How Does Your Trade Show Partner Behave - Class & Integrity?

 Today, while I was scrolling through LinkedIn, I saw a post labeled, "learn from the oops moments at CES 2024".  This post was from a local competitor.  I will not name them here, because I do truly think it is tacky to do so. Stand on your own merits, don't put other companies down on any social media platform.  But I digress.

I took a look at the blog post for this company, and it actually contained photos and text that clearly called out the exhibiting companies!  Yeah, shaming them for their exhibits at CES. Really?

Here are a couple of phrases they used describing not only the exhibits, but the exhibiting companies.

"This year however, the streaming giant got it all wrong."

They went on to say that people waited in line to get into the exhibit and had they known what they were going to see, they "wouldn't have wasted their time"

"The fact that this was their solution would seriously make one think twice about partnering with (Insert exhibitor name here).

"The devil's in the details even when you are shelling out millions on an otherwise sensational stand. (Insert exhibitor name here) would have been better served by scraping these vinyl letters of their exhibit entirely."

There are more, but you get the gist. I was astonished and disgusted enough to make a comment saying it was tacky to post the exhibitor names and slam them like they did in this post. The language in the post was arrogant and condescending. 

Suffice it to say, my comment was removed by their social media people.

Unless you are the exhibitor, you have no idea what these exhibitor stories, maybe their freight was lost, maybe they are a start up.

Shame on this exhibit house. Really.  This, to me, was a HUGE OOPS moment on their part. Why would you do business with someone like that?

One of These Things Is Not Like The Other...

 

   

In the past, elegance and structure have not really been associated with portable trade show displays.  Let's think back to many years ago and Sesame Street!  Here is a blast from the past.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other - Credit Sesame Street.

I will answer your question, but we need a little history lesson to get there.  Portable exhibits have come in many shapes and sizes.  The most common had fabric panels, you could print graphics and Velcro them to the exhibit. They were revolutionary many years ago.  There have been a lot of product advancements with this system and many people still use them.  Photo mural panels elevated the popup to another level.

There have been many other portable/pop-up displays systems over the years.

One of the most popular is tube stands.  They are an aluminum tube system with a pillowcase graphic that slides over the aluminum frame.  

There have been advancements in this system to adding different frame sizes, accessories and more.  Different frame sizes used together to make modular displays.

Tube stands with pillowcase graphics have been around for a long time.  They are lightweight, they are easy to set up.  The pillowcase allows for 2-sided graphics.  

They have some downsides though too.

• They are beginning to look dated
• Graphics, unless done well can be saggy
• The cheap versions (usually sold by promotional product companies or others that have no business selling trade show exhibits) are not stable.
• Most carry limited warranties (you break it, you replace it)
• They really have become a commodity item
• Everyone seems to have them now

Now, why would I tell you the downsides of a system that we sell a lot?  Total Displays has always provided good quality products.  We do sell a lot of tube systems.  Typically, the people that are buying them are upgrading from an old school pop-up display.  They are often replacing retractable banner stands with simple tube stands.

1. If you are insistent and love the look of a tube stand, please be sure to buy from a reputable trade show exhibit company.  If you want to see the difference in quality, let me know and we can do a Zoom meeting where I can show you one of ours vs. one that was produced by a promotional products company.  Trust me when I say, they should stick to pens and hand sanitizers.  They really know nothing about trade show exhibits.

2.  Next time you walk the show floor, take notice of them.   How many look good, how many do you see?

Another popular portable option has been retractable banner stands.  Again, really a commodity item.  Seriously, everyone has them.  I have seen 10 x 30 and 10 x 40 exhibits filled with retractable banner stands.  They may be easy, but do they really represent your brand in the best light possible?  When used in the right situation and environment, retractables can be a great solution.  But if you really want major impact?  Look for something else.  

Why do you exhibit at a trade show?  What is the purpose of your exhibit materials?

One of the whole points of a trade show exhibit is to make you stand out in a crowd!  

I'm sure you are all on pins and needles wondering what we would recommend?  

