, if you're making a product that is all about gut health, you might ask that person, how do you make sure that your gut stays healthy? Or you might ask very specific questions to weed out people who aren't really passionate about your brand that their core.

CYNTHIA: Got it. I love the example of looking at your social followings, because that's absolutely the place I've seen where people are engaging, and they're doing so in such an authentic way. People aren't commenting, because they want to be brand ambassadors, right? They're they're doing it because they like the product, and they're super into the brand. So that's a really resourceful place for people to look. Thanks for sharing that. And then did you want to share a bit more about how Health and Fitness finds people to help staff events on behalf of your brand clients?

JESSICA: Yeah, so we start with people we know so people in our internal network, and we know that they're great brand ambassadors, we know they're reliable, we know they're healthy, and we basically put them through a second interview. So if someone's been working with us on a plant-based protein, they may or may not be a good fit for a bone broth, because maybe they are plant-based and they don't drink bone broth. So we have to be careful that we don't just automatically assign people to multiple accounts if they're not actually a good fit. But a lot of times they are. As an example, we represent a kid's yogurt called Brainiac. And so a lot of moms that are passionate about kids nutrition and passionate about that might also be passionate about another healthy option for snacking. So a lot of times they do cross over, they don't always so we are very careful before we've placed one staff member on a different account. So that's step one. Step two, we would ask for referrals. So let's say we have something in New York, and we find out you know, hey, nobody in our New York database is really passionate about this particular cause. We would ask our internal team if they refer someone because you know, if I asked you, Cynthia, you know, "Hey, do you have a friend who's really, really into CrossFit?", you could probably think of someone off the top of your head and say, "Oh my gosh, this woman or man would be perfect fit. Let me reach out to them." So we start there. And then if you know if that's not working, we will go to Facebook and like I said, we put them through a pretty rigorous interview process to make sure that they really are passionate about that brand.

CYNTHIA: Right. And given that you have probably interviewed hundreds, if not thousands of people, since starting Health and Fitness Activations. What are some common red flags you think our listeners should keep an eye out for when they are interviewing people to represent their brand?

JESSICA: Oof yeah, there's a lot. At Health and Fitness, we put our staff through a pretty rigorous interview process and I would definitely recommend that to anyone who is also doing their own staffing. So we start off by requiring everyone to do a video interview. So instead of doing it on the phone, or even booking someone through email, which some agencies do, the video interview just provides you with so much richness into who this person really is. And you can see, are they prepared for their interview? Did they brush their hair? We're pretty casual at Health and Fitness. I mean, obviously, with a company name, we, you know, we're okay with workout attire even, but we do you want to know that you have prepared for your interview. We don't want you know, this person, they're, you know, a passenger in the car. And it's clear that they kind of forgotten about their interview. Not a great sign if they're late. You know, I mean, we all I think have, sometimes we have a bleeding heart, and we want to still consider that person but time and time again, we've discovered that that initial first impression is really telling of who that person is. So if they're late for their interview, I would recommend not considering them for the position. Even if you desperately need someone, it's better not to have someone than to have someone who isn't reliable.

And then, you know, are they able to articulate something that they're passionate about? So, one of the first questions we ask a brand ambassador if they've worked as a brand ambassador before, is will ask them, "Tell us about one of your favorite events that you've done." And if they can't get excited about that, how are they going to get excited about your brand? If you're asking them, what's the favorite thing or event you've worked, you know, you've worked and if they're a student, tell me about your favorite class. If, you know, tell me about something that's your favorite. If they can't light up about that, it's going to be hard for them to be enthusiastic in the sampling setting.

And then ask really tough questions. So I know I mentioned the 13.1 earlier, but you know, just ask tough questions. So you know your brand better than anyone else. Again, if you're representing a kombucha asked about, you know, how they take care of their gut, what do they know about kombucha? Have they ever brewed their own? If so, what was the process like? And get them to tell you what they know, so that you can really see if what they're saying on paper, which is I'm really passionate about kombucha or whatever product you might be sampling, is that actually true? You know, and I think that's important to find out right from the get go.

CYNTHIA: That's such great advice and I love that you're a stickler for being on time because like you said, that matters. It's so incredibly important when it comes to showing up, you know, for an event on time and, and frankly, on time means being early. Right? And I think just, you know, if they can't get on a video chat on time for the interview, then who's to say they're going to make it to like you said Whole Foods, or wherever you're sampling and be there when you've invested all this time and money to get that demo set up.

