Trade Show TalesBlog

Posts Tagged ‘Classic Exhibits’

EXHIBITORLIVE Portable Modular Award Photos

April 25th, 2018 COMMENTS

KevinBlog

This is a vanity post. 😉

Earlier this week, EXHIBITOR sent us photos from the Portable Modular Award ceremony at EXHIBITORLIVE. Classic Exhibits won three awards: the People’s Choice Award for the Parallon island exhibit, a Find It Top 40 Exhibit Builder honoree, and #1 for Service and Reliability among the Top 40 Producers.

EXHIBITOR Magazine will feature all the winners in the June (or July?) publication. Below are photos from ceremony that feature us. Yes, just us! Hey, I told you it was a vanity post.

Thanks again to The Astor Group for the Parallon project.

 

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

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Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom 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.

Erica Dougherty from Exhibits Northwest Shares Client Feedback

April 13th, 2018 1 COMMENT

EricaBlogHeader

Erica Dougherty, an Account Executive at Exhibits Northwest Seattle, connects with her clients because she takes the time to get to know them and their business. That extends to feedback after a show, which is invaluable.

According to Erica, “My client, Darryl at DF/Net Research, is wonderful about sending feedback and kudos to me/us. He has allow me to share his success stories which may be beneficial to other Classic Distributors. Below are two emails from two shows, along with photos.”

DF/Net Email #1

Hi Erica,

Looking forward to it. As you know this was our first trade show – the Society of Clinical Data Managers in Orlando. We didn’t really know what to expect, and wondered if it would be worth it. Was it? Absolutely.

The new VP of Global Clinical Operations from a long time software client (10 years) came to that conference by himself unknown to his staff. He was shopping for new data management software to replace our system. In fact, he had gone 6 months down a path with a large global competitor – a competitor with > $1B in revenue.

He stopped by our booth for a demo and a chat. I gave him a 30 minute demo, and we took him to dinner. He was really excited about our current software – his company was using a version that was about 7 years behind. We talked about modernization, moving their company forward, and having DF/Net take a larger role with his company to provide services and software. And talked about how much sense it made to stay with the modern version of our software rather than switch to an unknown.

Long story short we just signed a contract for services worth $800K over 13 months. And they are continuing their $100K/year software license. They have studies through 2028, so we can think long term on both services and software.

The take-home message? Did we get new clients? Yet to be determined. Did we get new business? Yes. And the most important thing we learned was that your current clients attend trade shows routinely. There are many shiny happy people there trying to take your business away. If we had not gone, I’m sure that at some point in the next  year or two they would simply have told us they were not renewing their software license.

We also learned that you can have a booth that competes with the $1B companies. But regardless, it’s the people at the booth that make the difference. Just be yourself. I was amazed how many competitors hire “show people” that look good, but don’t know anything. The booth is your chance to make decision makers make a decision right on the spot.

Oh, and the $1B competitor? We got a call from them saying that they had a major client looking to use our software, but they had zero inhouse expertise. Would we be willing to partner with them and subcontract the work? No, we were not.

That’s our success story. Thanks for all of the great help on the booth!

–Darryl

Other

DF/Net Email #2

Hi Erica,

We just had another trade show in San Francisco last month – I wanted to share that your lunch and learn tips were helpful. In particular, don’t eat at the booth, don’t check your phone or email, and always look engaged.

I’ve attached a photo taken of the booth next to us. Problem #1 was that 2/3rds of their booth didn’t show up. But even then they spent the entire time sitting behind their desk looking down at their computer and/or phone. During lunch when the most prospects were walking the floor, they were busy munching on their food. With my new awareness I noted that no one approached during the busiest time of the day. Hope they enjoyed their $12,500 lunch….

I think we had about 5x the foot traffic and interactions than they did.

We also had continued success with our charity cards, I think I may have mentioned these before:

https://www.tisbest.org/

Jim acted as the “speedbump” with the cards to engage passers. A charity card has a better story (and one that takes more than 1 second to explain) than perhaps a water bottle or USB stick.

Thanks again for the tips. It’s an ongoing learning experience.

–Darryl

Please let Erica know if you found these helpful (erica@exhibitsnw.com). She would love to hear stories and feedback from your clients as well.

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

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Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom 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.

Classic Exhibits Shared Knowledge University, June 21-22

April 5th, 2018 COMMENTS

Earn Your Exhibit Baccalaureate Degree in Two Days

Register today for SKU. Space is limited and available slots ALWAYS FILL FAST. We look forward to seeing you in Portland, OR on June 21-22. Plan to stay an extra day or two and enjoy the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.

See the video and the flyer below for more information about Classic’s Shared Knowledge University. Contact Jen Labruzza to register.

Shared Knowledge University at Classic Exhibits

MORE Seismic Changes in Trade Show Products

March 31st, 2018 2 COMMENTS

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The trade show marketplace has undergone seismic changes in the past six months. You made that VERY, VERY clear at EXHIBITORLIVE. Since our business depends on happy distributors, we returned to Portland committed to upgrading our product lines to appeal to EVEN MORE corporate exhibit buyers.

