Trade Show TalesBlog

10 Basic Business Rules in a Broken Economy

August 12th, 2011 Mel White 11 COMMENTS
10 Business Rules for a Broken Economy

10 Business Rules in a Broken Economy

I Made a Wise Decision This Week

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the federal budget impasse and the inability of Congress and the President to negotiate a reasonable, intelligent, and non-partisan solution to the deficit. No doubt, you have your opinion about the final “deal,” one that is well-reasoned and not influenced by the talking heads and their simple solutions for complex problems sound bites. The market found it unsatisfactory, just as did Standard and Poor’s. For those who haven’t viewed Jon Stewart’s humorous response to the downgrade, I invite you to see it here.

I made a decision this week, akin to the ostrich sticking its head in the sand. I plan to ignore the gyrations of the stock market, the government economic reports, and anyone connected with minute-by-minute analysis on CNBC, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, and WSJ. In addition, the 2012 elections, and any news related to it, are off limits until next summer.

What I’ve learned is that these distractions are not helpful to running a business in our broken economy. They are neither insightful nor enlightening. They are, in fact, counter-productive to working with customers, employees, suppliers, and colleagues and prospering in this uncertain time. It’s time to re-work, re-invent the rules. So, with all humility, here are my “10 Basic Business Rules in a Broken Economy.”

  1. Sales Trends are So Last Year. There’s no such thing as an overall sales trend anymore. Whatever happen in March and April has no bearing on sales trends in August and September. Zero. If anyone tells you the following, “Based on our sales this spring, we expect fall sales to increase by 15 percent,” they are living along the banks of D’Nile.
  2. Average Joe Has to Go. You can’t reform a hardened criminal or an average employee. You hire people for what they know. You fire them for who they are. If they are not moving the bar forward, then cut your losses NOW.
  3. Hunters and Gathers. If you define yourself as one or the other, then you should consider the convenience store business. Slim Jims would be a better career choice. For most of us, we no longer have the luxury of sales specialization. We need account executives that find new customers and cultivate existing ones. Don’t have one skill set or the other? It’s not like learning to play the violin. You can fake it.
  4. The Consultative Approach? Customers don’t want consultants. They want experts. Experts provide proven answers and solid results. Consultants offer advice, which may or may not work. Unless you are an expert in your field and have solid, proven solutions, then you are wasting your customer’s time.
  5. Good Suppliers Matter. Industry supplier relationships matter, if there’s a marketing, sales, and R&D symbiotic relationship. You would be surprised at how often they promote your business whenever they meet with their customers. Be good to them, and they will be good to you.
  6. Common Courtesy and Politeness. Go ahead — blame Twitter, email, voicemail, bad parenting, or high-fructose corn syrup on rudeness in society. Pointing fingers is just another way of not taking responsibility. Being nice doesn’t make you a “Nancy.” It means you respect others. I don’t know about you, but I enjoy working with people who treat me with respect. Do yourself a favor and learn these three powerful phrases:  “Please,” “Thank You,” and “You’re Welcome.” Rinse and repeat.
  7. Management by Walking Around (MBWA). In my humble opinion, the single best management concept to emerge in the past 40 years. It’s too easy to get disconnected from people and your business when you spend the day staring at a computer screen. Even worse, the core values that drive your business get blurred, muddied, or lost when you are not talking to others in casual, unstructured situations.
  8. Margins Matter. Yes sales matter. Yes, costs matter. But, if you obsess about one or the other, you tend to ignore margins. When is the last time you analyzed your margins? Chances are your costs have changed in the past year, but you haven’t factored how those costs affected your margins. Margin creep occurs in every business, particularly in difficult economic times. Then when sales improve, you’re scratching your head why your bottom line hasn’t improved.
  9. Vacation. Have you ever wondered why you are at your best after a vacation? Your brain needs a break. It needs to clear the rust away, just like a hot water tank, which will last longer and heat faster if you drained it several times a year. You need to flush the mental sediment to be at your best. One more thing . . . if your office can’t survive a week or two without you, then here’s something you need to understand. You suck at managing people. Good managers have good employees who can manage their workload.
  10. The 2012 Elections. The 2012 elections will have no bearing on whether your business is successful this year. Quit blaming Congress, the President, some government agency, or the teacher’s union. Turn off the TV, turn the radio to a music station, and pick up a good mystery novel. I guarantee that you’ll make smarter decisions over the next twelve months.