JESSICA: Exactly.

CYNTHIA: Alright, so I think you've shared a ton of good information, all of your juicy insider secrets with our listeners on how to find the right people. So let's talk about training, right? So you've you found the right person, you have a kombucha brand and they understand gut health. It's a match made in heaven. But then how do you actually get them on board with your product, your mission, your story? Once again, most of the people listening here, like this is their baby, their brand. And their product is something they've invested years in building and I totally get it right. Even with my business, the idea of having someone else go out and talk about your product or service can be a little daunting. So help our listeners get comfortable with this idea of, you know, how you can train people, how you can get them up to speed so that they can sell your product just as good as you can or close enough.

JESSICA: Yeah, I would definitely start with doing the video chat training. I guess we just love video chat. We use it internally, but we also use it with our brand ambassadors. Never just send somebody a deck and expect that they're going to read that through. Number one, you lose a lot of a passion that you as the business owner or the marketing director of whatever your role might be. You just lose that passion. So make sure that you are engaged with that person through video chat, if possible. You can see if the brand ambassador is paying attention. And even if it's someone on your internal team, if you have the option to do face to face, that's even better. But even if it's somebody on your internal team who may know the product, it's important that they know what does this event look like? What is their role at this event? And how is that different than maybe their role in the office. So I recommend definitely connecting with them on video. Usually, our trainings are about 30 minutes, they can be a little bit longer depending on the complexity of the product. But you don't want to overload someone with too much information that they lose the main point. So that's probably one of the biggest mistakes that I see with especially founders, you know, whoever is founding the business or creating the product. Of course, we're all very passionate about our product, and we want everyone to know every single certification because you know, blood, sweat and tears went into getting those certifications and we want them to know every detail and why things are made the way that they are. Because we know that our, you know, your listeners are creating these products very intentionally.

However, sometimes you can lose the main talking points. So if you're at a sampling event, you know, let's say it's a farmers market, people normally aren't engaging for 17 minutes, you know, where you're able to talk about every detail of the product. Normally, your engagement is fairly short. So you want to make sure that you're really focusing on the key messaging points that you want that person to share. So usually, we start out with a category overview, you know, here's the category. Here's why our product is different. Here's a few key things that you really need to know that might be five bullet points, make sure every person that walks by knows these five things. And then we talk about the flow of the event. What is your expectation, who are you checking in with, where are the samples going to be located, you know, what kind of information do we want as far as reporting. So kind of walking them through the flow of the event and as well as product information.

CYNTHIA: Got it. Yeah, that definitely makes sense. And I think the real takeaway there, I mean, you shared so many good points, but really keeping it simple, right? And understanding what can that BA communicate in a short period of time, but balancing that with being able to have the depth of knowledge to answer questions. And so I think that's, that's super helpful. I imagine that 10 to 15 page deck, you can cover pretty much all of that. Is that right?

JESSICA: Absolutely. I mean, you can even end your training with maybe a sheet of FAQs that they can print and take with them in case somebody has a very specific question. If they've worked with a product that uses honey and people have a lot of specific questions about how the bees are treated, and you know, the process of how they select the honey. So we have a whole FAQ just about that and that way they do have something to reference if customers have a very specific question. So I think something like that is a good option if you have a product that has a lot of granular detail that's really important that consumers might be asking about.

CYNTHIA: Right, right. And I imagine that most of our listeners, if they are looking to beef up their team with some BAs, we'll need to make some of that investment upfront to create the deck and to have the training calls but will hopefully be able to use those BAs on a repeated basis. Which I'm wondering with your agency, is that something that you look to do as well? Do you have BAs work for the same brands over and over again, if possible?

JESSICA: We definitely do. Specifically on the demos where we are able to track things closer, because there's a POS data, that goes along with, point of sale data I should say, that goes along with the demos where we're able to see how much product was sold during a time period. We actually can very clearly measure the performance of the brand ambassador. And what we've seen in that situation is the brand ambassadors on average sell 40% more on their second round of demos.

CYNTHIA: What? Okay, wait, wait, hold up here 40% more on their second time demoing for the brand

JESSICA: 40!

CYNTHIA: 40? That's unbelievable. So of course, you're keeping the BAs on for future events for the same brand, right? I mean, it's a win-win for everyone.

