When I first started working trade shows I was mainly just the onsite setup guy. As our program grew and we honed our skills, I took on all the paperwork as well. Shipping, utilities, I&D and all the other fun stuff required for each show. I wasn’t long before I figured out that I better get things organized or I’d be in over my head.

I started with MS Word figuring a simple To Do list would be enough. When that proved wrong I looked to Excel and quickly found that my Excel skills were lacking. I decided to look for a software package designed for trade shows and found ShowGo from Seattle Software. I purchased it and used it for about six months before I outgrew it. The software was just fine but I’d started tracking so many aspects of our shows that the software just wasn’t built for. I decided to go back to Excel and use it today.

When you start organizing your shows you’ll quickly find the number of things you can track is almost limitless. Obvious things like booth space, utilities, shipping and material handling are a given and simple. Next you think “Hey, I normally pay my booth space in a deposit and a balance. I should track both of those and put the date paid and check number. “ Next you decide to add the show dates and times including the I&D hours to help the sales guys. No big deal until you realize that now you can use Excel to figure out how much you’re spending per day; per hour, per minute. Then you realize that you want to track how many man hours it takes for your I&D so you can compare them for each show. And you’re just getting started. Before you know it your simple Excel file has mutated into a real live spreadsheet.

Stepping back though you have to first decide what you want/need to track and how you want to organize everything. Expect this to change as you move forward and learn what does and doesn’t work, is and isn’t needed etc. The more shows you have and the more things you need to track, the more complicated your system will be obviously. The flip side though is you’ll have a better picture of what your shows are really costing you.

When I started in shows the company I was with went to about ten big shows (20×20 spaces and larger) each year and about five smaller ones. Because I was the first person in this position for the company I started the program from scratch and made it up as I went. I made my mistakes but I worked for a great boss and we quickly became a well oiled machine. The Excel system I used included everything from space and utilities ordering to staff travel and tracking the length of the demonstrations we did. I tracked everything I could think of to get a clear picture of what our shows looked like statistically and gave my supervisor a “Bottom Line Report” based on the information I collected.

When I started with my current company I found a program that had been in place for several years under several different people. Each show was organized into its own folder in the file cabinet but there was no online tracking. This turned out to be a good thing as I didn’t have to justify changing from what someone else was using to what I wanted.

The first thing I did was to find my old template from the other company and started changing it up to fit the new one. It wasn’t long before I found it easier to just start over from scratch. With over fifty shows to track and already two months into the year, I had to go through every file and determine what was done and what wasn’t. In many cases there wasn’t even a date or location set for the show. One of the big differences I’ve found between large shows and small ones is that the smaller ones tend to take longer to get their information out. Some won’t give you a booth number until the day of the show. Most of the large shows I’ve done will do booth selection nine months or more out. The really good shows will have you sign up for next year’s space while you’re at this year’s show. I think this is by far the best way to go. All the same work is required but you get at least two major benefits this way. First, the show organizers don’t waste time contacting exhibitors back and forth when the space they wanted is already taken. Second, as an exhibitor, I know my space number, size, location within the hall and those of my competitors a full year in advance. But I digress.

Over the next few weeks I sifted through every piece of paper from every show folder and entered it into my Excel file. I created a separate file for each show with multiple sheets for different aspects of each show. This is a case for overbuilding your file. What I mean is that you want to add your fields keeping in mind what you might want/need. One of the many truths about trade shows is that no two are exactly alike. A 10×10 is a 10×10 but where one may include carpet, others will not. Where most may be actual 10×10, some may be 8×10 or whatever. I did a show in Seattle one year where they ran out of space on the floor and decided to chop four feet off every booth to make more spaces. Thus a 20×20 became a 16×16 and upset many exhibitors.

It’s always easier to not use a field than to have to go back and add it in later. Remember that you want to use the same template for each show. If you change your template you have to go back and change all the shows that use it. Trust me. I’ve spent more time than I care to admit fixing my Excel files.

As you create your files, try to keep things grouped together. Your utilities should all be together as should your travel items. Here’s how I organize the sheets of each file.

• Main – This sheet has all the basic information about the show including booth number, size, dates, times, location, staff members, show budget including current status etc. It’s my quick reference for the stuff I need most often.
• Expenses – I track everything that requires money on this page. The travel page has the travel expenses broken down but they all read into this page. More on linking info later.
• Travel – Each person going to a show has a page with their travel itinerary and expenses on it. This took some time to work out but I found I need one for each person. People travel from different locations at different times and may not even stay in the same hotel. If you’re like me you want to track all of that because it will come in handy.
• To Do – This is where I list all the items I need to do to complete the show. Again, some of these things tie in with other pages like Travel and Expenses.
• Packing –I created a packing list of all the things I might want to send to a show so I wouldn’t forget them. I set a column for number needed and another for number packed.

I have other pages for things like check requests, fax covers, folder page cover etc. As much as possible I make Excel work for me. My check request pages are completely filled out except for the date. I have one for the deposit, one for the balance and one as a blank. I simply type in the date and print the page for my boss to sign and send it to accounting.

The more information you can organize and track the more knowledgeable you will be about your shows. I’ve been working for most of the past year on purchasing a lead scanner so we can have electronic leads captured at every show. We’ll save the cost of renting at the shows that have them and we can scan business cards at the shows that don’t. www.leadwizard.com if you’re interested. This will do several things but the one I’m most interested in is an ROI as determined by cost per lead. My next step is to find out which of these leads turned into sales and what that sale was. If I can show that we spent $5,000 to attend a show each of 5 years and leads from that show produced $500,000 in sales, I can justify our continued participation. On the flip side I can use the same information to help get us out of a bad show.

Finally, I designed each sheet to fit on one or more printed pages. When it’s all said and done I print out the relevant pages and put them into the paper file as needed. After a show is closed and all the expenses have come in, I official close the file. The paper file is most likely what someone will want to see if there’s a question.

Once you have your information organized the way you want it in Excel it’s time to make Excel work for you. As mentioned earlier, I have my Travel on one sheet but those numbers read into the Expenses sheet. It’s a simple formula to setup but you have to remember to set it up. Add your numbers as needed and link them to your Expenses page. See Excel Help if you don’t know how to do this. Separate your travel expenses out for each person and keep a trip total for each traveler as well as totals for each item like hotel, flight, meals etc. Our sales people use their corporate credit card for everything so I pull their record when it’s time to close the show and enter in each expense separately. I then compare my total with the accounting total and find anything missing. I don’t always hit exact dollars but if I’m close I’m good. I trust my numbers more than accounting because I can show where they came from. When you link these back to the Expenses tab be sure to check your formula using numbers you can add in your head. If you enter $100 into each of four fields and you end up with $300 on your Expenses tab you now you did something wrong. Believe me. Better to learn now than to duplicate your error fifty times.

