Exhibition Contractors Standing Out

Exhibition Contractors – Challenges ValuABLE not Value

Every part of our industry faces challenges, some are good and come with big opportunities, but others are more complex and unless we address them, they come with stress and not opportunity.

Having spent almost 30 years in the Exhibition industry, challenges are nothing new to most of us.

Exhibition Contracting has however some unique ones and some of these are realistically out of our direct control. Venue access, on-site costs and all the other Exhibition specific ones that have raised their head even more since covid.

This article won’t address these ones, but rather ones that are closer to home. The ones we have more immediate control over. The aim of this article is to look at these challenges but also how we can address and limit these challenges, so they become opportunities.??

Competition

Conservatively there are 750+ exhibition contractors in the UK. That’s a lot of competition. This means our exhibition clients have a lot of choice. This is good and bad news. Great contractors can stand head and shoulders over their competitors, but we don’t do this by being the same…we do it by being different. By offering more.?

A very famous Dragon from the Den (James Khan said…I look at what others are doing, and I do the opposite)

Creating an amazing stand is great, but unless that stand and exhibition effort translates into business for our client then it really doesn’t matter. If they don’t do well at the show, they won’t exhibit again and we never see them again. The frustrating piece of this is that most of this is out of our control. Or is it? Definitely some of it is, but as an exhibition contractor we can go the extra mile by not just supplying them with a stand but the skills from our experience on how and what to do when they get there. Do you have this skill set? Yes of course you do as you are living and breathing exhibitions every day of the week and you have seen the good and bad. If I asked you right now…”what are 3 things not to do when exhibiting?” I’m sure you would have plenty to say. But do we give this advice to our clients? When I talk to some contractors they say it’s not their job. Really? Repeat business is not your job!? If we want to stand out, the design is a big part of it but it’s not the end(in fact if we do this well, it’s the beginning…of a long term relationship)?

SOLUTIONS: Define exactly how you are different from your competitor —> Put it into words for your client. What are you going to say?

We are never going to get rid of the competition so rather than compete with them…Use competitors to your advantage! Go the extra mile with your clients?à?Exhibiting advice, best practice, Checklists, downloads etc. When we give value outside of the stand we become more valuable so they don’t even consider going to a competitor. Clients expect more and contractors who deliver this will be remembered for it. Get in touch if you want some ideas on this.

Establishing Real Budget Figures

Working with quite a few contractors recently, this issue has come up time and time again and their seems to be a big reluctance of clients to give budget figures. It’s not hard to see why. I think as human beings we are programmed to avoid the question. Many clients want a Ferrari stand on a Toyota budget. There is an opportunity cost in the time we invest in going through the motions only to find the fit or budget is not there. It’s like great exhibitors at shows…they have a qualifying question for visitors to their stand. The reality is if they don’t get a positive response to it, they tend to move on to the next visitor. This sounds a bit clinical and it is to a point. As contractors, I feel if someone is not prepared to give us some idea of budget then we should be pushing the ball into their court to come back to us when they know what it is. My observation of buyers who don’t have a budget or won’t tell us what it is —> They are window shopping. We as contractors need to be far stronger on establishing their budget(by explaining why) and really not going any further without it. It’s also true to say we are in a far stronger(sales) position when they do come back with it. Time really is money(for all of us)

SOLUTIONS: Establish exactly the 3 reasons you need a specific budget and be strong on explaining them

Getting Earlier Sign Off by Client

As the Exhibition industry bounced back from covid there was and still is a huge appetite to exhibit. This of course is great news but with so many choices out there of how to promote their business. We work with a lot of organisers each year and the strong feedback from their sales teams is that people are booking later and later. Maybe there’s a fear of what’s coming down the track or they feel they will get a better price from the organiser closer to the show. Either way this is causing issues all the way up and down the supply chain.?