We have an amazing line of products, called Symphony.  PORTABLE ELEGANCE.  Portable exhibits have generally looked portable.  The tube systems were a step in the right direction.  But now we have the next step.

Do these look portable to you?   

• Multiple frame shapes/sizes to build customs looks
• Large monitor support.  
• Cell phone charging ports on backwall counters.
• Curves.  
• Sturdy, aluminum extrusion frames.  
• Professional tight fit, silicone edge graphics.

• LOCKING storage in counters.
• COMPLETELY Tool-less assembly

Take a look at some kits to show you some examples of looks you could build with these components.  

Elegant Portable Exhibit Ideas

Or better yet, call or email us at 952-941-4511 or sales@totaldisplays.com to review components and build your own custom look with this amazing new system.  

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

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.

2023 Trade Shows, Planning, Process, Process, PROCESS

What a riveting blog post title right? I must not be feeling very creative right now. We have a number of best practices documents and recommendations we make to our clients regarding trade shows, and I thought I would share a bit of one of them right now.

Since trade shows have made a comeback, we continue to be plagued with shipping issues. Things are better, but we are not out of the woods yet. Two very specific issues include:

• Shipping Delays
• Increased Shipping Costs

FedEx & UPS will just plain deliver whenever they feel like it. They make very few guarantees anymore on deliveries. With FedEx the only service you can even dispute is overnight service and that is expensive.

But this isn't about shipping. Increased shipping costs COULD/SHOULD be a catalyst to your organization to do a better job in planning.

Here are our suggestions.

• Plan your ENTIRE year worth of trade shows NOW. If you are in growth mode that may not be possible, but at least plan a full quarter in advance.
• Work with your trade show exhibit provider to be sure you have a calendar of shows with at least dates and locations set. Many trade show exhibit companies have online portals that you can utilize to manage your trade show schedule. Total Displays offers one to their storage clients.
• Consider using a trade show exhibit company like Total Displays to manage and ship your trade show assets. That frees up your marketing team do work on actual marketing rather than packing and shipping your trade show assets.
• If you handle your own logistics, be sure to have a documented process for the people that are preparing your trade show assets to go to the show. The last thing you want is for something to arrive at your show broken, dirty or not functional.
• If you are going to handle your own logistics (see above) hire someone like Total Displays to help you create documented processes to ensure your success.
• PREPARE. Last minute show orders and requests are EXPENSIVE.   Again, be sure you have a written policy internally or with your exhibit company that indicates what you want to happen when an overnight or expedited show request is received. Don't get surprised with a shipping bill that is more than the cost of the concrete for the show. Last minute orders costs everyone a lot of money.
• Who makes decisions about what assets go to each show?  Is it your sales reps? Is it a marketing rep? Do you sales reps pick the best and most expensive give aways to go to an underperforming show?  Again, I can't stress this enough. PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS. Have documented procedures and make sure your staff or your trade show exhibit company follow them!

These thoughts are a drop in the bucket. Be sure you have good partners to help you navigate the brave new world of trade shows. If you want to chat more about any of these items or need help in creating documented or best practices procedures for your organization and trade show team, contact us at:  sales@totaldisplays.com

A Tale Of Two Exhibitors

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only."

A Tale of Two Cities - Charles Dickens

In my last blog post I told you about some of the "interesting" things we saw while walking a recent trade show. During that trade show, I had the opportunity to stop and chat with a number of our clients and prospects. Don't worry, I only stopped to say hi if there was no one else at their booth. I would never interrupt an exhibitor talking to clients or prospects.

It was the best of times. We had a new customer directly across from a prospect. The new client had a brand new 10 x 20 lightbox.  You can find it here. They also had 2 custom counters with color coordinating LED lighting. 

The graphic was blue and white, the counters were white with the same color scheme. 

The counters had LED lights under the top and at the bottom. The carpet was white. Yes I said white. It was absolutely stunning. The glow from the blue counter lights on the flooring, the white furniture and table. Everything coordinated, the lightbox immediately drew your attention to their booth.