Use this same basic idea when you create the To Do tab. You’ll want to have a line for Deposit and Balance. If you make these fields read into the Expenses tab you won’t have to remember to enter them in twice.
Excel is a great tool. It can save you a lot of time and make you look really smart if you think about what you want it to do ahead of time and do the work up front.

So let’s skip forward and assume you’ve created your template and now you’re ready to start adding your shows. The first thing you want to do is decide how you’re going to name your shows and where you want to put them. This will become extremely important as you’ll see later on. My company has several servers where most of our work is saved to. We have a Marketing drive with photos of every project we’ve ever done as well as logos, flyers etc. We also have a VIP Access drive which is restricted to for certain things. This is where I have placed my show files for several reasons. First, being that access is restricted I don’t have to worry about someone randomly deleting my files or making changes without me knowing about it. The second reason is that our IT department makes regular backups of these drives. I don’t have to worry about my computer wigging out when I spill a soda on it and losing all my hard work. That would just make me want to cry. I also back up my entire show file system to a thumb drive every Friday and take it home with me just in case.

We use a job number for each trade show so accounting can assign expenses accordingly. Each show starts with TS (Trade Show) the year and then 001, 002 etc. I decided to name my files 001, 002 etc to match the job number. We also use the short name of the show such as National Society of Trade Shows would be NSTS. I chose not to include this in the file name because the same show does not always have the same number from year to year. By just using 001 etc. I can create a full template of my entire system with blank files already linked. When I start adding shows I simply pull up the next empty show and give it a name.

I placed the individual show files under the Show Status folders so the 2010 root folder isn’t cluttered with so many files. There are some other files that go in that root and this keeps it clean as well as keeping all the show files in the Show Status folder. I also created a folder for each show with the show number as the folder number. This is where I save any files related to the show.

One last thing on file organization. Any file I save or email I send has the show’s job number on it. Thus an email from me concerning the National Society of Trade Shows would have in the subject line TS 001 NSTS (and then the actual subject). A floor plan .pdf would be TS 001 NSTS Floor Plan.pdf. With over fifty shows I have to do all I can to keep from using the wrong file.

Now, when you collect as much data as I do you want to make the most of it. You also don’t want to have to open every single file, electronic or physical, to figure out where you are on one or more shows. This is where all the hard work of creating a template and having every show use the same template pays off.

Excel not only reads information from cells and sheets in the file you’re working in, it also reads from other files in other folders. It will actually read from files on other drives but I do not recommend this. When IT decides it’s time to upgrade the server with your show files you’re reading on drive D and they make the new drive E, all your links are now toast. It also allows me to copy everything to my thumb drive and work on things at home without messing up my links.This is why my Show Status file is just one folder away.

Open a new Excel File and designate it as your status file whatever that may look like. Now create your header with the information need to keep track of for each show. Here’s what I use.

• Open date
• Close date
• Job number (I link this to the show file so I can click on it to open. Works great)
• Show Name (or Short name)
• City
• State
• Lead Staff
• Support Staff
• Contract Received
• Deposit Paid
• Balance Paid
• Travel Set
• Ready to Ship
• Budgeted
• Spent to date
• Balance
• % Spent
• Last updated (This comes from a field in each file that Excel updates automatically every time I open it. Formula is this. =NOW() Then just format the cell as you want. I don’t refer to this field often but when I’m in a meeting and I’m asked a question I use this to know how recent the information I’m giving is.)

I set these and then open the first file. In the cell on the status sheet I click in the cell and then click on the cell in the show file and hit enter. Do this for each cell for the first show. Once first show is complete the rest are easy. Close the first show file. Now copy and paste the row you just created into the rows below until you have one for each show. Next, highlight the entire row of the second show and hit Control F to bring up the find and Replace dialog. In the Find field type the name of the first file. 001.xls. In the Replace with field type the next file name. 002.xls. Then click Replace All. Excel finds 001.xls and replaces it with 002.xls which then reads the information from the 002.xls file. Do this for each file changing the Replace With number for each row. Before you know it you’ll have all your needed data on one page. Here’s the best part. Every time you make a change to one of your show files, Excel automatically updates your status page. When you open the status page you’ll get a note asking you if you want to update from the other sources. Click yes. The more files and info you’re requesting the long this will take but it’s worth the wait.

Personally, I live in this file. I have a shortcut icon in my quick launch bar and I open it each day when I come into the office. I have it color coded to help point out what needs to be done etc and I print it on 12×18 paper for easy reading. I hyperlinked each job number in the sheet to the corresponding file so there is no searching Windows Explorer for each file. Just click and poof; it’s there. I use the same link option to link from the file to the folder for each show. It works like a champ.

I’ve used this same concept to create other status files for other related information. We require our sales reps to complete a trade show evaluation form after each show. One of the sheets for each file includes this form which then links into one giant trade show status sheet. The same is true for the breakdown of show expenses by category. I’ve recently taken this information and created a Trade Show Overview for the year which shows the total expenses, leads collected and other data for each of the four brands we market and, of course, the totals of all four. And don’t forget percentages. Management seems to be impressed when you include percentages.

When you get into it you find that there is endless information that can be gleaned from your shows. It’s just out there for the taking if you choose to record it. I used to check the traffic around each of our competitors once an hour and gave them a grade of 1 to 5. I still call show management for attendance numbers after the show closes and compare them year over year.

You may not choose to be as detailed as me or you may find yourself tracking show traffic compared with barometric pressure and relative humidity. It’s up to you. One thing I think you’ll find though is the more information you collect on your shows the more you’ll realize just how little everyone else in your company understands the shows you attend.

You can only control and plan for so much for each show and none of that extends outside the range of your exhibit. Katrina is a great example. However, eliminating as much as possible the things you can control as issues will allow you to address any problems that do arise much more effectively. Things like proper labeling of your crates, double checking your order forms before you fax them in and then following up with a phone call to ensure they were received, arriving early to check the placement of your utilities and timing your labor correctly will go a long way. But what about the unforeseen issue that pops up just before the show opens?