JESSICA: Absolutely. And even when we're talking to new clients, we encourage them to sign up for a several-month program. And of course, that's you know, a win for us, but it really is a win for them. And if your listeners are doing their own demo programs, I would say the same thing for them. You know, find a few stores in the area and stick with that brand ambassador, they're going to get more comfortable talking to the consumers but also this specific to demos, the stores will feel more comfortable buying in more product. They might not know how your demo is going to go and be leery to buy much product and that person might sell out. So the ROI of your demo is lower, whereas if the next time they feel very comfortable, they'll buy enough product, your demo rep will have more to sell and the overall ROI is much higher.

CYNTHIA: Wow, that's pure gold right there. And you said my favorite acronym, ROI. It's something that we talk a lot about on this show. And we just can't talk enough about it, because it is something that's on everyone's mind, especially when it comes to events. Everyone understands that it's about connection and building relationships. But at the end of the day, it also is hard to track and that's something that everyone who's listening is always trying to learn more about. So let's talk about goal setting and let's talk about ROI, and all the things that you just mentioned. What kind of goals should brands be setting for their activations whether its sampling, demos, events...?

JESSICA: Yeah, it might vary on what kind of activation you're doing. I know we have a wide range of listeners on your podcast. So it really depends on what you're doing. But for demos, it might be the units sold or dollar amount sold. For events, it might be the number of samples distributed. Or if you have some kind of email capture, you might put a goal around how many emails are collected. But before you start your program, you do want to clearly identify what your goals are, and maybe not have six different goals. You know, pick a couple of goals so that your brand ambassadors know if they're doing a good job.

CYNTHIA: Right, right. And for the in store, demos, or even events, have you worked with brands that use promo codes, whether it's in-store coupons, or promo codes for redeeming the product online at a discount?

JESSICA: Yes, we have worked with clients who have either coupons in-store or promo codes. For events, promo codes provide a really clear way to measure the return. So you know, obviously you can see online or if the coupon is redeemed in stores, you get a report back and it will say, this is how many of these coupons were redeemed. So that's really helpful for events to create a trackable way to measure your ROI. For in-store demos, if you have coupons or some kind of call to action, that definitely is helpful, because it gives people a reason to purchase that day, instead of "Hey, I'll come back later", which we probably all know, we've probably all said those words, "Yeah, I'll look at it later", and then we never do. So I think that it's really important that we are capturing people in that moment when your brand ambassadors engaging with the consumer.

CYNTHIA: Yeah, I'm definitely guilty of that. I mean, I think they say you have to see a brand seven times before you may actually buy it. So it sounds like you also understand that, you know, demos are one touch point in that and you know, the fact that you can convert that to sales is great and something that should be measured absolutely. But, not to assume that if your product didn't sell that day, it was a complete waste, right? Because you still are getting awareness and exposure to your target consumer.

JESSICA: Absolutely. And specific to in-store demos, a lot of stores have policies that limit the number of salespeople. So you're also educating the store staff, which is very valuable, and you know, very difficult to track an exact ROI. But let's say that you're in Whole Foods, your demo rep is sampling. And they're also educating the department manager. So next time someone asks the department manager, "Hey, what kind of fish oil do you recommend?" and they know your main talking points, they're more likely to recommend your brand. So there's also definitely some other benefits that are a little bit harder to track.

CYNTHIA: Oh, that's, that's so interesting. I had no idea that that was also part of the experience of having a demo in-store so you're actually training the store staff and that will only increase your sales while not maybe that day, just in the future. So that's awesome, thanks for sharing that.

So let's talk about goal setting in general. So maybe we can use in-store demos as an example. How would you think about giving a brand ambassador a goal? Because as you mentioned earlier, you want to define goals and they're ultimately responsible for hitting that number. So can you walk us through what that looks like?

JESSICA: Yeah, we work with our clients to set a reasonable, what we hope is a reasonable goal. We try to have 50% of the brand ambassadors hit the goal. So we want it to be something that not everyone's gonna hit. It's not a gimme goal, but it's a little bit of a stretch. But we really want it to be attainable for the staff that are working really hard, that are really trying to convert the samplers into sales. So we recommend trying to find a goal that about 50% of people meet and we adjust it monthly. So like I said, the number of people that are hitting that goal, you know, from one month to the next might be 70% because the sales went up and then will raise the goal for the following month. So we do track that. And the goal for us does vary, and we will let our brand ambassadors know, this is the goal for this month. But we do find that 50% is a pretty good barometer.

CYNTHIA: Got it, yeah. And that keeps incentives aligned. And I'm assuming there are incentives right? There's some reward if a brand ambassador hits the goal?

