Baseball season is upon us once again. That means it’s time to refresh yourself with our BASEBALL TERMS – CLASSIC STYLE! Whichever team you root for please keep in mind these three non-bendable rules:
(1) When a foul ball comes your way in the stands, catch it without dropping your beer or popcorn.
(2) When asking for an autograph, tell them your son’s name is spelled H-A-R-O-L-D. and
(3) The only acceptable condiments for a ballpark hot dog are mustard and sauerkraut. Period. PLAY BALL!!!
I was recently asked to share memories of my very first sales call. I had to blow the dust off many layers of memories to find my way back to the early 80’s.
People usually find their way into our industry via two different paths: your family member owns an exhibit house in which you spend your youthful summers schvitzing away in a sweltering shop (I’m looking at you, Nick Carty!) or like most of us… you trip into it by accident.
For me, it was accidental. Please allow me to share some snippets from the early chapters in the Book of Harold.
Fresh out of college, I somehow managed to get a gig as a copywriter at a local ad agency. I was writing 5 ads a day/5 days a week — TV, radio, newspaper. I wrote all the ads. Whatever the client or my boss asked for, I wrote it.
One day my boss says, “We have a new client (The Washington Times newspaper). They need to see some radio copy. Go write me five spots by the end of day.” As he was leaving my office, he tossed out one more instruction… “Don’t be funny. This is a serious client who is attempting to plant a serious flag. Don’t be funny.”
Sounds simple enough, right? Five ads before the end of the day. No funny. Gotcha. But here’s the problem. After doing my research on this new daily paper, I honestly felt they could use some humor to get people’s attention.
So after penning five straight (rather boring) radio spots, I decided to do one more… for extra credit. And it was funny. Really funny. Might have been one of the best ads I’d ever written. I was quite proud of it actually. So, when I went into my boss’s office that afternoon, I presented the five assigned “not funny” ads and proudly placed my extra credit copy right on top of the stack. MISTAKE!
He began to read. After a few seconds, he balled up the copy and tossed it into the trash can. There was no way he’d read the entire ad! My young and inexperienced emotions bubbled to the surface and before I could zip my lip, out it came… “FXQZ You!”
After he stopped laughing, he said, “Okay. You know you’re fired, right?” He continued, “And just a suggestion, it’s probably not a good idea to say ‘F You’ to your next boss.”
I was once again on the streets looking for a job. I sent out resume after resume. Bupkus. I even got my hair cut (at my father’s strong suggestion).
After a month of scouring the want ads, one of my buddies said, “Why don’t you go see my brother? He owns an exhibit house, and he’s looking for someone to write a client’s annual report.”
An exhibit what??!! Didn’t know. Didn’t care. I was out of work and needed money. I booked the appointment.
I was hired and after six weeks, I completed what I’m sure remains one of the world’s most boring annual reports ever written.
But during those 6 weeks, I noticed odd things around the shop and I had questions. Lots of questions.
“What’s that?”
“That’s a piece of moon rock. We’re making a display for the Smithsonian.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s a calligrapher. He’s illuminating (hand penning) diplomas for Mt Vernon College.”
“What’s he doing?”
“He’s a sign painter. He’s painting posters for the local department store.” (Listen youngsters — Vinyl machines didn’t always exist. Before Gerber made the first vinyl plotter/cutter, all signs were either hand painted or silk-screened.)
This all looked like great fun! So I asked if there was a permanent spot for me on the Blair, Inc Team. There was. In sales.
Sales? No kid that I know says, “When I grow up I wanna be a salesperson. Ewww!” But I needed the job. I didn’t know it at the time, but Scott Jackson, owner of Blair, Inc had just given me my first sales gig in the trade show industry. (By the way, Blair, Inc is still kicking butt in Northern Virginia, currently enjoying 72 years in business.)
So there I was — young, inexperienced, and probably not much more knowledgeable about trade show exhibits than my future prospects. Although I had tagged along on a few sales calls with my boss, I didn’t feel like I was prepared to go solo yet. Doesn’t matter. The call came in, and I went out.