You can find the counter here on our website.

We can't take credit for it all. The client had a very clear vision in his head of how he wanted things to look, we just helped him execute it. 

The flooring is here on our website.

In talking with client they had the best show they had ever had. They had people waiting 8 deep in the aisles to talk to them. They are considering adding more shows to their trade show schedule and they were very excited about the leads they received.  I've said it before and I'll say it again.   DETAILS MATTER.

Now on to the other exhibitor, it was the worst of times. They had an older popup style 10 x 10, their graphic was very non-descript and had a lot of text on it, a table with a wrinkled table throw in the front, standard black carpet and the two staff members were sitting at the table on their chairs and phones. When we visited with them, they had a terrible show, very few stopped at their booth and they felt they didn't get very many leads. 

So many think that they can skimp on their trade show exhibit. Honestly, this may seem harsh, if you can't afford to look good, don't go.

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

   

  

Tool Free Trade Shows & "Lies"

Say it isn't so Thursday.  

I'm not sure how long I will keep up this theme of 'Say it isn't so Thursday'. But, yes, right now, it seems like things are happening every day that make you shake your head.  So hold on and follow along if you are so inclined. 

If you know me, I can be known for being a bit blunt. There is no point in beating around the bush, so here we go.

General Contractors, Freeman's, Ges's etc have been known, occasionally, to "stretch the truth" (to their advantage.)

We had a client recently purchase a 10 x 20 lightbox exhibit from us. The system they purchased uses a tool free knob connection. 

Here is a short video of how that tool free connector works.  

Video

The client was setting up their own exhibit. While they were setting up, a general contractor union labor person (I have written about unions in the past) came by and told them, they needed to pay for their labor to set up their exhibit. They told them that if it required any kind of tool, they had to hire labor.

NOT TRUE! Exhibitors can set up their own exhibits.  

There can be some wonky (that is a technical term) rules and guidelines at various show locations. It is always good to read them and/or have a copy on hand while you are setting up. They absolutely sometimes try to take advantage of exhibitors. I am not a fan of reading the fine print, but in this case it is better to be armed with facts and knowledge if they try to bamboozle you into spending money with them.

Luckily our client was quick to show them that our lightbox went together with KNOBS - NO TOOLS - NOT EVEN AN ALLEN WRENCH. They sulked away looking to harass another exhibitor. Ok, that might be my interpretation, but how do you live with yourself if you are constantly trying to scam exhibitors by lying to them? 

Here are a couple of other recent "show requirements" our clients have been told.

1. You can't order furniture from someone else or bring in any other furniture.

2. You must rent an exhibit from us, not from anyone else.

3. You cannot bring in your own flooring.

Exhibitor rights matter. Trade show general contractors and unions and dare I say it, show producers/associations can be abusive at best. You can see my other LinkedIn post about trade show vacuuming.  

Say It Isn't So Thursday 

Working with a knowledgeable trade show exhibit company will help. They will help you navigate the treacherous waters of general contractors at your trade shows. If you want a gut check or to get some advice?  Call Total Displays at 952-941-4511 or email orders@totaldisplays.com and one of our project managers will be happy to chat with you and tell you the truth.

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

Don't Call Me For 5-7 Years

 I had an interesting conversation this week with a prospect.  I have spoken with him many times and he was interested in some products and services that we were offering.

Total Displays is so much more than just trade show exhibits.  We have many clients that have existing exhibit properties but utilize us for combinations of  some of the following:

• Replacement Graphics For Any System
• Flooring
• Furniture Rentals or Purchase
• Storage and Trade Show Logistics
• Installation & Dismantle Services Nationwide
• Custom Retail or Interior fixtures
• Trade Show Accessories
• Trade Show & Office Safety Products

The prospect told me that he had a booth he bought a couple of years ago and that when I asked if I could follow up with him before his next show?  His response was, "really, you don't need to call me for 5-7 years."  

Let's think about that for just a minute.  A couple of questions came to mind for me as a business owner immediately.

