Progress? What Does Recovery Look Like?

 I have always used the phrase, cautiously optimistic. I have always been a glass half full kind of girl. If you look hard enough, you can find good in almost any situation. It isn't always easy, but you can. 

I have noticed the shutdowns in our industry have changed me. I promise and am committed to the fact that it will not change me forever.  But I am painfully aware that I was changed by those events. The world was changed by those events. I ran into some people I knew last night, and we talked about the effects of the shutdowns on entire generations of young people. I don't want to dwell on those things, but realizing how I have changed is the first step to moving beyond it.

I am still slightly fearful in our business. Not in what we do, or what we deliver, but in the future. It is my current reality.

Our industry has rebounded beyond belief. There is so much encouraging news and activities surrounding trade shows.  For example, Shot Show, one of the largest shows of the year boasted record numbers of exhibitors and attendees this year.  You can read some stats here:  Shot Show Stats.

All over my LinkedIn Feed I see reports like this one showing a 69% increase from 2022 (which by the way was a great year for trade shows) to 2023.  Read more here:  69% Increase

Also, all over LinkedIn are trade show exhibit companies like Total Displays, all over the country that are looking for new staff in absolutely every type of position.  

Today, what got me, as I was sitting at my desk, is watching 4 cars drive into our parking lot to park out front and come into our office. We have an interview this morning for another position.  I so clearly remember the days where it was just David and me in the office, wondering, honestly, if we were going to make it. Watching those cars pull in, I teared up a little. There is always hope. 

I am thankful for the partners that stood by us, the customers and prospects that trust us with their business. We are very blessed.

The Importance of Trade Shows

After the pandemic, there has been an excitement to get back on the trade show floor. People are eager to interact with each other and want to continue to grow their business through networking and connecting face-to-face. Trade shows are a good place to find new clients and enrich existing client relationships. 

Event locations are not only selected based on meeting space, but also the group activities and experiences attendees can enjoy outside of the show floor. Some of the largest trade shows are held in top entertainment cities in the United States, for example Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, and Orlando. These locations have unique offerings for attendees , which helps drive attendance to shows and provides a great way to create memorable experiences and foster business relationships. 

Booth design is very important to help draw people into your booth to learn more about your product or service. And once you’ve drawn them in, it’s even more important that you’ve designed a booth that is engaging and noteworthy. You want attendees not only to learn more about your offerings, but also walk away feeling confident about your business and wanting to work with you in the future. 

Total Displays can help bring your vision to life. We’ll work with you to understand your needs and goals for your trade show. We’ll then create a professional and engaging design and booth setup that will maximize your efforts.  

Trade shows remain the best way to build your client list and nurture your partnerships with current clients. They can also be a great resource for you and your team to enhance your knowledge of your industry. Everyone is eager to connect with each other and in-person events and trade shows are a great place to make that happen! 

 

Why Work With a Small Business?

My experience working for multiple small businesses has provided me with the opportunity to not only gain knowledge of every part of the creation, production, and installation process, but it also showed me the value of working with small businesses. The focus that small businesses put into developing and maintaining genuine and trustworthy relationships is key to their success. 

 

At a small business, we understand that communication and flexibility are key to providing exceptional service. It’s important to us to provide customers with clear explanations of what they are purchasing, how to use it, and visualizations of what the finished product will look like in-person. We’ll work with clients one-on-one to gather their ideas and needs and will adapt as needed for the desired outcome. Working together is essential for building a long-term partnership. 

 

You will also be working with people who want to grow their own business and will work hard to deliver. When working with large corporations, it can be challenging to find the loyalty and flexibility that a small business can provide.  

 

Drive and work ethic are the cornerstone of every small business. Here at Total Displays, we are grateful for the trust you put into working with our company and as such our employees are focused on delivering for our clients. 