The fact is that you can’t control everything and when the power to your booth, and only your booth, goes out 5 minutes before the doors open you have one simple choice to make. Panic or solve the issue. Panic will get you no place and the issue still exists when you’re finished. The other fact to keep in mind is that in 5 minutes the doors are going to open whether you’re ready or not so you need to get busy resolving the issue.

There’s never a good time to panic and there are very few good times to get irate. The first thing you want to do is to evaluate the situation and decide on a course of action. Determine if the cause is within your booth or outside. If the issue is caused from outside of your booth then your next stop is the service desk. By the time you get to the service desk, if there isn’t a line, the doors are either open or about to open. Don’t panic. You’re working the issue and that’s all anyone can ask.

When it’s your turn at the desk don’t rush up and begin to batter the poor person behind the desk. Always remember that the people behind the desk are there to help you. They didn’t cause your problem and they only have so much power to resolve it. I’ve spend some time behind that desk and I can tell you that a calm, cool and collected approach from an exhibitor makes all the difference. If you start yelling at and blaming me for your problem I’m more likely to have computer issues, forget your booth number, etc.

Calmly and relatively slowly state your booth number and your issue and use the person’s name if possible. “Hi Mary. My booth number is 1234 and … Can you please help me?” Allow the person to ask whatever questions they have and answer them clearly. By now the doors are open and your coworkers are doing their best to work around the issue. Remain calm. Depending on the issue it could be 30 minutes, an hour maybe longer before your issue is resolved. The people behind the desk realizes the doors are open and that you need a fix as soon as possible. Remember that throwing a fit will usually just slow things down.

A great example of this was a show I did in 2007. The power to my booth went out with five minutes until the doors opened. The first thing that went through my head was “What just happened”. Looking around I saw it was just me without power. I checked my main connection and it was good so off to the service desk I ran. After catching my breath I calmly informed the Freeman representative of my problem. As it turned out it was the fault of someone in our office hundreds of miles away. We had recently changed credit card companies and the new company wasn’t used to $35,000 hits so they declined my M&H bill. Freeman had run the card just prior to the show opening for the third time and when it didn’t accept the charge they shut off my electricity. I can’t think of a better way to get my attention on the show floor to be honest. The officers on site and I used 3 of our personal cards to pay the bill and got the power on in about 45 minutes and as soon as I returned to the office my credit limit was bumped from $15,000 to $50,000.

Freeman did their job and, though they turned off the power, the issue was ultimately our fault and certainly unforeseeable. I thanked the desk person for their help and walked away with a smile because hey, being a jerk wouldn’t have helped and I would have had to apologize later when it turned out to be our issue.

So plan ahead as much as you can but when it all hits the fan, don’t panic, and be nice.

Design

Be sure to keep crate sizes and shapes in mind when you’re designing your new exhibit. Many shows will charge you a fee to un-stack and restack crates on top of each other.  If you can build your crates to stand tall you can save some money.

If you do need to stack some of your crates here are some ideas that will help.

The first is obvious and that is to put the heavier crate on the bottom. The second is to build the top side of the bottom crate with larger components to handle the weight of the top crate.  Something as simple as making the frame out of 2×4 instead of 1×4 will help handle the extra weight and prevent damage to your lower crate and materials inside.

Curved panels will take up valuable space that flat panels won’t. If your design needs the curves then by all means include them. But if you can achieve your design goals without them you’ll save space and possibly money.  You’ll also help limit damage especially if the panels are large.

Another consideration is the flexibility of the exhibit.  If you design an exhibit for a 30×50 space, but have the ability to scale it down to a 30×30 and/or a 20×20, design your crates so that you can leave extra crates behind when using the smaller versions. By doing this you’ll save money on your shipping and material handling at the show. If you’re storage company charges you by how many crates they handle you’ll save at the warehouse as well. Just be sure that you don’t have anything in the crates left behind that you need in the smaller configurations. Figuring out what you do and don’t need for each configuration will take some time and planning but it will save both time and money over the life of the exhibit.

The company building your crates will jig them for maximum use of the space and most will build a good, sturdy crate. But do yourself the favor of asking to see examples of their work so you know what to expect.  Things to look for include gussets, sturdy feet and a quality fit. The more the crate flexes the more susceptible it is to major damage.

Keep in mind that your crate WILL sustain damage.  Scuffs, scrapes and even the loss of a foot are all normal.  The crate’s purpose is to hold your exhibit and protect it from damage so it’s going to take the hits.  Check your crates regularly and repair any damage as needed to avoid the damage extending to your exhibit.

There are several ways the doors of your crates can be handled.  The two most popular are those held on by hinges and those held on with bolts.

Doors held on with bolts can be completely removed for easy access.  Personally, I have several issues with these. Once you remove the door panel the rest of the crate tends to be less sturdy and the crate becomes out of square making it difficult to replace the door sometimes. Everyone uses 3/8 carriage bolts on their crates. This means when someone looses one of their bolts your crates are susceptible to what I call “Involuntary Bolt Migration”.  If you use bolts on your crates I recommend 5/8 Hex bolts. A larger bolt won’t bend as easy and they won’t fit in your neighbor’s crate holes thus reducing migration.  Whatever size bolts you decide to use, have plenty of extras in your job box. They are dozens of times cheaper than the damage you’ll sustain by missing bolts on your crates.

Doors held on with hinges have their own pros and cons. I like hinged doors because they are much easier to open and close. Most are held closed with a hasp and a piece of cable (or a lock if you’re concerned about theft). No tools are required to open or close a hinged door and you don’t have to worry about it falling on someone. Hinges can sustain damage like anything else so keep a set in your job box as replacements if needed..

Labeling

Labeling your crates is an important step and can save you precious install hours. At the very minimum your crate should have the following information painted on all four sides. Company Name, Company Address (Or where your crate is stored), Your Cell Number (Or the number of whoever is responsible for your exhibit) Some additional ideas will make your life just a bit easier.

If possible, paint your crates so they stand out in the crowd.  Most companies do not do this so by painting your crates with your company color or stripes or whatever they’ll stick out like a sore thumb. Most of the time you’ll receive all your crates at your booth with no problem but now and then a crate will go on walkabout and you’ll have to search for it.

I did a show in Anaheim once and my driver had counted 15 pieces loaded and 15 pieces delivered to the show.  When I got to the booth space I found 14 pieces. Turned out that we loaded a crate from another exhibit by accident but it was still missing.  I spent a solid hour walking the floor twice before I found it buried in another booth.  Not long after I had my crates painted blue and several months later I was missing another crate. I stood on a table and a quick glance of the show floor revealed it was two aisles over.