1. So, you are telling me your business will not change or evolve at all in 5-7 years?
2. Are you saying that marketing and messaging only needs to be updated once every 7-10 years? (Remember he bought a new booth a couple years ago).
3. You will have no new products or services in the next 5-7 years?
4. You don't think there will be any wear and tear on your trade show exhibit in 7-10 years? 
   
   
   

Could it just have been a brush off from the prospect?  Yes, possibly.  But it made me think a lot about why people update or refresh their trade show exhibit.  Here are some statistics.

• Expected life time of a trade show exhibit is 3-5 years.
• Many of our clients rent exhibits and update their look every year!
• Do you track number of visitors? (You should be).  Most of our clients report that the number of visitors increase when they have updated or made a change to their trade show exhibit
• Do you want to be seen as a static company or a dynamic, growing, evolving company?  If you want to be static, use the same exhibit and graphics for 4+ years.  Trust me it will work.
  
  
  

Trade shows are a very unique opportunity for you to get your brand, products and sales staff in front of literally hundreds or even thousands of prospects in a very finite window of time.  Trade shows are expensive.  There are easy ways to update your look without breaking the bank or you can really wow them with a new look every couple of years.  If you aren't getting the leads you need or are going to the trade show just because you should be there.  Stop.  Don't waste your time or any one else's time.

Let Total Displays help you get the most out of your trade show program with strategic planning and review of your trade show program and your trade show exhibit assets.  We want nothing more than for you to be incredibly successful at your next trade show or event!  Call us at 952-941-4511 or email sales@totaldisplays.com

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

Sometimes, I am just plain ANGRY!!!!!!!

 Where to begin?  I am hearing Julie Andrews in my head, "Let's start at the very beginning..."  

Today we had a client visit our office/showroom to review some new exhibit properties.  A 10' exhibit and a table top.  

Considering what our industry has been through, you would think I should be excited, right?  Nope.  Today it made me ANGRY.

Let's go back a bit here.  2020.  We moved into a new space in January of 2020.  2019 was filled with excitement as the building owners were doing a custom build out specifically for us and our new space.  We were choosing flooring, paint colors, laminate colors, fixtures etc.  The whole family and all staff got involved in packing, throwing away things we didn't need any longer and even designing space.  

Our then 16 year old son has a great eye and he was helpful in decorating the new space.

It was a very exciting time.  Here is a little area that he envisioned and designed in our showroom/lobby.   Porter, our son, is a senior this year. At one point his dream was to run our business.  I'm not exactly sure where that dream is going to go now?

2020 was on track to be our BEST YEAR EVER.  We had so many committed orders, rentals, services jobs and so much more.  It was a very exciting time for us.  Our staff was growing and business was booming.

 Of course we all know what happened.  I won't belabor any of those details.  The job/order cancellation the lost business etc.  Talking about all that is just negative energy. It is history. It is behind us. We are moving forward. We are excited and encouraged again. Business is coming back.

But there are days that the anger, the sadness, the frustration creep back in.  Today was one of them. Since we moved into this gorgeous space, we have only had a handful of visitors. As we were preparing the showroom, I went to turn on the lights on some of the exhibits.  I realized something that hit me like a ton of bricks.  I said to David, "I don't even know where all the switches are to turn on the lights in the showroom."  Wow, I stopped for a second in my tracks and the last 14 months all came flooding back. I got MAD.  All the people in our industry that have been without work, all the companies that have lost significant revenues all the customers in marketing that were let go.  Dang it, no one deserved any of this.  

Despite my frustration, when that client walked in the door I was also hit with a wave of gratitude.  This is what it is about. I am face to face with a client and I am helping them look great for their upcoming events. I am listening to their needs and creating or selecting the perfect solution for them.  They loved some of our new products, and were excited to bring those ideas back to the team for their upcoming show schedule.

It is daunting, sometimes overwhelming, but we will rebuild. We will be better than we were before because we have grown and learned a lot during this time. We are fighters.  We are survivors. We are GRATEFUL.

If you like what you read, please share it!