Suitcasing at Trade Shows

Normally the image of suitcases brings up fond memories or dreams of travel to exotic places. Especially for those of us in the Midwest this winter, it has been brutal. But the term "suitcasing" has other meanings in our industry. This subject hit very close to home for us in the last couple of weeks. I'll touch briefly on that at the end.

I spend a fair amount of time talking with clients and prospects about trade shows. They are EXPENSIVE, but for many, they are worth every dime that they pay. It is the only "tool" in sales & marketing that gets your business and your sales reps in front of hundreds or even thousands of potential and current customers under one roof. Trade shows, if executed well (that is another story) can provide you ROI and help grow your business.

Occasionally, too often if you ask me, I talk with a prospect that tells me that they don't exhibit at trade shows anymore. When I ask them why? They tell me they have found it less expensive and better if they just walk the show and hand out cards/flyers.  Or, even worse, they don't even walk the show, they stand in the lobby to meet customers and prospects and engage in conversations with them.

So, imagine this example. You plan an open house at your facility. You spend a lot of money on marketing, cater in food, promote your event and much more.  A local competitor gets wind of it and sends a new sales rep to your event. that sales rep mingles with people, meets them and gathers their business cards. They proceed to call on every one of your clients to try to capture their business. Is it illegal? No. Is it unethical? ABSOLUTELY. 

In the trade show world it is called suitcasing or outboarding. It is actually against show regulations at most shows.  These are people that want your leads and your customers without spending the money to participate at a trade show.  They hang out on the show floor looking for prospects, they set up meetings with people outside the show without attending the show.  Even worse, they linger outside the show altogether to connect with your customers and prospects.  Does that make you angry? It should.

Industry standards say a 10 x 10 exhibit can cost you anywhere from $15,000 to $50,000 depending on various factors. That includes the concrete, the exhibit & graphics, flooring, furniture, travel, shipping, and material handling at a minimum.  A suitcaser might spend $1,000 - $1,500 in travel costs, airfre, hotel, meals etc.

There are a couple of things that need to happen.

1. Show producers need to make it very clear that this practice is NOT allowed at their show. (It hurts the show producers too, they lose revenues because the people are not exhibiting.)

2. Show producers need to actually kick out the people that are participating in this practice.

3. In order for #2 to happen, people need to report it. If you experience someone trying to sell you something, or make a connection to sell you something later and they are not exhibiting?  Take their card and immediately take it to the show services desk to report it.

Is this going to end it?  Absolutely not, but as exhibitors it is important for you to protect your investment by doing what is right.

I won't get into a lot of details on this, but here is where this got very personal for us in the last couple of weeks. What is even more egregious to me, is when another exhibit house, someone in the trade show industry, tries to poach other exhibit house clients on the show floor. Yes, this happened to us recently with a large exhibit house. They approached at least one company (who knows how many they approached) on the show floor. This company happened to be our client and we have a great relationship with them, so they told us about it.  Shame on that display house. They certainly should know better. 

If you didn't know this practice isn't allowed and you have been doing it? I would encourage you to do the right thing, be respectful of those that spend the money and work hard to go to trade shows and live events. If you continue to choose to "suitcase" then I guess, we know a little more about what kind of person you are and your nature.

To spam or not to spam

On Friday night, I was at dinner with my husband and I got this email.

"Please remove me from your spam mail. I have no interest in any of your bull#$@^"

If you follow me at all, you know I get annoyed with the people that send connection requests on LinkedIn and then immediately pitch me with their services. Or the messages trying to sell me things that have nothing to do with my business which shows that they have made no effort to see if I am actually a prospect or if I have any use for their product or services. 

For these companies, it is a numbers game. They are typically bots that send automated messages on the LinkedIn account. They use some programmed algorithm that clearly doesn't work. Here is a short list of recent pitches I have received.