Print your “ship to” information on full pages as large as possible.  Include the “ship from” info at the top in smaller print but large enough to read. Also be sure to put a contact phone number on the bottom with a name for any questions.

Invest in a staple hammer and staple your full page labels to all four sides of your crate.  Plain paper stapled is less expensive than full page sticky labels and they won’t peel off.

Unless your trade show pops up on the radar suddenly, which does happen, or your company has you traveling for non show related reasons, you should know your show and travel dates long before you do your traveling. I typically know my show schedule six months in advance if not a year.

In looking at my schedule, I first look at the each shows schedule so I know just what days I need to be on site. For me, the more time for set the better (see my Blahg Early Setup) so I always plan to be in the show city on the afternoon before setup begins. I also always plan to be in the show city as late on the day after the show closes as reasonable to ensure my exhibit gets shipped out. This means my time on site for each show is seven days.

Next in my consideration is where the show is. If the show is in Chicago then seven days is plenty of time for me so I’ll fly in and out accordingly. But if the show is in Denver, well, I’m going to want to spend some time in the mountains.

So, I mentioned flying in early. I always book the earliest flight of the day possible that doesn’t put me in a center seat. (Center seats are just stupid if you ask me. Nothing like starting of my already long show weak with a sore back. ) Even though a 6 am flight means I’m waking up at 3:30 am, I find it’s the way to go. For one thing, I can crash on the plane and make up most of the lost sleep. I’ve had flights where I was asleep before the plane pushed back from the gate and didn’t wake up until the plane landed. Now that’s a good flight. Another reason to book an early flight is the traffic; or lack thereof.  From the freeway to the jet way, all the lines, if there are any, are shorter than flying in the middle of the day.

Whether you’re flying or driving there are some things you want to take with you for the trip.

First up is your itinerary. I keep a folder with my printed receipts, but I also put all the relevant information into my iPhone so I have it easily available. My iPhone is basically my hand held brain.

I always, ALWAYS, carry my laptop and the following list also goes in the computer bag.

• Power supplies. Make sure you include the power supply for any electronic devise you’re bringing to the show. If several can use the same adapter you can save space and weight.
• Home keys. You’ll want your home keys for when you return so put them in a pocket of the bag so you don’t have to worry about losing them.
• Booth keys. You should always have several sets of keys for every lock on your exhibit and crates. I always carry my main set with me in my bag.
• Show binder. I like to keep my show binder on me for the same reason I keep my keys on me. If the crate with my keys or binder doesn’t show up I’m in trouble.
• Change of clothes. This one I learned the hard way. I did a show in Philadelphia and somehow my luggage didn’t make it on the same plane. I spent two days in the same clothes.
• Other items like my cordless mouse and pad, batteries, MP3 player and headphones, travel pillow, bluetooth headset, anti-bacterial hand cleaner, etc.

Your list may be longer or shorter, but basically it should include anything, within reason, you’ll need or want while actually traveling. The other criteria would be anything that would constitute a show stopper if you don’t have. i.e. booth keys.

Once I’ve landed, I get my luggage and head to the rental car counter. From there I head to the hotel and get checked into my room. Normal check in isn’t until 3 or 4 pm but most hotels will allow you to check in anytime after noon as long as they have a clean room available. So now I’ve completed my actual travel for the day and checked into the hotel by noon. Time for lunch or maybe a nap.

The next step is to check out the convention center and see what shape I’m in.  I have never been to a show where I couldn’t get on the show floor the day before setup. Most of the time you can just walk right in. If all the doors are locked you can always go around to the docks. The general contractor will be on the floor laying out booths, electrical and unloading freight from the advance warehouse. I find my booth space and check the size and location of things like the main entrance, restrooms etc. I also check to see if all of my freight has arrived and that my electrical is installed correctly. Freight and electrical may not be always be there but more often than not if you check your space between 3 and 4 pm you’ll find both in place. If there is a problem to address I’ll do it then or at least know where I need to start first thing in the morning.

So I’m at the show and my booth is in good shape. The first half of my traveling is complete.  Now it’s show time.

After the show is closed and your booth is packed up, it’s time to head home. Or is it? Most shows I do close around noon and I’m packed and ready to ship before they close the docks that evening. On a good day I can have my truck loaded, do my idiot check and be off the floor the day the show closes. But you never know that until it’s done. Even if my booth is packed and my driver has checked in, I never leave the show city until my truck is loaded and I’ve shook the driver’s hand. Early on I had the experience of “forced freight” and even an extra night or two in the hotel is less expensive.

So, to ensure I’m not cutting corners to catch a flight, I book my return flight for late afternoon on the day after the show. This gives me plenty of time to address any issues and hey, if the truck is loaded and gone the night before, I sleep in and enjoy a day in the show city. It’s normally a Saturday anyway so it’s my own time.

Early in and late out gives me plenty of time to handle any issues and reduces my stress level. Setup days are long as are the show days so anything you can do to make them easier is worth the time and effort.

Take, for instance, electricity. When you were in a 10×10 you ordered electrical and paid more for a single outlet for three days than your monthly bill for your home. You got used to it though and when you decided to go bigger you budgeted for your additional outlets. A safe bet may have been four times the cost considering you’re now four times the size. OK. But when you got your bill you almost had a stroke. How did your costs go up six to eight times what you used to pay.?When you caught your breath and read closer you noticed that a good portion of your bill was for Electrical Labor. In your old space this was included in the cost because the electricians spent all of about two minutes installing your single outlet. In your new booth however, you had to submit an electrical floor plan showing where every outlet was to be placed. The electricians measured and placed your connections just where you wanted them. This took five, maybe even ten, minutes so naturally they charged you for an hour of electrical labor on the install. You also were charged for another hour on the dismantle which took them another four minutes.

If it were just your electrical bill it wouldn’t be so bad but you’ll find these “little” extra charges throughout your entire program. You budgeted for a truck to ship your exhibit, and maybe even remembered to account for material handling, but you’ve never heard of a Marshaling Yard or considered that your shipping company would charge you for the time the driver waited in said yard. You included room to  purchase your carpet and have your I&D company install it but didn’t realize they were going to charge you $18.00 a roll for carpet tape.