What did I miss? What rules do you live by in this broken economy? Please share. And be polite. 😉

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@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.

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Posted in Mel White, Uncategorized, Word on the Street | 11 Comments »

The Greenbuild International Conference and Expo

August 5th, 2011 Mel White 1 COMMENT
Greenbuild International Show

Greenbuild 2010

Using GREEN to Grow Businesses

The Greenbuild International Conference & Expo is right around the corner, taking place in Toronto, ON from October 4-7. For those who have never been, the show is spectacular, filled with some of the most innovative sustainable products that you will ever see.

The Greenbuild Expo exemplifies the idea of utilizing GREEN to grow businesses. The show provides an unrivaled opportunity to learn about the latest innovations, explore new products and exchange ideas with other professionals. The 3-day event also includes numerous educational seminars and workshops, and is the four-time winner of Tradeshow Week’s Fastest 50 growing trade shows in the U.S.  Last year, in Chicago, IL, the event drew nearly 40,000 attendees and over 1,000 exhibiting companies.

Greenbuild’s attendee base is large, diverse, and geographically distributed. In 2010, the show welcomed attendees from 114 countries, many of which were high-level decision makers.  This year, as the show moves to Toronto, the international intrigue only expects to rise.

Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits prepares for this event months in advance, expecting a spike in sales and RFP’s. Although Eco-Systems is not “officially” affiliated with Greenbuild, many exhibitors are drawn to our line of sustainable displays. Last year, Eco-Systems built over 35 exhibits that were displayed at the show. Some of the materials used in the construction of these exhibits include:

  • Recycled Aluminum Extrusion
  • Graphics made from 100% Recycled Soda Bottles
  • LED Energy Efficient Lights
  • Biodegradable Infill and Graphic Panels
  • Bamboo Shelves and Cabinetry
  • And much more . . .

See examples of our Sustainable Exhibits Here:

Textured Coatings of America Inc. purchased a 20′ x 20′ Eco-Systems exhibit for the Greenbuild Show last year. President and CEO Jay Haines had this to say:

“I think it’s one of the greenest booths here, and we’re extremely happy to showcase it at the Greenbuild Show.”

For more information about the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo, please visit the website:  http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Home.aspx.

Greenbuild International 2010

Greenbuild International 2010

To contact Eco-Systems Sustainable Exhibits regarding exhibit options for Greenbuild or any other show, please contact Eric Albery:

Eric Albery
VP of Marketing & Business Development
eric@ecosystemsdisplays.com
Direct: 616.726.6269
Main: 866.463.2611 x 303

(Source: http://www.greenbuildexpo.org/Home.aspx)

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Is The Great Recession (TGR) the New Normal?

July 31st, 2011 Mel White 6 COMMENTS

I enjoy a challenge. Not a Darwin Award challenge or a Mexican Drug Cartel challenge, but a normal middle-class, just risky enough to be an interesting kind of challenge. Three years ago, I thought that meant hiking the Appalachian Trail for a week or installing laminate flooring in three rooms or attending an extended family reunion and not passing judgment on my Appalachian cousins. They were manageable challenges, which had a start date and end date. Or, at the very worst, I could decide to opt out mid-stream.

Three years ago, the U.S. economy lurched into what my peers are calling “The Great Recession” (TGR). We all knew from the get-go that it was going to be bad. How couldn’t it be after nearly every U.S. citizen contributed in some measure to the collapse, either by living beyond their means or by allowing our political and corporate leaders to convince us that laissez-faire meant being lazy about our responsibilities. We forgot that humans can be benevolent and altruistic 49% of the time, but at our core we are self-centered and greedy. That’s why we have religion and governments and clans and tribes to keep us connected and restrain our worst instincts. At the same time, we forgot what it was like living in America in the late 19th Century or post WW1 to 1927. Somehow we thought were smarter than history because we had computers and miracle drugs and sweat-wicking clothing.