• You can enter the 2023 Ice Fishing once per day between Monday, January 9, 2023 at 12:00 AM and Tuesday, February 28, 2023 at 11:00 PM Central Standard Time.
• What are we waiting for? Here at blah blah blah Logistics we offer many options to ship your goods.  
• Just circling back to see if you require any customized packaging at the moment. We can produce a fully customized box in almost the same price as the generic ones.
• Got big ideas for Total Displays, but lack the staff to implement them?
• You are invited to HackerX, an invite-only recruiting event for developers
• Are you looking to rent a car in Dubai? Look no further!  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

• I’ve been offering a FREE consultation call to a select number of people but…  My schedule is filling up and I can’t offer this incredible opportunity for free all the time!

• There are many tax planning strategies that can save you money
• We help companies like Total Displays increase productivity consistently with our note-taking software. You can put an end to repeating key details from every meeting!
• Pls see attached cataloge 221218 ceramic pot We are manufacturer and exporter
• Would you be interested in acquiring high quality email list of Social Media Executives?

That is just a small sampling from the last two days. Are they annoying? Yes. Primarily because I have ZERO use for most of them. A couple, like tax planning, productivity, staffing and those sorts of offers I might have interest in them, but unless they are top of mind, I wouldn't likely respond to a blind/bulk email or message like that.  So, the chances are pretty slim that they would get a response from me. I understand it is a numbers game. The theory is if you automate this and get 1 out of however many, 10, 100, 1000 it is a good thing.

I disagree.  If I email someone, I make sure they are a company that exhibits at trade shows.  I already know that they could use my products or services. Typically, if I email them, I will call them first.  Sometimes, I email first and then follow up the next day with a phone call.

So, back to the bull poop... what would you have done?   Normally, I wouldn't engage. This time, I did. I was so taken aback at a Friday night email like that, I replied. I thanked him for his message and told him, not to worry, I would never do business with someone so rude. I told him I happily removed him from all my databases. I quickly put a HUGE note in his CRM record that said, DO NOT EVER CONTACT THIS COMPANY.

Ironically, he replied and apologized for being rude but proceeded to tell me he still wasn't interested in my products or services.  Yup, I replied, no worries, I wouldn't do business with you even if you did.

Remember that most people are just trying to do their jobs. I don't like the bot emails, but there is no point in being rude. Simply delete and or mark the email as junk and move on. Life is too short.

2023 & Beyond!

I am NOT a fan of New Year's resolutions.  My personal opinion is that they set you up for failure. Very few people actually accomplish or live out their resolutions. So, I thought I would share my small bit of wisdom.

This is always a time of retrospect for me as the year comes to a close. We have MUCH for which to be thankful. There is no doubt about that. 2022 was one for the books for sure.

I have learned a lot this year. After 18 months of wondering if we would survive the shutdowns, the answer is a clear and resounding YES.

What I learned or reinforced in 2022.  These are not in order of importance.

1. RELATIONSHIPS MATTER

Relationships are more important than money. Now, as David likes to say, our door does not say 'not for profit' above it. But what we found, especially this year, is that doing what is right, making things right, working with a client's budget. Those are all important things and that the long-term relationship with the client is more important than the short-term financial gain.

2. SHOW UP

No matter what you are doing?  Show up. Give 100%. People need people and our business depends on live events. What I will tell you? Our clients that fully participated in trade shows were glad they did. Very rarely did we hear from a client that they wished they had not gone. We need to be done hiding at home, not seeing people. Get out, show up and even do something out of your comfort zone.  Show up for your clients, your prospects, your neighbors, your friends, your family.

3. SELF CARE IS IMPORTANT

We had a lot of down time. I went back to exercising and eating healthy. Taking time for yourself, to read, practice a craft, take a class, go for walks. Make time for yourself.

4. LEARN A NEW SKILL

Even if it is not related to your business, learn something new. Get an accreditation. Find something you love and explore it.

5. BE GRATEFUL.

This is SO important. Many studies have shown that people with a grateful attitude and/or heart are healthier. Start a gratitude journal. Write down even 3 things every morning for which you are grateful.