JESSICA: So for Health and Fitness Activations, we offer a $5 an hour incentive for our brand ambassadors to meet the goal. And this is included in basically our premium package. So brand ambassadors who are working who might be making X number of dollars an hour, if they're working a three-hour event, they would get $15 more for that event, $5 an hour. If it's a larger program, like maybe it's a 10-week tour, and they have multiple stops and we have a number of samples or a number of promo redemptions that we want to hit. I mean, we have one program where we're offering a $1,000 bonus, but that's, you know, full time for 10 weeks, so very different setup than an in-store demo. So yeah, we do tie financial incentives to the brand ambassador. It also, for us, we love that our top performers are making more. And I think that's fair, I think we all probably think that's fair. But it's a way for us to really offer a higher salary to the people that are really pushing hard.

CYNTHIA: Got it. So for our listeners who know, maybe they're looking to hire one or two BAs and perhaps no more than that. They don't have these larger programs in place already. Would you still recommend they do the $5 or whatever they can afford an hour incentive? Is that something you think would still apply to a smaller brand?

JESSICA: I do. Even if you don't do the $5 an hour, I think some sort of financial incentive is helpful. And it depends on your brand and your activation. That might mean $50 at the end of the month. That might mean free products, depending on what kind of product you have. It could be an incentive that way. It could be, you know, a branded jacket. I mean, it could be kind of anything to show your appreciation to that staff member. But I definitely would set goals and some kind of prize or financial incentive when they meet that goal.

CYNTHIA: That absolutely makes sense. And I think having a really cool branded jacket could make a BA really excited, especially if it's a brand that they love. So it doesn't have to just be financial. I think that's the takeaway there. But, you know, money does talk and at the end of the day, if the BA is selling more product then you have some room hopefully to provide a financial incentive.

JESSICA: Absolutely.

CYNTHIA: Thanks for sharing how you and the team do that at Health and Fitness. So in terms of thinking about what to demo, do you have any advice to brands, especially if they have more than one product? I have some founders who I talk to regularly that have a portfolio of products and it's still early right to decide which is the best-selling, but they want to get everything out there in front of everyone at the same time. What would you suggest they do when it comes to demoing or sampling?

JESSICA: I know it's so difficult because founders are so passionate about all of the products that they've so carefully crafted, but my advice would have to be to pick one product or a family of products to sample at one time. And the reason is, again, those interactions that you have with the consumers in the sampling space is usually very short. So if you are a protein company, but you make three different kinds of protein and one is for weight loss and one is for building muscle, and one is a collagen builder and then you also make bars and you're sampling all of these items, it's very confusing for the customer. Because they're trying all of these different things. They all have you nuances to the products and they kind of walk away and not really knowing much of anything about your brand.

So I think it's really important if you have, let's say, one product and it has three flavors, that works because the brand messaging is the same. It has this much protein, it has this much calcium, it has this much, whatever. This many calories, and this is chocolate, vanilla and strawberry

That people can absorb. But when you start having a lot of different talking points, a lot of different products, especially if they have a different target consumer, it can become overwhelming for the sampler and they kind of get paralysis of the analysis and walk away with nothing. Whereas, if you have one clear message that they can take and decide if that product is for them, you're much more likely to convert that into a sale.

CYNTHIA: Got it. That makes sense, although you might be breaking some hearts of some of our listeners, but that absolutely makes sense that you know you want to keep it as simple as possible for the consumer to understand and if they have to talk through the difference between a protein powder and a protein bar and then within that category, all of the different flavors. Yeah, you've probably lost them by that point. So, super, super helpful advice there.

So right now, at the time of recording this episode, we are both locked down in our respective homes. I'm in California, you're in Texas, and we're experiencing this once in a lifetime moment that is called Coronavirus, right? It's impacting the events industry, food brands, the whole combination. One thing I want to ask you, Jessica, just given that events right now are totally at a halt, sampling is not happening, there are no in-store demos. What can brands do today to prep themselves staffing wise for when events are up and running again?

JESSICA: Yeah, there's a lot you can do with this time. So rarely do we get an opportunity to really slow down and analyze what we've been doing and how can we how we can improve. So, I really encourage all of your listeners to make the most of this time. I think it's a great time to review your training decks. Training decks are very important, making sure that you have the most up to date information, the most compelling information. Are there any anything about you know, your products or offerings that has changed since you first created a deck? If you don't have a deck, now's a good time to put one together. So I think that training documents are a really great thing to review during this time.