Some of these costs you just have to live with like the electrical labor. The fact is you need electricity and it costs what it costs. We complain about the price of gas going up all the time but the reality is we ARE going to buy it. But there are a number of ways to reduce these back end costs if you’re willing to spend a little time and money on the front end. One of the best things I ever did to reduce my costs, and keep my sanity, was to invest in a job box. For the record, a job box is a big tool box containing tools and parts for your exhibit. But it can be so much more.

I purchased my first job box at The Home Depot for $400 and spent a long Saturday in my garage getting it setup. A fact that was not lost on me when it was nearly destroyed in New Orleans at the first show I used it at; leading to my second box. This second box came through Granger and was not just sturdier, but much heavier, somewhat bigger and lent itself to better organization.

Here are just some of the content and how they can save you money in your exhibit program.

1. Tape Measure: Having a decent tape measure on hand allows you to check your utility installation as soon as you arrive instead of waiting on your I&D guys and then paying them to sit around while you wait for the electricians to fix any issue you may have.

2. Tape: Duct tape, carpet tape, packaging tape, gaffer’s tape. Any tape you need to install your exhibit or pack it up after the show. Your I&D company can supply this but, as with everything else in the trade show world, you’ll be charged for the service.

I buy my tape by the case through a catalog and put about half the case in the box. You may lose a roll or two to “shrinkage” now and then but it’s still less expensive than paying for it on the spot.

Side Note: If you need electrical tape for any reason on your exhibit, be sure no one else sees it being used or lying around. The assumption will be that you’re doing electrical wiring on your own which will have the electrical union swarming your exhibit like angry ants.

3. Velcro: Velcro has almost as many uses as duct tape does and works twice as well in many cases. But don’t buy it from your local hardware store or you’ll go broke. The same catalog that has your tape should have large rolls of Velcro at a reasonable price

4. Tools: It should go without saying but I’ll say it anyway. If you need a tool to install your exhibit, that tool should be in your job box. Two if you have the room. Things like cordless screw guns, wrenches, hex keys, pliers etc should all be in your box and easy to find. Any tool that is considered “special” or unique to your structure should have two at least if at all possible. Your I&D crew may have tools but they may be in the truck. Why pay for someone to take twenty minutes at each show to get a tool you can buy and have on hand?

5. Parts: Pretty much any exhibit is going to include small parts or special fasteners to install it. Some of these parts may be readily available on site but, again, you’re going to pay for the time to get them and possibly the part. Some parts won’t be available and may take a week to get from the manufacture. Obviously you can’t wait a week for your part to arrive when your show opens and closes in the next few days. Items this important shouldn’t be tossed into a plastic bag and put on a palette loose. Find a specific place for them in your job box have spares on board.

6. Power: You probably need extension cords and outlet strips for your new booth. Both items are available from the General Contractor or your I&D company at a premium but if you have them in your box they will pay for themselves, and a spare or two, at your first show.

7. Cleaning Supplies: Windex, Goof Off, metal cleaner and vinyl cleaner, along with a few rolls of paper towels, will go a long way. You’ll be amazed at how dirty your exhibit will get in your crates and on the install.

8. Audio/Visual Components: Depending on your setup you may need to have a separate box or crate for your sound system. You may decide to rent a system but a decent sound system will pay for itself in just three or four shows. If it will fit in your job box you’ve got one less freight item to worry about. Don’t forget to include spare cables and fittings where needed.

9. Computers: Again, depending on needs and room, you can put things like your flat panel monitors, keyboards, mice etc in your job box. Wherever you store your electronics be sure to use the original box and packaging to help protect them.

10. Lead Scanners: If you’ve done your research and decided to purchase scanners instead of renting, include these your job box as well.

11. Misc: Anything else that is small and prone to being lost should also go into your job box. Include pens, markers, extra crate bolts and nuts. I also include my show binder, my return labels and even a spare set of booth keys so I don’t have to carry them on the plane.

Pack your box well, add to it as needed and repack it between each show if possible. I schedule a full day between shows where I empty my box and repack the entire thing before it ships out again. I make sure I have enough of everything I need and that it’s neatly packed. I have a big bag of large rubber bands that I use to wrap up power cords , computer cables and other items so they aren’t just thrown into the box.

Your exhibit crates shouldn’t hold anything but the structural components of your exhibit and furniture. If one job box won’t hold everything buy a second or possibly a rolling cage. Lock your box(s) with a good lock and make sure you have spare keys. I carry a key to my job box in my wallet at all times.  I can’t get on a plane without my ID which means I won’t forget the key. I keep a full set of booth keys in my computer bag that I carry on board the plane with me and another set inside the job box. Worst case scenario is I’m robbed and loose all my keys. That’s when I go to my fallback position of my job box key screwed to the inside back wall of one of my crates. You may think it’s overboard but I’ve never once been locked out of my box.

Your job box can be a valuable tool if not a life saver. Decide what you need and don’t be afraid to make changes as needed.

I started in the trade show industry by pure accident. I was a web developer for a small educational company around the time Compaq was purchased by HP. Compaq had the number one spot at the Texas Computer Education Association show in Austin. They were in a 30×40 directly inside the only entrance to the show. Someone at either Compaq or HP dropped the ball and gave up the space. My company was on the upgrade list and jumped at the opportunity move into the spot and sponsor the show.

I went to the show just to see what it was like and found out from our VP of Marketing that we’d paid $5,000 to have our small exhibit transported from Dallas to Austin and back. I also found out that our next show was in Orlando in six weeks. I said something to the effect of “Shoot, I can drive to Orlando and back for less than $5,000.” The next thing I knew I was in a Ryder cruising through Louisiana and starting a new career.

Our first exhibit was a used modular that we purchased from The Trade Group in Dallas. As exhibits go, it was OK and got us up and running. We used that booth for two years and used an exhibit house the first year for everything from storage to shipping to I&D. As we increased the number of shows on our schedule my position became more permanent and I began looking for ways to reduce costs.

Forms

I started by completing my own forms from the show exhibitor manuals. The exhibit house I was using charged me 25% of each service on top of the service. That means the already outrageous $1,000 Internet connection went to $1,250 just to have someone fill out a form. The worst part was that I still had to provide the information to the exhibit house.

Supervision

After our first two shows I found that we were paying for an I&D supervisor as part of our labor costs. Our exhibit required two guys for about 3 hours to assemble. There wasn’t anything technical about it and I was on site for any questions. I told our exhibit house that I would supervise the I&D which saved us the cost of one man for four hours of supervising a booth he spent ten minutes at. That savings alone covered my flight and meals.