All I knew about the prospect was that they were an engineering firm and that they were a two-hour drive from our shop. I arrived about half an hour early. Always good to be early. But I screwed up the time. The appointment was set for 2:00 pm – NOT 3:00 pm.
I walked in thinking I was 30 minutes early, but in reality, I was 30 minutes late. No time to visit the restroom to unload the 20 ounces of coffee I had been slogging down.
I was ushered into the conference room where there were seven men staring at me. Remember… I’m a rookie. Instead of starting by asking the questions I now know are critical to capturing a prospect’s needs, I proceeded to make my presentation all about my company, my team, and ME. After about 10 minutes of non-stop blabbing, I finally pulled out my newfangled “pop-up exhibit.”
Nomadic Display’s corporate headquarters was just down the road from Blair, Inc and they had recently given us some demo Instand frames to show clients. I popped open the frame and the room full of engineers went nuts. They immediately jumped up and said, “Do that again!” At the time, nobody had seen Ted Ziegler’s pop-up technology before. They were astounded and wanted to know everything about it.
No longer nervous, I taught them how to open it. They were sooooo into it!
I told them everything I knew about “Instand pop-ups,” which took all of two minutes. But they were engineers and started asking me questions. Lots of questions…
“Can the shelves hold 30 pounds?” “Sure.” No they can’t. They don’t even HAVE shelves.
“Is it reconfigurable?” “Of course… Don’t be silly.” Liar!!!
“Can we get it by Friday?” “Absolutely.” Nope.
They couldn’t have been more excited, and I couldn’t have been more worried. I spent the return two-hour drive freaking out. Oh my gosh! What if they actually BUY this display and find out it that it can’t do ANY of the things I’d promised?!
I needn’t have worried. Never heard from them again. As impressed as they were with the technology, they had also detected my rookie-ness on display and had decided to go with a more seasoned (smarter, more knowledgeable) salesperson.
I wasted their time and mine. I crashed and burned on my very first sales call — badly. But I did learn some big lessons.
1. Get There Early – Never, ever, ever be late for a meeting. Get thereearly. Get their WAY early. But never be late. In Hollywood I learned this ditty… “If you’re early, you’re on time. If you’re on time, you’re late. If you’re late, you’re fired.”
2. Engineers – I know it’s stereotyping, but in my experience, engineers tend to like details. All the details. They also tend to want to put WAY too much copy on exhibit walls that nobody will ever read except maybe other engineers.
3. IDK — If a prospect asks you something that you don’t know the answer to, say “I don’t know!” Tell them you’ll find out and get back to them ASAP. And then find out and get back to them ASAP.
I mentioned up top about the two ways that people find their way into our industry: by family or by accident. While reminiscing about my early career, I realized that most of the companies that I’d worked for were all family houses:
Blair, Inc – son-in-law took over from father-in-law
Nomadic – daughter took over from father
HW Exhibits – son took over from father
Last week, I was in Texas and had the pleasure of sitting down for a cup of coffee with Danny Kent/5D Show Services (https://5dshowservices.com/). Danny’s dad, Rick Kent and industry icon Larry Crumlish started The Exhibit Store in Dallas many, many years ago. Danny shared with me how he spent his youth at The Exhibit Store learning from the ground up. It was emotional for both of us listening to him wax poetically as he reminisced about the early days and people no longer with us.
For all those who swam into our industry via their family’s gene pool, good for you.
And for all the rest of us who found it by accident… how lucky are we?
–Harold Mintz (harold@classicexhibits.com)
It was a summer day like any other… until it wasn’t. So many questions… “I’ve never done this before. How am I supposed to spit?”
Temperatures all week were flirting with 100 degrees. It has been toasty. But when came Friday, the day of Classic Exhibits Annual Company Potluck, the barbecue gods heard our pleas… the temp dipped to a beautiful 84 degrees with light breezes to cool one’s brow.
With Chef Boy R Kevin behind the grills pushing out burgers, dogs and veggie patties, the company stuffed itself on traditional picnic fare. With the noshing complete, it was time to unfurl the Official Seed Spittin’ Tarmac and begin launching watermelon seeds.