====================================================
Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/ or check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com    

Little Red Warning Flags

Do you know those things that happen during the day that make you go, hmmmmm?   Do they happen to everyone, or am I just special?   Don't answer that.     When you hire a new sales rep there is this honeymoon period.   You are in love with what that new sales rep can potentially do and they are in love with the potential of a new job.   Sales reps are famous at selling themselves to a potential new boss.   But when the rubber hits the road, can they deliver?

During the honeymoon, you might notice a couple of things.   You know, little red flags.   You notice them but you ignore them because, well you are on your honeymoon (of sorts).   Equate them to a marriage.   It might be like the spouse that puts the toilet paper on the roll wrong, or leaves the toothpaste cap off.   It isn't enough for you to get a divorce but you might take notice.

Here is what I want to tell you.   LISTEN TO THOSE LITTLE RED FLAGS.   Take note of them.   Actually even write a memo to the file and perhaps if they are severe enough, have the audacity to actually speak to your new hire about them.

Over my lifetime of hiring and firing sales reps, I have gotten better at listening and paying attention to those little red warning flags.   But it still hard.   I guess I believe in people.   I am a glass half full kind of girl.   I don't want to believe that these little warning flags could turn into great big red storm warning flags.   It seems though that unless you head those little warning flags off at the pass, they will inevitably turn into a much larger storm and problem.

CRM is your friend when it comes to a new sales hire.   Measuring performance and tracking metrics is incredibly important.  But what I will also tell you, is it is important to have those same metrics recorded for your best and top sales reps.   For example, if you generate potentials through a lot of cold calling, you need to track a couple of key metrics.

• Average number of calls per day (notice I did NOT say dials).  Watch for reps that artificially inflate their metrics by recording a new call for an immediate call back.  I actually had a rep that recorded in 5 minutes, 5 calls to the same prospect and logged them all as separate calls.  

• Number of potentials/opportunities recorded per week.

• This will give you an average # of calls to new potential ratio/percentage.   This is an important number so that you can back into the number of calls required per day/week in order to generate the number of potentials/opportunities you need to make your quota.

This also gives you a baseline metric/goal for your new reps.

When your average number of new potentials to # of calls placed is 10% and your new (supposed seasoned professional new rep) is only 3%.  This is a pretty big red flag. 

Good CRM usage and measurements will help you identify if your little red flags should be heeded sooner than later.

If you have made a bad sales hire?  Cut your losses quickly.  You can lose a LOT of money if you let it drag out too long.   Have those metrics ready, present them as expectations to the sales rep and you will find that they can't hide behind excuses.

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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/

You can also check out our website at www.totaldisplays.com

Bait and Switch or Seller Beware!

I have been in sales for most of my career.  That is a lot of years.    Over 30 to be exact.   Sales is a very unique career.   Lots of nuances, trends, tricks and hurdles.  A good salesperson never quits learning from experience though.   We have had some tough deals/losses here in the last couple of months.

I want to highlight a recent experience. 

There are a lot of people that really don't understand the value and/or the cost of building a trade show exhibit.  There are so many things to take into consideration. 

1. Build custom?   
2. Use a system
3. Lightweight vs. heavy?

These are very big generalizations but they are important for the message of this story.  We can build any custom exhibit you want out of wood panels, with fabric or vinyl or sintra or laminate.   We have carpenters that can build anything.   We tend to shy away from that, because the custom wood exhibits are heavy and can often require tools to assemble.

At Total Displays we tend to focus on systems where frames are easy to assemble, more lightweight (saving money on drayage - more on that later).   The other thing with systems is they can be reconfigured easily and/or can break down from a larger exhibit down to a smaller exhibit, often saving significant money.

Recently we had a company reach out to us about building an island exhibit.   I have called on this company before (although they didn't remember that).   I remember that they said, they built their own exhibits.   I have seen pictures of their exhibits, and they absolutely built it themselves.   They were not built by a trade show exhibit house.   Generally people that think they can do it better than an exhibit house are not going to be interested in buying.  That is fine, I just don't take the time to call on them.

