HOW TO UTILIZE YOUR SKILLS DIFFERENTLY

In the face of a historic downturn in our business, what can we do to not only survive but thrive? Reading Exhibit City News could be depressing, however having just done graphics for different uses other than trade shows, I am heartened that it is possible to take what we have learned in the trade show business and use it in other ways.

We just created a 16’ x8’ mural for an incentive program, a beautiful piece of artwork which also listed the winners of the incentive. Who would have thought that you could step outside the trade show arena and use the skills and talents ina totally different market.

Time to reinvent your business and yourself!

I have to say as a small business owner I don’t have a clue about the complexities of this bill.  Does anyone out there truly understand? Just the other day I heard a commentary on NPR about the bill that passed the house.  There is absolutely no language in there that allows abortion for any reason with federal funds or even with your own insurance once this would pass!  There absolutely needs to be language at least allowing (as there is now) federal funds (or your insurance) for situations such as rape, incest, second trimester abortions due to mother’s health and so on.

The other disconcerting thing they spoke about was that folks lobbying for the catholic bishops of America were in Speaker Pelosi’s office demanding that there be no language about abortion in the new health bill. To say that this was shocking to me is an understatement.  Are the churches now dictating women’s health?

There are so many unanswered questions regarding the health bill.  I absolutely am appalled at the strangle hold that insurance companies have on our health care as a whole, I absolutely understand the need for health care reform, but could our legislators actually spend some time summarising this bill with the key points highlighted so the rest of us could understand what we are getting? Are we tired of the back room deals?

Just recently I read a piece by Dan Cantor, President of EDPA.  He is so spot on.  We have to simplify and make the lives of our exhibitors simpler.  We need to make their booth and show costs less and we have to provide better service and value for their money.  If we do not improve on all fronts we will continue to see the decline of the trade show industry and see less exciting booth environments.

I support Dan Cantor’s call to action and the efforts of the EDPA to engage other associations in an ongoing dialogue.  We, as businesses look to organizations such as the EDPA for strong leadership and hope they are successful  in their on going dialogues.  If not,  the trade show industry will be solely dominated by the Wal Marts of the industry who have shown little creativity and diversity.

Creativity is the food that drives the soul of this industry.  Without creative solutions for our clients needs we simply have a booth, we don’t have an environment which brings you in and nurtures your desire to do business.  If we cannot show ROI we have not achieved our client goals.

Creativity is the lifeblood of dynamic shows and environments.  Lets get it together!

I recently worked a large trade show and during the tear down, walked through the hall with a coworker and large trash bags picking up bottles and cans in order to recycle.  Lets not even talk about wood, fabric, graphics, paper that was going to end up in our island dumps.  An island has to be a model of sustainability or we will drown in our own trash.  Look at that are in the ocean in the Pacific where as far as the eye can see it is filled with plastic of all sorts.

The trade show industry is incredibly wasteful, but so are the folks who exhibit.  The bottles and cans that we picked up were left behind on the floor in trash cans in the aisles by exhibitors.  Folks just like you and I.  The hall had recycling bins set up, so how difficult is it to actually take your recycling and putting it in a container which will make a difference.

Industry wide calls to action are a great thing, however it takes people one by one to make a difference.  One person can make a difference and when you start teaming up it just grows exponentially.  Being green does not have to cost more and as businesses we should facilitate that.  Give discounts to clients who show green initiatives or who want to purchase a “green” booth.  We have to take a more global view a longer term view.

It is funny I keep coming back to this subject and struggle with the lack of awareness I keep seeing out there.  Probably will keep hammering away at it!  So hold on to your shirts folks!

The BIG question is what do you do on the night before the show?  You have prepared and you have checked your list not once but twice.  Your clients are probably already in and exhausted in their hotel rooms or out for a drink!  Everyone loves to come to Hawai`i.  Unfortunately the perception is that it surely is a boondoggle…that could not be farther form the truth.

Hawai`i is a serious place for business which allows you to be surrounded by indescribable beauty, great culture, pristine environments and healthy air. How can that be so terrible?  I have never been able to understand that mistaken perception. How can going to Las Vegas not be a boondoggle?  You can gamble and drink 24/7!  Staggers the imagination.

Well, in Hawai`i the night before the show, you relax, watch an incomparable sunset, breathe in the scent of flowers on the air and feel gratitude that there is a show coming up tomorrow.  I am ever thankful for being in Hawai`i, the business that heads our way and for all the beauty around us. The show will be great, the dentists will have a blast, accomplish a lot of business and learning and will be very sad to leave their island paradise behind! A hui ho…until we meet again!

I recently attended an MPI- Aloha chapter luncheon and it was a training on social networks and their value to us as people and as business owners and employees.  It was an excellent presentation and I love the excitement that these networks generate.

Now that I am on twitter,Llinkedin, Plaxo and Facebook I am always amazed at the folks who are not!  These social networks have become a big part of my life.  I see on a day to day basis what my children, who are adult and live far away are doing ….well sometimes they would probably rather I not know.  I am able to keep in touch with colleagues who I may not speak with on a regular basis, it has made remembering colleagues’ birthdays much easier.