The slight breeze was fickle, sometimes coming in on your face and other times gently cooling your back. Choosing when to spit was just as important as choosing the perfect seed.
The rules are clear and simple:
Let there be spit. As the initial spitters began to launch their seeds, it was clear that records would soon be falling. While the breeze was minimal it was just enough to lift an average spit to a good spit status while a fairly good spit could be elevated to Olympic Spit Repute.
I shall keep you waiting no more. Here are the results:
Women’s 2023 Champs
Men’s 2023 Champs
Yes… you read that correctly. James’ spit of 50’ was unbelievable. It was outrageous. It didn’t just have distance – of which it had plenty. But it also had accuracy keeping his seed on the 60” wide tarmac a massive 50’ away from the toe line.
In the 40 years I’ve been hosting Watermelon Seed Spittin’ Contests, I’ve never, ever seen a seed launched that far and that accurately. It was a spit for the ages. Those in attendance will be telling grandchildren about the spit heard round the world.
Women’s All-Time Champions
Men’s All-Time Champions
Best Worst Spit Champion
“Let’s host an event in Louisville for our Distribution Partners during EXHIBITORLIVE.” Yes, please! Throwing unique corporate events is one of the most enjoyable tasks anyone can ask of me.
When someone says Louisville, you might immediately think Kentucky Derby. Or where 90% of the world’s bourbon is distilled. Not me. While they’re both iconic and associated with Louisville, they’re both just a bit too on the nose.
Louisville to me says baseball because it’s the home of the Louisville Slugger Museum and Bat Factory. Starting in 1884, Hillerich & Bradsby (aka Louisvillle Slugger) is the country’s oldest continually operating sport’s equipment manufacturer in the United States. Every kid who’s ever played Little League knows Louisville Slugger baseball bats. And as luck would have it, it’s a convenient ½ mile walk from the Louisville International Convention Center.
Hosting a successful event is simple if you follow a few guidelines. Here are 5 tips to hosting a memorable event that your guests will remember for years:
1. Pulling the Rope – Why are you hosting the event? Are you trying to promote a new product or service? Are you presenting year-end awards? Just like designing a successful exhibit, the best way to accomplish any goal is to know it and share it with your entire Team. Pull the rope in the same direction at the same time.
2. I Want Buzz – We’ve all attended corporate events held during trade shows. Maybe it was a party sponsored by a client, a vendor, a publication. While I’m always thrilled to be invited, these events often end up being “okay” or “nice.” I don’t want nice. Don’t they all just sort of fade away into a hazy blur of sameness just as soon as you walk out the door?
If you’re going to host a party, make it memorable. I want buzz. I want people thinking about the event long after it’s over.
3. Forget the Crudite – Hotel Ballroom? Trade Show Floor? There are reasons companies host their events in these spaces. It’s simple. But simple doesn’t usually lead to memorable.
Find unique venues. Look for a place where parties aren’t usually held. Throw more money into the location rather than the food being served. Guests will remember a unique space long after they’ve forgotten about that crudité.
I’ve thrown events in a stinky 90-year-old boxing gym, the bell tower of the National Cathedral, a wax museum, Cirque de Soleil’s private gym for their performers, the Kennedy Center. I once scouted the ballroom at the Russian Embassy in DC. The venue is EVERYTHING.
Once you’ve selected your unique venue, add layers. Did you know that you can rent the island of Alcatraz? You can! Thank you, National Park Service! For that party we hired an ex-guard and ex-prisoner to speak with attendees in the prison’s old chow hall. Memorable? Exclamation Point!!!
4. It All Starts with the Invitation – The event doesn’t start at 5:00 pm. It starts about a month before the event when the invitation lands. That’s when you start building the buzz with an unforgettable invitation
Invitations offer an opportunity for some pretty serious pre-buzz, weeks before the event ever begins.
5. If You Build It, They Will Come – While there are lots of things you can stress about, getting your guests to show up probably isn’t going to be one of them. As a matter of fact, once your guests experience one of your parties, they’ll be on the lookout for next year’s invitation months in advance.