So, I was very surprised when I received a request to call them because they were building a new island exhibit.

RED FLAG ALERT - RED FLAG ALERT - RED FLAG ALERT - RED FLAG ALERT - RED FLAG ALERT.

                                                                                                                                                They told me they already had an exhibit house design and bid on an exhibit for them.  The exhibit house told them they had to make a decision in 4 days in order to get the exhibit built in time for their show.  (Shame on the exhibit house.   There were 3 months available to build this exhibit.  That should have been plenty of time.  It was not a complicated island.  But, I digress).  They liked the design but didn't like the price tag.  They wanted to know if we could help them.

Now, before you get all excited.  We did not take the other exhibit house's renderings and say, yes we can build that even though the client provided us with those renderings.   That would be unethical.  We designed our own exhibit after meeting with the client and reviewing their needs.

We presented our option and they liked it.  They had us do 7, yes 7, revisions.   Now make the depth 1/2", now it 7", how about 13.5".   The tower heights?   Let's do all 16' towers.   No, let's do a 14' a 12' a 10'.   Oh and then can you price me out an 8' too?   Oh, and I don't like these counters, can you do something different?   Oh, on those different counters, I like the first one better, can you change them back?   The chairs at the table need to be bar height.  We want the main part of the tower to be a light box.   We want the side part to be a lightbox too.   No, we only want the side part to be a light box and the main part to not be light boxes.   Of course every one of these required detailed pricing.   Can you change the gray carpet to black?

And yes we did it.  Because that is our job.   That is what we do.   We gave them everything and exactly what they wanted.   We went to wrap up the order because our contact told us that the business was ours and that he just needed to get the final approval from his boss.

GUESS WHAT?   SURPRISE (not really).  We got the email that they decided to send it out to another exhibit house to bid.  Honestly, it does not surprise me in the least.   The red flags went up when they came to us after the first exhibit company.   I need to learn to listen to that little nagging voice in my head.   

I wanted to walk away from the business.   My gut told me, this was not a good cultural fit for our company.   But, as a small business it is difficult to walk away from any business.   I should have listened to myself.

We are about honesty and partnerships.   I never should have engaged with a prospect that was willing to let a company put that many hours and effort into a deal (which they most likely assumed was theirs and they were possibly told by the prospect that the deal was theirs, like we were) and then turn it over to someone else.

You may say, that I failed at my job of providing them a solution and selling the value.   Maybe that is true.  But honestly, I don't want to do business with a company that works that way.   I would much rather find the prospects that become long time customers that appreciate what we do for them.  We are much more likely to keep them happy!

Lesson learned.   The end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018 have had some tough lessons.   I will continue to grow and get better so that I can better service the clients and prospects that come my way.

Have you ever walked away from a deal or a customer?

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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/

Do You Lose Gracefully? Or are you going to make them pay?

This is a long post.  Sorry.  If you have read our other blog posts, you know how passionate I am about partnerships and about integrity.  A lack of integrity exists in all industries.  I refuse to be a person or a company without integrity.

Every line of business out there has them.  The liars, the cheats, the dishonest business person.  You hope you do not run into them much.  That is one of the reasons that we believe so much in partnerships and why we value the great partnerships we have.

Seriously I can't say it enough.  If you have great partners, do not lose them.  Value and take care of the relationships.


Last year we lost a client that stored their booth here at our facility.  The client never had the decency to call us and tell us.  They simply had another display house email us saying they wanted us to ship them all of the client's booth materials.  The client had a new VP that had a relationship with another display house.  That happens to everyone regardless of how well you care for and service your clients.

We reached out to the client multiple times, not to try to save the business but to make sure that it was ok to ship their materials to another display house.  The client would not return our calls.  Eventually we connected with the client.  We packaged up all their materials and shipped them out.  We did not charge them for even close to the time that it took us to package it all up.

So why do I tell you this?