Transportation

The next cost reduction occurred by accident. Our exhibit house had hired a transportation company to deliver our exhibit to a show in Seattle. Everything went smoothly until I received a call about six weeks after the show from the driver. The transportation company hired by our exhibit house had gone belly up. It turns out that they’d outsourced the job to an independent driver. If you’re keeping track, I’ve now hired someone to hire someone else to hire yet another someone else to transport my exhibit.

The driver had not been paid by the company that hired him and was looking to me to pay his bill. Since we’d already paid the exhibit house I wasn’t about to pay again for the same service. I told the driver that I couldn’t help him with that bill but that I could give him more business if he was interested. Thus began a long and happy relationship with Ward Hill of W.W. Hill who I highly recommend. With all the up charges from the two middle men, it had cost me almost $10,000 to ship my ¼ truck exhibit round trip to Seattle. By directly using W.W. Hill, even when my new exhibit required a full truck, I was able to ship anywhere in the country for well under $5,000 and usually under $3,000 round trip.

Storage

Two years into our show program we decided to have a new exhibit custom built. I name each of my exhibits and this one was called “Fat Man”. When all was said and done, Fat Man required a full 53’ truck to transport. It also required more space to store. I checked with a number of exhibit houses and was astounded by the prices. The cost of the space itself bad enough but when you include the cost of “touching” each piece when we went to a show, the cost became astronomical.

Fat Man consisted of 15 crates ($50 each to touch), 6 carpet bags ($25 each), 1 job box and 1 palette ($50 each). Add that up and it cost me $1,000 to load my truck for each show. Oh, and another $1,000 to unload it after the show. It didn’t cost me that much for the truck for most shows.

Luckily, about the same time we built Fat Man we moved into a new warehouse which had plenty of room for us to store several exhibits. Using Fat Man at five shows a year would have cost us $10,000 to move in and out of the exhibit house on top of the $12,000 storage fee. Storing our exhibit in our own warehouse more than paid for the warehouse annual rent and a small fork lift.

The other thing storing our own exhibit did was allowed me access to it whenever I wanted without a fee or an hour drive each direction which leads me to my next point.

Job Box

I said above that Fat Man included a job box. The first two shows we actually had two palettes but, as you can imagine, this was just asking for problems. I went to the local Home Depot, purchased a Geenlee box for $400 and organized all the tools, parts etc. I’d seen wood job boxes at several shows and figured a metal construction box would be even better.

The first show I took it too was in New Orleans. While walking to my booth a forklift passed me carrying my job box… with the lid dangling over the side. Upon further examination, it appeared as though a driver had gotten up to speed and slammed on the breaks sending my box sliding along the floor on its back until it hit a wall. What actually happened is still a mystery but I was amazed that a job box built to withstand the rigors of an outdoor construction site failed to last one trade show. I took photos and contacted Champion who, to their credit, accepted responsibility and quickly wrote me a check for the full cost. I promptly found a much stronger box.

This new box wasn’t just bigger but allowed me to organize it better. I spent most of a week gathering all the items I could possibly need on the show floor and fitting them into my box. I purchased carpet tape at $60 for a case that lasted me the entire year. I bought my own duct tape, gaffer’s tape, electrical cords and power strips. I bought a DeWalt cordless screw gun and all the other tools needed to install my booth. Fat Man included a 35 foot bridge made of Octonorm. Octonorm, if you don’t already know, uses a special metric screw with a star head. The screws were $1 each from the manufacturer. I went to a local hardware store and found the same metric thread with a Philips head for about $5 per hundred. I bought two boxes and a couple dozen Philips bits.

If I needed it, or thought I might need it, to erect my booth I had it in my box. So much so that some of the exhibitors we saw at multiple shows knew where to come for stuff. I think I spent something like $1,500 to purchase and stock my box which paid for itself in just a few shows.
Between shows, when my box was back in the warehouse, I spent a day cleaning it up and replacing items as needed. By keeping my box stocked and organized I didn’t waste time at shows looking for things that were misplaced by someone, or nonexistent, from the last show. By having the box I was able to avoid paying $18 per roll, or portion thereof, of carpet tape from the I&D company or $25 to RENT a power strip. I also avoided paying the I&D guys for the time to go and find tools, tape etc.

Labor

It wasn’t until we began storing our exhibit that I looked into going direct in regards to my labor. Even then I went with the same company the exhibit house had used. I used this company exclusively for three years until they dropped the ball. We had two booths, 20×20 and 30×40 at our biggest show and required six people to install both exhibits. Apparently there was another show in nearby city and most of the labor went there. What was left was sent to my show and it was obvious we’d been given the bottom of the barrel. When I complained to my account executive at the I&D company I was met with denial and excuses. All I was looking for really was “I’m very sorry and it won’t happen again” but his pride got the better of him and they lost my business.

I tried several I&D companies over the next few shows but found issues with their limitations in regards to cities they were established in and other problems. One of the biggest issues I found was the quality of labor. What should take 12 to 14 hours was taking 16 and more. I was saving by not involving a middle man but was losing everywhere else.

I contacted a friend that worked for an exhibit house whom I’d met through another exhibitor. We went over some numbers and found that even with his middle man charge he could save me money over what I was paying direct. How? Well, first, he had relationships with I&D companies all over the country and knew people by name. This meant he could get a better rate because they wanted to continue getting his business. But more than that he knew who the quality guys in the city were and requested them by name as well.
In most cities we used CSI which I have nothing but good things to say about. What should be a 12 hour install CSI Anaheim did in 9 and I didn’t feel rushed. Cutting a couple of hours off the install time covers the cost of the middle man and a quality crew lowers my stress level.

Dedicated Problem Solver

There’s another reason to have a dedicated exhibit manager on your payroll. An exhibit house is interested in your business and they will give you the best service they can for the price you’re willing to pay. But you aren’t their only client and you probably aren’t their biggest. They also don’t really have any real interest in your company’s success. But an employee of your company has a direct interest in your success and will know your product, booth staff and how you present at shows.

The best example I can give you goes back to our show in Seattle. Seattle’s convention center expanded at some point and they connected the two buildings with a hallway. On the floor plan it just looked like a hall between the buildings and our space was in this area. Our thinking was to be in the bottleneck where every attendee had to pass us. Good idea huh?