6. LAUGH

Sometimes the only way you can survive the craziness of this world is to laugh.  Laughter boosts serotonin. Read more about the benefits of serotonin here:  Read about serotonin.  Laughter also reduces stress.  Who doesn't need some natural stress relief?

7. GOALS

Write down, small attainable goals. Set yourself up for success! Stretch yourself a bit, but know that they are attainable.

Project Management & Account Management Fees

 I have a serious question here. Are we missing the boat? Are we being stupid? We were asked to bid on some replacement graphics for a newer client. They had been working with a custom exhibit house and have since moved most of their business over to us. Since they had provided them with the original graphics, our client had them generate a quote for those graphics. We also quoted it. A couple of lessons that came out of this exercise.

This is a long read/rant, sorry. We are so passionate about customer service and sometimes question what actually goes on in our crazy industry.

1. Comparing apples to apples is important. There are many substrates out there that have varying price points. It is critical that when you are comparing price quotes that you are certain that you are using comparing like products. In this case, we were suggesting a better quality and more expensive product. The interesting part? We were only slightly more expensive than our competitor for a better product. When we priced out the exact same product, we were much less.

We run into this all the time. We get a call from someone. They say, "our existing trade show partner quoted these items for me, they seem expensive, how would your quote compare?"  This is SO hard. Often those quotes from our competitors don't include appropriate detail or images of the products. For example it just says 33.5" retractable banner stand. So, I have many questions when that happens?

    - What is the height?  

    - What is the substrate, vinyl, fabric, fabric with blockout backer?

    - Is the height adjustable?

    - Does it include a soft carry bag?

    - Is there a hard shipping case option? What does that look like?

    - IMPORTANT QUESTION - What is the warranty on the product?

    - Is it US made or China made?  

    - Is US made important to you?

Without those details it is virtually impossible to just compare prices. We put the time and effort into those quotes even though they are not big money makers for us. Why do we do that? Because it is the right thing to do to service our client? Our customer's orders are ALL important to them, not just the big orders, but the little orders too. If they are important to them, they are important to us.

2. Total costs. It is important that you understand the full cost of the product. Some exhibit companies have a number of add-on fees they charge as part of every order.  In this case, for 4 hard substrate graphics finished with Velcro, they had an added $500 project management fee. If you are only comparing the price of the graphics as an individual line item, is not a true comparison.  They also had a $250 packaging and handling fee added. Granted these 4 graphics will likely have to ship on a pallet so a packaging fee may be legitimate.  

So, what does that $500 project management fee entail? This job, if managed well, should take an hour, MAYBE 2 for someone to manage.  That includes quoting, managing the job, delivery and invoicing. If it takes them more than 2 hours, they should find some new project managers.  

That is $250 per hour fee.  As a business owner, I understand the cost of employees is far more than their hourly rate or salary. But this is some good profit for project management.

Where do you draw the line in servicing your client? In the trade show industry, I have always felt that we shouldn't bill like attorneys. There are certain things that should simply be a cost of doing business and I believe customer service is one of those.

Now, for large custom island builds or rentals, there are costs for pull & prep and managing a build that can be billed to the client.  But $500 for 4 simple graphics? That seems abusive to me. 

Time for the shameless plug, Total Displays does NOT charge those project management fees for replacement graphic jobs.

Don't just look at line item pricing. A good partner will help you compare apples to apples. If we are significantly more expensive than a competitor, we will tell you to go with our competitor and save the money.  That is as long as the quality and products are comparable. 

So, back to my question. Are our competitors laughing at us because we don't charge project management fees on every order? When there are options out there for exhibitors to work with a partner like Total Displays why do they keep paying the extra fees? Should we be charging those fees too?

Right now, my answer is an overwhelming NO. We will continue to provide service without charging all those extra fees. If I want to bill for my paperclips, I'll go to law school. In the meantime, we will continue to service our clients the way we always have.