A few months after that, the tables were turned.  We had a client acquire another company.  That company had a booth that was built by a custom house out of Atlanta.  The parent company wanted to move those materials over to use to store and manage their show schedule.  Our client had a very different experience.  The client reached out to the custom exhibit house to find out what materials were there and how to get the materials shipped to our location.

What transpired leaves me shaking my head and wondering how this company possibly has any clients.

The exhibit house treated us and the client with nothing but disdain and contempt.  We reached out to them as the client had a show coming up.  Even though the client asked us to get the booth ready for the show the exhibit house would not answer any questions about the booth property that they were storing.  They held the booth hostage and tried to throw us under the bus with our client.  They acted desperate and childish.  They continually tried to undermine our efforts.  Here are some excerpts of some of the emails they sent us and the client.

"I told you I am on VACATION, I will deal with this when I get back."

"I have been in the industry for over 30 years...."

We were trying to get a list with weights and sizes so that we could coordinate shipping of the materials.  They would not provide that.  They told us,

"Just schedule a full 53' air ride trailer."

Now anyone that has been in the exhibit industry for 30 years knows you don't just schedule a full trailer without dimensions and weights of things being shipped.  Here was our response to him.

Mr 'I've Been In The Industry For Over 30 Years':

I appreciate your response yesterday advising us to schedule a 53’ air ride trailer for the 'Client' materials however our logistics partner is in need of greater detail. We respectfully request again on behalf of the client, the # of pieces, the types of pieces i.e. crates, pallets, tubs, the dimensions of such and their  estimated weights.

We cannot just send in a 53’ trailer without more detail.  It also would be excessive in equipment and money if we were to bring in a 53’ trailer when a straight dock truck would be sufficient.  This freight will not be first shipping to our Minneapolis warehouse but rather to our warehouse in Atlanta for prep prior to 'Show Name'

I hope you can understand my position.  I have to be mindful of my money and expenses as well as the client’s.

After trying to convince the client that they were better than Total Displays, trying to find our client's boss to go over her head, and stalling for as long as possible, they finally agreed to ship us the product.  They charged the client over $3,000 to pull it all and ship it and never did provide us with a list of what they were shipping.  We did get the dimensions and weights.  Here is the internal email the owner sent to his warehouse manager.  He forgot and copied our client on the message.  Whoops.

To:  'Warehouse Manager'

Why would you spend all the time to do a detailed list. Not needed. Ship it.

You seen how much we got for this move out. This is not a product that needs all the attention. Your done ship it

'Mr I Have Been In The Industry For Over 30 Years'

All the exhibit materials eventually arrived.  The crates were a disaster, they were poorly packed, pallets of junk were sent to us.  Broken things, non-working things.  It was a mess.

The icing on the cake?  We are in the process of installing this booth at the show.  The exhibit house provided the client no set up instructions, no pictures of the booth, no inventory list even though all those things were requested.

The exhibit house had a booth right across the aisle from our installation.  Our clients booth was truly custom and complete over kill (more on that in another post later).  We know nothing about the booth or how it sets up.   As our crew was trying to figure it out, the crew from the exhibit house setting up the booth across the aisle.  What do you suppose they did?  Sit and laugh at our crew.

This is the epitome of a poor loser and why would you want to do business with a company like this?

Here are our suggestions to you in case you have an exhibit partner that may have this type of behavior lurking under the surface.

Make sure you have current photos of any booth.

Make sure you have current set up instructions for your booth.

Make sure you have graphic templates so you can replace graphics when needed.

You should not have to protect yourself from your exhibit partner.  But we learned the hard way that not everyone is a gracious loser and not every exhibit house is a great partner.


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Lori Hanken has been in sales and marketing for over 30 years. She is passionate about service and providing value to her vendors, prospects and clients. Lori is currently co-owner of Total Displays with her husband David. They help people look great at events, trade shows, in retail, museums and develop long partnerships with customers and suppliers. If you would like to learn more, email her at lori@totaldisplays.com. She is an open networker, connect with her on LinkedIn here.

Read other Total Displays Blog posts at http://totaldisplays.blogspot.com/