What we didn’t know about TGR was that it was going to last three years and counting. We thought it would mimic the recessions we’d know in our lifetimes: severe and painful but limited to a year or two. About every month or so, the government or the press would tease us with quasi-good news about unemployment, manufacturing numbers, the stock market, interest rates, etc. We would each fixate on different economic indicators, depending on our individual circumstances.

Economic Ray of SunshineLately, the new normal was becoming more normal, like finally coming to terms with a five-to-eight year prison term after wrestling with it for three years. We were making the best of a bad situation, and using the time to become a better person or a better company because you might as well use your time wisely. While I can’t and won’t speak for most Americans, I can at least say that there seemed to be a window of hope, a promising patch of sunshine on a cloudy grey day. The economy was improving, and those companies that were nimble and resourceful were doing well.

Left, Right, or Center

Now, all that is threatened. Regardless of your political leanings, left, right, or center, you have to be frustrated by the intransigence of our politicians. They have become ideologues, narrow-minded and uncompromising. And who can blame them. Based on the noise from their loudest constituents and wealthiest patrons, they are being told to take impossibly rigid positions, positions that once announced will be recorded and replayed again and again in future elections. Goodness knows, we don’t want our politicians to be “flip-floppers” who change their minds depending on which way the political wind blows (at worse) or based on the most logical arguments (at best). We have become what we criticize in other countries — narrow-minded, fanatical, and illogical. Slaves to our media, religious, and corporate talking heads who claim to want what’s best for our country, but who seem to thrive in a system that promotes chaos and benefits their financial pocketbook.

Perhaps, just perhaps, our federal government has become too transparent, too 24/7. Our politicians no longer have the luxury to befriend their rivals, to negotiate reasonable tradeoffs, to make mistakes. Don’t misunderstand me. The ethically challenged still get elected, as well as the just plain stupid. But, we need to give our leaders, the representatives, senators, and President, the opportunity to be leaders and not just politicians. We didn’t get into this situation overnight. We won’t get out of it overnight. Yet, there seems to be the “necessity” to fix it with either a machete or a vibrator. All pain or all pleasure.

That said . . . I don’t have an answer. And, if you think you do, then frankly, you’re delusional. But, what we can all agree on is that the ray of sunshine is fading quickly, and TGR is about to become the New Normal. We need a reasonable approach from the left, the right, and the crackpots.

A county judge once told me during a mediation session that he knew he’d done his job when both sides left unhappy about the final outcome but shook hands anyway.

Folks, it’s time to suck it up and do what’s right for the entire country, not just for those screaming the loudest. While I like challenges, I’m getting a little weary of this one. I bet you are too.

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

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.

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Silicone Edge Graphics (SEG) as Wall Murals and Displays

July 28th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS

To Classic Exhibit and ClassicMODUL Distributors

We all know that floor space is limited in most of your showrooms. Yet, you need a way to show the clean, uncluttered look of Silicone Edge Graphics (SEG). Here’s a solution. Chances are you have wall space available, or you’ve finally decided to replace that motel art you bought at the State Fair back in 1983. Exhibits Northwest Portland, a division of Classic Exhibits Inc., faced the same dilemma. They were getting requests for SEG displays and frames, but only had a 1 ft x 1 ft frame to show how SEG slotted into the ClassicMODUL aluminum extrusion frame. Clients kind of understood the concept, but only vaguely.

So, they made two inexpensive investments. First, they purchased TSP 10 frames from ClassicMODUL and had SEG showroom graphics printed by Optima Graphics. Then they mounted these frames on the walls between their offices. They chose images familiar to their Northwest clients, i.e., scenic views of Oregon. See below.