This additional pull on contractors resources mean an over stretched design team are under more and more pressure, which spills into production and ultimately sales/business forecasting. From our point of view, how we sell the advantage of earlier booking to our clients will ultimately enable us to smooth the circle and give a better service to our existing clients, whilst also giving us time to spend finding new quality ones. Why would you sign off earlier when working with a contractor?

SOLUTIONS: Set exact markers for sign off along the journey – Document this with every client

Standing Out

We live in a world where the word “stand” is so important. When you think of an exhibition hall, visitors decide within 4 seconds if they are going to stop at a stand. This is critically important for our clients and the amazing designs we create for them are a big part of this but they aren’t the only thing…In reality, the single biggest thing that drives success exhibiting is the people on the stand. Everything else is important but business is about people first. How do we as exhibitors stand out so our visitors want more from our company? When we think about it, its exactly the same for contractors. Yes of course we want them to sign off on our design??but we also want them to come back to our business and not even consider the competition. With so much competition in contracting, its not just about the amazing stand anymore…clients want more. They want to partner with a contractor who not only sees their vision but can help them realise it through other value that you bring. We don’t sell someone a piece of software and then just walk away. We sell them a piece of software and show them how to use it. The additional services such as exhibitor training, advice, checklists etc etc ensure that your business becomes even more important to them.

SOLUTIONS: Brainstorm as a company what other value you can offer besides the stand

Sourcing Higher Spend Clients

“I would prefer to work with 5 clients who pay me well, rather than 10 companies who don’t” – The natural reaction for all businesses since covid is to fight for every piece of business out there. On paper this makes complete sense. However, there is an opportunity cost to doing this. This cost is the amount of time we “chase” up potentials. The real key and I am not suggesting its easy, is to find the higher paying clients.?

It does take time but this time pays huge dividends in the long term. I am not saying we don’t chase many companies for business but we have to ask ourselves is this the client we really want to do business with or is it simply a pay cheque. One of the key sessions we do is “Defining the Ideal Client” and it focuses on drilling down and understanding exactly who they are. We do this by looking at a few simple questions:

These may sound a bit wishy washy but the reality is the more we drill down into who they are and what there challenges are the more value we can offer them.

If I was to wave a magic wand and give you any client in the world…who would it be? If you don’t know, that’s ok but if you don’t plan on knowing that’s definitely not a good thing.

SOLUTIONS: Define your ideal client and set to work delivering real value

Value vs Valuable

Value is good.

Valuable is great.

If we want different results then we need to do different things. We don’t sell stands, we sell partnerships with our business so that people will come back to us time and time again. Clients want and expect more from our business and if we don’t give it to them first time, they will shop around the next time. When you create an amazing stand for them you are giving value. When you partner with them on the success of their exhibiting effort you become valuABLE to them. We do have to invest in this additional piece but we are doing it for a longer term gain. When contractors ask me what other things are there or should they do? Well there are many things…

• Training courses in how to exhibit
• Checklists for on-site
• Do’s and don’ts of exhibiting
• Planning spreadsheets
• Other contractor advice on things they need not supplied by contractors?
• Access to articles on exhibiting
• 1-1??calls with contractors previous clients who can help them
• Zoom webinar on working through the exhibitors manual
• Marketing advice

This list goes on and on. The good news is that none of these things are hard to do nor have any or only small costs on. These additional services show your client that you are not only invested in great design but also great success for them.

Yes there is work involved in this but it’s work that’s investing in making you stand out as the only contractor to work with.

If any of this has piqued your interst or you want to take your contracting business to the next level then maybe our partnership program product(strictly limited number of contractors only) is for you. Here is the link and get in touch if you would like to be a partner…

https://lnkd.in/eGJGFh9J ?- Full outline available on request.

In the meantime, we wish you great success in your contracting business.

“Stand Out to Stand Out”

Stephan Murtagh,

The Exhibition Guy,

?Founder of “The 7 Steps to Exhibition Success” Training Program

P.????????+ 353 86 7750420

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