I also would recommend doing a data dive. So, look at your staff, if you have a large team, look at your staff and see who's performing, who's not, maybe the people who have lower sales, reach out to them, ask them, is it that they need sales coaching? Is it that they're using the wrong time of day to do the sampling? What is it about their demos that aren't performing as well? You can also look at your store list, are there particular stores that are underperforming? That way when you come back, you've coached your staff, they're ready to go. You've got you've selected the best stores, you're going to get the highest ROI on the store selection, and you've updated your training documents so everybody new that comes on board is gonna get a killer training. So I think that's one way to really set yourself up for success.

CYNTHIA: That's brilliant. Very, very helpful, because I think a lot of brands listening know that events will be back. I mean, we're all counting on it. And if events don't come back, we have bigger problems to deal with. So that's inevitable, and I think you're absolutely right that now is the time to do some of that housekeeping. You mentioned earlier, what should be in a training deck. I think everyone here has an idea. So if you don't have a deck, listeners, get started on it, and you will be better prepared for when events are up and running again and you want to get the best brand ambassadors out there for your brand.

Alright, I have a question from a member of our Facebook group, our private Facebook group. it's called The Experiential Table and Adrienne from our group wants to know, how do you determine the number of staff needed for your event? Is it based on the number of projected attendees or a number of hours? So maybe for this example, we can take the case of like a festival, right? So not just an in-store sampling event, but perhaps you or in maybe your case, like a race - a marathon. If a brand is setting up to sample there, how should they think about how many people to have staff it?

JESSICA: Yeah, I think you know a really good way to measure is the number of attendees or the number of samplers that you're expecting. There is still some additional calculations I would recommend. So how difficult is your product to sample? Are you cutting something up? Bars are pretty quick because you cut them up and that's that. We also work with Kodiak Cakes, they actually mix pancakes. So, you know, kind of a different setup when they're doing pancakes. They also offer other things that are a little bit easier to sample. But, you know, I think it depends on what your product is, first of all, and how time intensive it is to get the samples prepared because you're usually preparing those in real-time. And then how many people can you realistically sample? Even if there's 100,000 people at a festival, you're not going to be able to sample 100,000 people. So, logistically, what is your max operation? You know, what's your max number of samples that you can give out - no matter how many people you had in a 10 by 10 space at a festival. So I know that's not a really clear answer, because it could vary so widely, but just because you have 13 people in a 10 foot space doesn't mean that you're going to have 13 times more samples that you can give out. So you know, kind of think that through how much can you really do? How many people are you expecting?

CYNTHIA: That's super helpful and it's clear that you have an expertise here, and you've developed a way of thinking about it in a very logical, formulaic way that I think people here would really, really appreciate. So thanks for sharing that. Alright, I can't believe we're almost at the end of our interview. Time just flies. I do have a question that I'm going to ask you, which may not be a surprise to you. I ask this question of every guest on our podcast. So my question for you, Jessica, is what is the single most important element of an incredible experience?

JESSICA: I think it's the people. It circles back to the beginning of our conversation. I think finding those passionate people, that's what's really going to resonate with your target consumer. The reason they might come to your booth, it's the reason that they're going to purchase or sample your product just because they have this like warm, inviting passionate person that's speaking their language to them. I think passionate people, that's the key.

CYNTHIA: Why am I not surprised to hear that? Alright, Jessica, thank you so much for sharing all of your tips with us today. If our listeners want to learn more about what you do, which I'm sure many of them will, where can they find you?

JESSICA: Well, Instagram and Facebook are a great place to start our handle is hfactivations. And our website healthandfitnessactivations.com tells a lot more about our services and kind of more of the intricacies of what we offer.

CYNTHIA: Great, we will absolutely put those in our show notes so people can easily find you. And that wraps up today's episode of The Experiential Table. No matter the size or stage of your brand, I hope that you were able to take away a few if not more tangible learnings that you can apply to your business. To learn more about Health and Fitness Activations, as well as other links mentioned in this episode, head over to TheExperientialTable.com for our show notes, transcripts and more. Lastly, let's keep the conversation going. Join me and your fellow passionate food brand owners and marketers in our private Facebook group, The Experiential Table. There are new conversations happening every day as well as Facebook live videos where you can get more insights about creating engaging brand experiences. Thanks for listening and until the next week, get excited to get experiential!

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