At this point, from a business perspective what is the ROI?  Not quite sure, have not been able to measure a direct return other than the great value added of folks connecting with me from all over, coming to my web site and reading my opinionated blogs.  Looking forward to multiple orders as a result!   I am constantly amazed at how many different types of businesses exist out there and people’s desire to connect.  I was able to follow the whole Iran voting disaster right on Twitter, that is how I found out Michael Jackson had died.  I am still in awe of the power of the Internet, its breadth, and its scope.

We can put these social networks to use in so many situations, during events, trade shows, incentive programs.  The sky is truly the limit. I am sold on them, they have opened a whole world for me and it makes me want to learn more.  Is it good enough that the ROI is learning a whole new way to connect with people?  Your thoughts.

I was very happy to see the response to this article from the Executive Director of the EDPA.  The points are well made in his letter.  Lets look at the bigger picture of what is happening to the trade show industry in the US vs. the rest of the world. It is incredibly expensive to exhibit in the US.  Competition, free and open is at the heart of what makes America great.  It is clear that trade shows are shrinking in the US, attendance is down as are exhibitors.  Just spoke with a colleague recently who told me that last year at the same show they were setting up 29 booths, this year they are setting up 4!

The general contractor is always able to discount their material handling service as an opportunity for the potential exhibitor, however they can never provide the kind of service, attention to detail and creativity of a boutique or third party provider.  Once you do away with competition, you drive up pricing and we all end up as losers at the end of the day.  The Convention Centers, the communities they are in, the general contractors, the exhibitors, the attendees and the list goes on.

Lets stop the bundling and reinvigorate the trade show industry with fair and honest competition, lets embrace different third party providers who can bring innovation, creativity and superior service to the table.  When a company is nimble and able to turn on a  dime, can it really bring that level of creativity to the table.

Now that the fall season for trade shows is in full swing.  Lets talk about what if?  What if my booth doesn’t make it to the show?  I know that situation is hard to fathom, however it happens to the nicest people every day around the world!

In the trade show business, like in so many others it is all about solutions and being creative and accepting when you cannot change a situation and need to make the best of it.

I was in Chicago setting up a big booth for a client and walked past this poor guy who was standing in front of an empty booth.  All of his demos (audio equipment) along with his booth had simply disappeared.  He has a large sign made that stated ” My booth was stolen and I am MAD”.  It certainly caused a lot of attendees to stop at his booth and ask him  what the heck had happened.  He was calm, cool and collected and said to me: “There was absolutely nothing I could do, so I decided to make the best of it and tell folks what happened and I figured they would stop and ask me all about it!”

I stopped to see him at the end of the show and he actually had a very successful show.  His labor cost was minimal and so was his drayage!  Moral of the story? Look for a solution!

There are some strategies for success when the economy is chugging along at a glacial pace!

1- Reinvent your business.  Look at your products and your customer needs differently.  Lets face it as long as everything is going well there is not a huge impetus to make changes and innovate or be more cost conscious.This is particularly critical in the trade show world where costs to exhibit are high.

2- Stay abreast of technological advances.  How can you be more efficient using technology. How can you automate your business more. How can technology and social networking help your trade show strategies and success.  (That is another whole subject for a different blog)

3- Most businesses in a slow economy truly focus on existing customers. Whatever you do, don’t forget your existing customers, but by all means reach out and develop new customers.  Don’t be afraid to reach out.  Before a trade show incentivize your customers to introduce you to new customers.  These could be a colleague from a different division, or a colleague from a  different company. Let your existing customer base sing your praises.

4- Help your customers be more successful at trade shows.  Design and build more cost efficient booths.  Really look at the possibilities of “greener” booths.  Booths that are made from recycled materials, booths that are lighter to ship and don’t take as long to put up.  In the long run, this will all come back to you in greater returns.  If your clients are more successful, so will you and your business be!

Today is a good day for reflection.  It is my birthday and the start of a New Year.  Let’s just say that this upcoming year is a much more positive and good year for trade shows and subsequently for the trade show business as a whole.  I am looking forward to EDPA in December and meeting with many of my colleagues in the industry to see how sales vs. booth rentals are doing.  To get a pulse on what is happening in the rest of the trade show world.

I believe this economic crisis has allowed employers to clean house, trim the sails so to speak and actually generate profit in many instances. When you have a general consciousness of a down economy employees are less likely to balk at furloughs, a week or two without pay as they are simply grateful for their jobs.  There are many industries that are actually doing well.  For goodness sakes lets look at Goldman Sachs…what was that?  The medical and dental industries are alive and well as well as high tech.

Take care of your customers and they will take care of you.  The squeeze always rolls downhill.  It is worth taking protective measures to ensure that you get paid in a timely manner.  Trade shows are a live and well. It is high time to look to the bright side of things and let go of the gloom and doom.