Silicone Edge Graphics (SEG) Wall Murals

Next, they added a SEGUE Sunrise to their showroom. The Sunrise measures 7.5 ft and 7.5 ft, assembles without tools, and packs in a SEGUE Sunrise Trade Show Displayportable, roto-molded case. It allows clients to see how a large format silicone edge graphic maximizes the visual space by minimizing the visible extrusion. It gives them a starting point with SEG exhibits, whether they choose a SEGUE Sunrise or an island kit with extensive silicone edge graphics like the VK-5075.

At a minimum, we believe that every trade show distributor should have several wall mounted SEG murals. They will attract attention, have a functional purpose, and are an inexpensive and practical additional to your showroom.

Bottom line . . . Even though you cry whenever you glance at the portrait of “Baby Girl” in your lobby, even Baby Girl, the poodle who meant everything to you, would want you to move on with your life and replace the portrait with an SEG mural. Those flowers you place on her grave every month cost money!!! Time to sell a display.

–Mel White
http://www.linkedin.com/in/melmwhite
mel@classicexhibits.com

*********************************

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.

Posted in Classic Exhibit Systems, Mel White | No Comments »

First-Timer Stories: Word on the Street — July 18th thru July 22nd

July 24th, 2011 Mel White COMMENTS
First Timers

Word on the Street by Kevin Carty

Stranger in a Strange Land

Three months ago, we embarked on a new relationship with an IT vendor, and it has been nothing short of stellar. The vendor, Convergence Networks, has quickly vaulted into one of our best relationships. because they are responsive, knowledgeable, and totally customer focused.

Last month, Convergence came to Classic Exhibits asking for our assistance. They had agreed to be the main sponsor of a business-to-business event organized by the Portland Business Journal. This would be their very first trade show of any kind, which made their sponsorship commitment even scarier. Needless to say, we were delighted to guide them through the maze that is trade shows.

It proved to be an interesting experience for both Mel and me. Like many veterans of this business, we tend to forget what it must be like going to your first event. What we have all come to assume as second nature is actually totally foreign to those new to the game. Just having to traverse through all the rules, regulations and complexities that come with attending a show meant learning a new language and a new business model for them, one that doesn’t always seem transparent and logical.

Confused by Trade ShowsFor example, navigating your way through the exhibitor manual can be daunting. Recall the first time you read through that manual and attempted to complete those forms. It’s a nightmare. At one point, I asked Convergence if they knew how much electricity would be provided for their booth, which was the largest space in the show. Had we not asked, they would have had just enough juice to power a Crest Spinbrush or a cell phone charger.

Even for us, there were surprises like the move-in and move-out schedule. Except for Convergence, everyone had a 10 x 10′ (but more on that in a moment). We built them a 10 x 20 Visionary Designs Hybrid Exhibit with two computer counters along the front aisle. All packed into a small crate. You can imagine our surprise when we noticed that the move-in was limited to 5-7 p.m. and that there were no drayage services! This important fact was not shared with them when they paid for their sponsorship. Maybe show management thought that they could conjure up a display using a magical incantation and then levitate it into their show space. 🙂

Anyway, I am not beating anyone up here. In reality thanks to DWA Tradeshow Service (the general contractor) everything came together very nicely. And Convergence was the class act of the show by having a custom hybrid exhibit with tension fabric graphics, counters, lighting, and carpet. Everyone else had banner stands, posters hanging from the pipe and drape, or a pop up. They were the McMansion on a street of manufactured houses. Convergence really stood out as the title sponsor, which brought them lots of leads. The owner told me that he expects to recoup his investment many times over and put much of the credit on their “presence” at the show.

Please share your example(s) of helping a First Timer with their first trade show experience. What did they learn (or not learn) and how did those experiences influence how you assist other First Timers. I know you “old timers” have many humorous, painful, and interesting stories to pass along to the Classic Distributor Network.

Have a safe and restful weekend.

–Kevin Carty

http://twitter.com/kevin_carty
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-carty/3/800/32a

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