April 2008 From the Editor: Exhibit sales wake-up call By Danica Tormohlen
I got a call the other day from an exhibitor wanting to know how many people attend trade shows and consumer shows at U.S. convention centers, and an average annual attendance for the top 10 convention destinations. I was able to direct to him to the limited information our industry has available, but was curious as to why he wanted to know.
He explained that he works for a publishing company that sells all types of directories. His company buys 400 booths annually, and trade shows are its No. 1 revenue generator. The company makes an average of $150,000 at each booth, and they usually have more than one at each show.
At one show, the company has five booths, and they could and would take more if they had enough qualified manpower to staff them. For his company, it’s a numbers game. If the booth gets enough traffic, they’ll hit their numbers.
The idea he was proposing was to go around show management, direct to the convention centers to sell his company’s directories through self-check-out kiosks throughout the building. He wanted to place the kiosks in restaurants and retail outlets inside the convention center. The convention center would get a cut, and the kiosks wouldn’t require any additional staffing for the outlets.
I asked if he had approached show management about how they could help reach his marketing objectives and leverage his group buy, instead — especially since I didn’t think kiosks would generate as much revenue as a booth with salespeople actively hawking their product. His company buys 30+ booths at several shows produced by a major show organizer. Surely, the show organizer would be more than willing to customize a program to fit his needs.
After he laughed, he said his show organizer wouldn’t give him the time of day, much less have a conversation about meeting his marketing objectives. Knowing the show organizer and its integrated sales philosophy, I was truly surprised that this was his belief. He said the show organizer treats his company like he needs them more than they need him.
All I could think was what a missed opportunity for both the exhibitor and the show organizer. Of course, I only heard his side of the story, but his perception is his reality. And I certainly don’t believe he’s representative of all exhibitors. But there’s obviously a disconnect somewhere in this exhibit sales process.
As much as we like to talk about developing relationships with our bellwether exhibitors, the reality is that many exhibitors think of our salespeople as glorified order-takers and not as marketing partners. It’s a perception we must overcome.
Danica Tormohlen, Editor dtormohlen@red7media.com
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