When I arrived in Seattle, I checked into my hotel room and then headed to the convention center to scope out my space. I almost had a heart attack when I saw the hallway was in fact a sky bridge which was completely surrounded in glass. Our presentation uses a projector on a screen and, even with complete cloud cover, the ambient light completely washed it out.

I immediately called my boss and informed him that we had a problem. The next morning we moved forward with the booth install but looked for ways to fix the issue. We ended up ordering pipe and drape to cover the booth in a black canopy which solved the issue.

We solved the problem and had a great show but had my company not had a dedicated person on site they wouldn’t have known of the problem until the morning the show opened. The I&D company wouldn’t have caught the problem and who could blame them? Show management and the GC wouldn’t have seen it.

There are examples from almost every show we’ve been to where having a dedicated person working for our company avoided or saw problems before they became major issues. Something as simple as the show deciding to open another entrance can change how you want to install your exhibit. How larger companies exhibit successfully at shows without an exhibit manager is beyond me and I have seen many examples where a company clearly made the wrong decision.

Conclusion

A decision of a company to hire a full time exhibit manager or use an exhibit house will depend on many factors. If you’re doing 10×10 booths at a few shows a year it’s a waste of money to hire someone full time. But the larger your presence at shows is and the more shows you go to the more a dedicated person will benefit you. Yes, you will have another salary to pay which doesn’t come cheap. But a good manager can easily save enough on even a medium sized program to pay for themselves.

If you’re ordering your labor through the GC, you normally won’t start being charged until you pick them up. (Normally) So if you order two people for 8 am but, for whatever reason, don’t pick them up until 10 am you (normally) won’t be charged for the two hours between. That’s the good news. The bad news though is that the GC will use the majority of the union labor they order just to get the show up and running. They will put their best people on the projects they determine most important which will leave you with whatever is left. My personal experience with labor from the GC is that I got the bottom of the barrel.  True, I paid about $5.00 an hour less per man. At that rate I would typically save about $300.00 on the install. I should say it would have saved me $300.00 if the quality of the labor I received was the same as ordering through an EAC.

The union members who make up the labor pool in each city are all part of the same union; or part of one of several unions depending on the city and work to be performed. For instance, Chicago has a decorators union AND a carpenters union. The look the same but perform different tasks on the floor. A carpenter will deliver the six foot table you ordered but, if you want it draped, well, that requires a decorator. It seems that stapling a skirt to a table requires some sort of special skills in Chicago.

When it comes to the quality of labor however, it’s a different story.  Typically the more experienced and better workers are scooped up by the EAC companies or are assigned to the most important jobs for the GC. While your booth is the most important part of the show for you, it has little or no value to the GC which means they don’t really care how fast or how well your exhibit is assembled. You get whoever they have available at the time you pick up your labor.

If, however, you use an EAC to assemble your booth, you will not only get higher quality labor but have more leverage should any issues arise. You see, your bill to the GC is required to be paid in full before they will allow you to remove your exhibit from the floor after the show. If you have any issue with your labor, you still have to pay your bill in full and hopefully work it out on the back end. Good luck with that one. An EAC isn’t connected to the GC you won’t receive a bill until a week or two after the show has closed. Should there be an issue you have time to get it sorted out before you write your check.

For my money, or at least the money of the company I work for, the EAC is a much better choice. There are some considerations here as well though. Labor ordered from the GC doesn’t go on the clock until you pick them up. But EAC labor starts getting paid from the time you designated. So if you ordered labor for 8 am but they can’t start until 10 am you still pay for the two hours. If your electrical is incorrect or not down yet, your truck hasn’t unloaded or any number of other issues, you still pay. But there are ways to avoid this.

First, I ALWAYS set my travel plans so that I arrive as early as possible on the day BEFORE the first day of setup. There are several benefits to this, the biggest being that I have time to go to the convention center when I arrive and check on the status of my booth space. I check to see if all of my crates have arrived from the advanced warehouse and for any damage first. Then I look at my utility placements to ensure they are down and correct. Depending on the show and time I arrive neither of these may be true. That’s OK. They may both be in place later that evening but at least now I know they may not be there first thing in the morning. If your utilities are down but incorrect, I might be able to have it corrected that evening. If nothing else I can find out where you need to go first thing in the morning. The point is that information is power. By showing up a day early and checking out my space, I know what to expect when you arrive the next morning and sometimes I’m able to address issues that day.

Second, I ALWAYS set my labor call for 10 am on the first day of setup. Most show floors will open at 8 am to begin setup. This gives me two hours before my labor arrives to deal with any issues and NOT have them on the clock. At $100.00 an hour in some cities this can save me a lot of money. And hey, if I don’t have any issues, I sleep in a little later that first day and have a nice big breakfast.

Third, on the dismantle I schedule my labor to arrive at least an hour after the doors close. My booth is typically swamped at the end of a show and it can take up to 30 minutes just to get all the attendees out. Once they’re gone I have a lot of stuff to move out of the way before I’m ready to start taking down my exhibit. By ordering labor to start at a later time we aren’t stumbling over each other and I’m not paying them to wait for me to be ready for them. This also allows more time for my crates to be returned so when the exhibit is being dismantled it can go straight into the crates saving time and damage.

Finally, I always send my exhibit to the advanced warehouse. Again, there are several benefits to this including labor costs. Freight sent to the advanced warehouse is delivered to the show floor the day before setup begins. The GC knows they are going to be unloading trucks all day so they get the stuff from the warehouse done first and out of the way. This means my crates are on the floor first thing in the morning.

If you send direct to the show your truck goes to the marshalling yard and is given a number to unload. Then it waits until the docks are ready for that number. If your truck isn’t unloaded until 2pm and you’ve ordered your labor for 10am as noted above, you’re still paying for four hours of labor for every guy. AND, you’ve just paid for their lunch break. It is true that it will cost you more to send your booth to the advance ware house than direct to show. But if you’re labor is sitting around waiting for your truck to unload you’ll most likely end up spending more money than you would have at the warehouse.

The larger your exhibit is the more money you’ll save by scheduling your labor correctly. The word of the day when it comes to trade shows is money. It’s going to cost you a lot of money to exhibit at a trade show. That’s just the way it is. But if you can save a little here and a little there you’ll find you’ve saved a lot. It just takes a little planning.

