Doing show business in the 1990s means running leaner and meaner in theface of competition that is stiffer than ever before. It means entertainingideas that never would have occurred to a show producer in, say 1980. Likeoutsourcing exhibit space sales.

During his three decades as a show producer Hugh MacGregor never consideredoutsourcing booth sales. It's not that he was opposed to the idea of hiringan independent contractor to sell booth space. It was simply, MacGregorsays, a concept that was "never contemplated." Launching hisshow career with MacLean-Hunter in Canada in 1964, he went on to form hisown company in the mid '70s. In 1988, he sold it to Reed Expositions Co.,where he stayed on as Executive Vice President for three years.

"We trained staff in-house in all facets of show management,"MacGregor says. "The salesperson had to be wellrounded. It took abouttwo years for a person to become knowledgeable about the show industry.I couldn't imagine doing that outside the company."

Now President of Sable Productions 2000 LC in Marco Island, FL, MacGregoris virtually a one-person sales "team" for his second-year event,The Marketing Show, held in Fort Lauderdale. Would he look at outsourcingbooth sales now? "Yes. I'm not stuck with the notion it won't work."

Though he's not from Missouri, MacGregor would take a "show-me"approach -- he would have to be convinced that the independent contractorcould become thoroughly knowledgeable about his show and could answer exhibitors'questions with a level of expertise. "They would have to know theaudience attending the show and the exhibitors' expectations. Our productis the audience we deliver, what we give to the exhibitor. If they canpresent that element of the show fairly, that's really what the exhibitorwants to hear. The salesperson has to be prepared to answer a plethoraof questions."

For many show managers, outsourcing the booth sales function to anoutside contractor would be as wrenching as sending a child off to daycarefor the first time.

"There is a sense of ownership -- as there should be -- and it'shard to allow someone outside to have that empowerment," says LeeLanghorst, a former show manager who runs Show Success, an outsourcingcompany based in Lake Villa, IL.

His is one of several new independent outsourcing businesses begunin response to the growing need for space sales help among not only associationshow managers but also for-profit producers.

Early on, associations took up the outsourcing banner as a way to produceshows without overburdening existing staff or incurring the expense ofadding staff. They found ready-made sales expertise through several for-profitshow companies agreeable to contracting out the services of their in-house,trained sales staff.

Most notable of these for length of show experience is George LittleManagement Inc., a 70-year-old company based in White Plains, NY. A strongindication of the deepening trend toward outsourcing is the company's activesolicitation of association business. According to Tony Lee, Vice President,Sales and Marketing, it recently established a Washington, D.C. officespecifically for that purpose and has begun advertising to the industry.

Joan Hall, President of Joan Hall & Associates LLC, an outsourcingcompany in Fairfield, CT, says that since her company start-up six monthsago, she has added five new employees. Right now, she notes, most of herbusiness comes from associations.

"Ninety percent of show management is selling," says MacGregor.Nowhere is that more evident than at independent show companies who succeedor fail by the bottom-line. They have always been more reluctant to handtheir "babies" over to those outside the company.

"We have always handled booth sales in house for our own showsand for those we manage for others," says Lee. "Our own showsare primarily in the gift and homeware industries. We looked at outsourcing,but we feel we know the shows and the industry better than anyone. We feelwe're better off getting people from that particular industry. It's easierand quicker to train them to be salespeople than to be industry knowledgeable.You can only get that from experience."

Michael O'Loughlin, Marketing Manager at O'Loughlin Trade Shows Inc.,a family-run company in Portland, OR, echoes Lee's assessment: "Wetried outsourcing and found that the contractor didn't have any betterexhibitor contacts than we have. We haven't found a group that's betterat selling than we are." To be fair, though, O'Loughlin says as muchas 50 percent of the sales function for his shows, which cover the recreationalvehicle, sportsmen, boat and home and garden industries, are in-personsales calls resulting from years of relationship building with exhibitorsand prospects -- an advantage not typically available to space sales contractors.

Yet, more and more, independent show producers are warming to the ideaof outsourcing sales. Why? "Independent companies have more showsto sell, and its a matter of time management. Though sales are a biggerpiece of the pie for them, they can hire a contractor and focus on otherthings," says Wendy Morris, Vice President of Sales and Marketingfor ExpoVention, an outsourcing company in Great Neck, NY.

Getting a seasoned show professional when you contract booth salescan be key to making the process cost-effective and, indeed, workable.

In the past two years, a growing number of show managers have launchedtheir own outsourcing businesses. Some, like Langhorst, were caught inthe other '90s trend: downsizing. When Reed Exhibition Companies closedits Chicago office in 1994, Langhorst, a show director for 12 years, wasoffered relocation to Connecticut. He opted instead for severance pay andinvested it in setting up a home office.

"Outsourcing is an opportunity," says Langhorst, "tohire someone basically at the cost of a clerical person, who you don'thave to provide office space and benefits for and who brings to the tablemany years of show experience."

In many cases, Hall points out, show managers can save the costs ofnot just one staff person, but sometimes two or three, especially if bothsales and exhibitor administrative services are outsourced.

Bob Craft, President of Craft & Associates, an outsourcing companyin Columbus, OH, says you can eliminate, too, a lot of the individual frustrationthat usually accompanies in-house selling and collection.

Karen Reynolds-Feld, Expo Group Director for the Business ResourcesDivision of Inc. magazine, relies on an outsourcing company to providesales and exhibitor services for Inc. World, a 350-booth show whose exhibitorsare suppliers to small and emerging companies. However, she concedes that,after researching show companies and looking at bringing people on staff,ultimately it would pay to have an in-house sales staff.

On the other hand, for Sharyl Parker, Director of Marketing for theOregon Restaurant Association in Wilsonville, OR, saving money, while important,was not the only consideration when weighing outsourcing pros and cons.Until this year, she produced the Northwest Food Service Show with onlyone assistant when the association hosted the event every other year --the show rotates between Portland and Seattle, where it is run by the WashingtonRestaurant Association. Now Parker's association has hired the local exhibitsales company that also has been selling booth space for the Seattle event.

"It still costs us more initially to outsource, in that we areadding to the payroll. But what you're really doing is designating wherethe staff needs to spend time," Parker says. "For us it was aclear-cut decision, though one not made easily. In order to carry out ourassociation programs, we were going to have to outsource something; andsince it was the logically separate component, we chose booth sales."

How to do it right

Growing the relationship