Four EXCITING New Galleries in Exhibit Search

Please check your branded Exhibit Design Search. You have four new product galleries, all with at least 80% margins. Gone are Visionary Designs, Perfect 10, Sacagawea, and SEGUE. These have been replaced with more budget-friendly systems and interactive products. As we learned from EDPA, it’s all about the “experiential” for contemporary exhibitors. They want to feel things. Touch them. All while staying within a Dollar General price range. At the same time, you need to maximize your margins. On some products, we are extending your discount to 90%*, but you have to provide the paper boxes and paper bags. We are prohibited from using plastic bags in Oregon. Sorry.

It’s a BRAND NEW DAY for Classic and our Distributor Family. Join us in celebrating the four new galleries listed below. As always, we welcome your feedback. We are who we are because of you. Just think about that.

DesignSearchRevamp

  • $99 & Under Displays.  Never lose another sale! Except to the $49 & Under Display website. Bastard!
  • Above Ground Pools.  Affordable and interactive. Your pre-show marketing plans just got easier. Discount chlorine too!
  • Extrusion Remnants.  Surprises galore in the extrusion grab bags. Anything is possible with enough screws and duct tape.
  • Scratch-n-Sniff Graphics.  Go ahead and touch it. Perhaps this time it’s Pina Colada. Perhaps not! Scratchy scratchy.

*Please sell responsibly. Quantities are limited while supplies last. May cause bleeding or sudden death. Don’t take candy from strangers. Or strange people. Or anyone really. Not responsible for direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect, error or failure to perform. All rights reserved. April Fools.

To read about the REAL updates in Exhibit Design Search, CLICK HERE.

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

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Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom 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.

Exhibit Design Search | All New EDS Changes!

March 29th, 2018 COMMENTS

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Yes, EDS has changed… again. Now, don’t shake your head. You should be excited about these changes since they are all based on suggestions from you, our Classic Exhibits Distributors. I’m going to refer to them as “3 Modifications” since the word “change” makes some of you sweat like a cold watermelon on the 4th of July.

Modification #1

Exhibit Design Search

This one is BIG. About three weeks ago, we reorganized five galleries from product-centric to functional galleries. In hindsight, we should have done it before. It took a few weeks to make the switch since it required shifting hundreds of kits to new galleries. In short, the new galleries are more logical. Now, instead of Sacagawea, Magellan, SEGUE, and Perfect 10 galleries, there are the following:

  • Trade Show Islands:  All islands from Classic Exhibits with some from Eco-systems Sustainable
  • Modern Hybrid Exhibits:  Upscale, mid-priced inline exhibits, whether modular or custom
  • LED Lightbox Designs: Inline LED lightbox designs, whether custom, modular, or portable
  • 10 ft. Portable Displays: All 10 ft. Sacagawea and Perfect 10 kits, plus portable SEGUE, Magellan, and Visionary Designs. It does not include the Quadro or FGS pop up displays which are in separate galleries
  • 20 ft. Portable Displays:  Same as above, except 20 ft. inlines

Same kits. Same information. Just reorganized to make it easier to find the ideal design.

Modification #2

Exhibit Design Search -- Rental Feature

Several months ago, we expanded our rental design offerings, adding over 200 new kits — inlines, islands, and accessories. At the same time, we added a price comparison feature making it easier to compare rentals and purchases. That’s been HUGE hit with distributors, since it opens the door to chat with clients about rentals.

It also said to Classic Distributors, “Talk to us about what your client wants for a rental whether or not you see it in EDS. We’re open to any and all design suggestions.” And boy-oh-boy you have embraced that enthusiastically. We love the ideas. Keep them coming.

However, the additional kits made the Rental Gallery somewhat overwhelming, so we split them into two galleries — islands and inlines. There are now three Rental Galleries in EDS:

Modification #3

Advanced Exhibit Design SearchPersonally, I love the Advanced Search feature in EDS, but I suspect that few distributors use it. That’s not surprising since the link isn’t a fancy button or surrounded by flashing lights. But if you are a power-user of EDS (feel free to add that skill to your LinkedIn profile), then the Advanced Search can make your life much easier when narrowing down the perfect designs for your clients.

With all the gallery changes, we had to decide whether to keep the product search functionality or migrate to the new search options. We chose the later, since you’ve told me (many times) that the product names often confuse your clients. While that hurts my feelings, a little, I need to be the better person and not hold a grudge for the rest of my life (Internal voice:  “Suck it down Mel. Just suck it down!”)

I encourage you to explore the Advance Search feature, using it to search select galleries, conduct text-related searches, or drill-down to very specific design options such as a “lightbox with shelves.” No, it’s not Google good, but it’s still pretty darn impressive.

I plan to conduct several Exhibit Design Search training webinars this spring so look for the email notification. These usually last about 45 minutes and move pretty fast. If you’ve ever spent more than 10 minutes with me, you know I have a lot to say about EDS. Clearly.

Got questions? Give me a call or send me an email. In the meantime, explore EDS on the Classic site, the unbranded version, or your unique branded Exhibit Design Search. Confused about whether you have a branded version, contact me or Jen Labruzza, the National Sales Manager.

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

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

Classic Exhibits Inc. designs and manufacturers portable, modular, hybrid, and custom 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.