Wanna talk about planning unique, fun business events for your Clients? Give me a call. Happy to chat.
Harold Mintz, Regional Sales Manager
harold@classicexhibits.com
The trip odometer read – 1741 miles. That’s one serious road trip. Just a few weeks ago, I traversed the Southeastern United States for two weeks to visit Classic Exhibits Distributor Partners in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Driving that many miles over 13 days gave me plenty of time to experience life on the road.
Most road warriors understand that business travel impacts others as much as themselves. Sitting at the top of this list is how your absence can affect your family life. The longer the trip, the more impact.
Me: “Dear, I’m starting to plan a business trip for early December. Looks like I might be gone for a few weeks. You OK with that?”
My Wife: “Yes. Go!”
Well, that seemed a bit too easy. Make a note to bring Susan back pecans from Georgia. Susan loves pecans.
Sales Volume – Almost everyone’s sales were up in 2022. And not just up. Most distributors on this trip told me that 2022 was their best year ever (financially).
Showrooms – Are they making a comeback? No, not from what I’ve observed. But one thing is obvious… those who have showrooms stand out and get noticed! Of the 17 offices I visited, only 4 (four) had showrooms. These four offices had impressive showrooms showing a wide assortment of products including double decks, backlit graphics, LED signage, interactive digital offerings, etc. And the showrooms weren’t just there “for show.” They also served as client meeting/conference rooms. Clients were surrounded by product and design offerings without being actively “sold” on them.
Petrol – I live in Los Angeles. As almost everyone knows, gas prices in California are stupid. At the height of the stupidity, we were paying over $7.00 per gallon. As embarrassing as this may sound, I do a happy dance in CA when gas is only “$4.95/gallon.”
On this road trip, I stopped to fill the rental car somewhere outside of Atlanta and gas was $2.39/gallon. Less than a gallon of milk. I texted my wife a picture of the prices, and her response was “Forget the pecans… bring home gas!”
Gray Hair – A question I try to ask all Distributors during a visit is, “What is currently giving you gray hair? Short term or long term… what do you need to work on or fix to make your business run more smoothly?”
Of the 20 or so times I asked this question, here are some of the most common answers I received:
Customer Mix – New vs Existing – Another question I tend to ask is “What percent of your business comes from Existing Customers vs New Customers?” While I tend to get a variety of answers, the vast majority tell me that 75% of business comes from current/former clients while 25% comes from new contacts or referrals. (Looking for ways to tip the scales toward NEW Clients? Send me an email and I’ll tell you – Harold@classicexhibits.com)
Just Like a Doorknob – I stayed in a different hotel just about every night. I’d check in, drop my bag off into my room then go out for my evening meal. When I would get back to the hotel, I head to the elevator and press my floor’s button. The elevator rumbles up to the 3rd floor and the doors open. I now have a decision to make – is my room to the left or the right?
Doesn’t matter… Whichever direction I choose is wrong! ALWAYS WRONG! It’s comical. I have the sense of direction of a doorknob.
Two weeks is a long road trip: Two weeks of bad coffee, loud hotel neighbors, and being away from home and family.
Our industry is filled with seasoned Road Warriors. I learned from the best — Alex, Dave, Reid, Jen, Tom, Hendrik, Lynn, Gina, Kevin, and Mel. So many folks who drive our industry forward. If you are a Road Warrior, regardless of your role, I feel for you and appreciate what you do.
Last but not least. Classic’s Distributors make this job easy to enjoy. You never cease to surprise and amaze me. Like when you:
The exhibit industry really is a family. I appreciate the opened doors and the time you spent with me last month. Already looking forward to the next trip. But more on that later.
— Harold Mintz, Regional Sales Manager, harold@classicexhibits.com
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Based in Portland, Oregon, Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, and custom-hybrid exhibit solutions. Classic Exhibits products are represented by an extensive distributor network in North America and in select International markets. For more information, contact us at 866-652-2100 or www.classicexhibits.com