1. The larger your booth space is the more money you’re spending with the association and, therefore, the more leverage you have. If your exhibit is overly large you can ask about setting up three days before the show opens. Not every show will allow this but it doesn’t hurt to ask. This is especially helpful if the setup days are over the weekend. If you can start your set on Friday instead of Saturday you’ve just saved yourself 8 hours of overtime pay for your union crew.

2. Be careful though. If you do get permission to setup early make sure all your ducks are lined up accordingly.

   1. Ensure your exhibit is on the floor before your crew arrives. If you’ve sent it to the advanced warehouse you’ll have to have the general contractor deliver it to the show earlier than normal. If you’re delivering direct to show check to be sure you’ll be able to have your truck unloaded early. I recommend the advance warehouse. It will cost you a little more to send it to advance storage but there are several benefits.

   2. Warehouse freight is almost always brought over and set on the floor before setup begins so you’re freight will be there when you arrive.

   3. You’re driver won’t have to wait in the marshaling yard for hours and hours until he’s called up. This may save money on wait charges depending on who you use.

   4. You won’t have your highly paid union labor standing around in your empty concrete floor space being paid to look pretty. I order my labor to start at 10 am. This gives me two hours to deal with any issues without paying my labor for nothing.

   5. Ensure your electrical and other utilities are in place and correct. You’ll have to find out who the head guy is and make sure they’re going to have it set early.

   6. Inform your labor company you’re setting up at a special time and that they have people to cover it.

   7. Don’t forget to set your travel and hotel plans accordingly. Personally, I always travel to a show as early as I can the day before I’m going to start my setup. This allows time for delays and gives me time to either get my bearings in a new city or relax before my week starts. I also ALWAYS go to the convention center and check out my booth space. I’ll check my utility placement and see if my crates have arrived from the warehouse. I can’t always address issues that day but I will know what issues I have and be able to address them first thing the next morning. But that’s me.

   8. The biggest benefit of setting up as early as you can is, of course, more time. Some people plan their trip close choosing to arrive late and leave early. This means less time away from home but it also doesn’t allow much time for issues; and issues ALWAYS arise. By getting to the show early you allow time for the unforeseen issues like lost freight, slow labor, incorrectly set utilities and a host of other problems. If there is one thing you can count on at trade shows, things go wrong.

   9. If nothing goes wrong and you find yourself with extra time here are some ideas to fill it.

      1. Rest. You’re going to have a long week and the more rest you have the better you will weather it

      2. Have a nice dinner. This will help make up for all the fast food you’re about to eat at the show.

      3. See the city. I love scoping out a new town

      4. Take a slow walk around the show floor and see what other companies are there and where your competitors are located. There’s a lot you can learn about your competitor at a show. (Another blog for another day)

      5. When you think you’re all done with your setup and ready for your show, walk away from your booth for ten minutes. When you return, do a slow walk around the booth and think about how the booth works, what your staff needs to work the booth, anything that doesn’t look right or is out of place, damage to the booth, missing parts etc. Check that your lockable storage is locked and that anything of value is out of sight if not locked. Check any crates left on the floor that they have empty stickers on them. I call this my idiot check because it helps me find things I missed because I’m a tired idiot.

   10. On the flip side of doing things early is sending your crates back late. This is frowned upon by the general contractor typically and sometimes other exhibitors but if you can work it right, you’ll get your crates back faster on the dismantle saving time and money. As you’re setting your booth and crates become empty, the general contractor asks you to put an empty sticker on your empty crates so they can get them off the aisle. But the earlier your crates leave the floor the longer it will take for them to be returned to you after the show. They will be buried behind everyone else’s crates.  The longer you keep your crates on the floor the faster they will be returned. Another benefit is keeping your crates together so they come back all at the same time. If you can’t put your exhibit parts directly into their crates you’ll waste time moving pieces twice and probably have more damage. Once again, be care with this. If the contractor thinks you’re holding out on sending back your crates, you may get “special treatment” including waiting longer for your crates and extra damage.

The name of the game is being ready when the show opens. The more time you have to setup and prepare the better your show will go.

We exhibited at five shows with a 20×20 space or larger that first year and I spent a lot of time being very frustrated in regards to unions. Spending $400.00 per man for two guys I only needed for an hour and a half didn’t sit well with me. True, it wasn’t my money but it was money from the company I worked for and I really loved that company.

I contemplated often about how to convince a majority of the exhibitors at our shows to complain to the association about the General Contractor about being robbed by the unions. Of course it would have taken a miracle just to get a majority of exhibitors to agree to complain and even then we’re talking about one show in one city.

After the last show of the year we had a couple of months until our next show in January. I spent about a week looking over the five shows we’d done to see what worked and didn’t work.  It was during this time that it hit me. It wasn’t my job to fight city hall. I was being paid to manage our program and ensure that we looked as good as possible at every show we went to. Union regulations are what they are and the efforts of one exhibit manager won’t have any effect on them. Getting upset and stressing myself out wasn’t helping anyone.

The reality is that the doors to the exhibit hall are going to open on time regardless of almost anything else. Hurricane Katrina being one of the very few exceptions I’ve ever heard of. So I decided to take a different approach.

First, I planned for the union costs in my budget. An obvious choice. Then I made a conscious effort to change my attitude about unions. Not my opinion, but my attitude. I just decided to not let it bother me. Then, I took a proactive approach.

As our exhibits grew in size, so did our labor requirements. Before long I would have killed for an $800 labor bill. We use four guys for 12 to 16 hours depending on the city. (Another blog for another day). A slow crew can take as long as 16 hours to set the exhibit. 12 hours is considered a fast set although a CSI crew in Anaheim once set it in 9 hours.

I help where I can of course but I make sure I don’t do so much as to act as a fifth man. I learned early on that when I did the work of a fifth man, the four I hired did the work of three. It’s the new math. Besides, supervising the install of my exhibit helps insure it goes up the way I want and, in the end, saves time.

I also give the guys a lot of leeway when it comes to breaks and retrieving tools, ladders etc. (One way to avoid the tool retrieval issue is to have all the tools you need with you. Another blog for another day) My complaining about them taking too long only exacerbates the issue. I make sure I know who the lead man on the crew and that I remember his name. If I really feel like one of the guys is a problem I talk to the lead guy.

Finally, I decided to kill them with kindness.  I bring in a cooler with water and drinks on ice and tell them to help themselves. I also order pizza delivered with whatever toppings they want for their lunch.

Now I know what you’re thinking. If the cost of labor bothers you so much, why do you go to the added expense of buying them lunch? Well I’ll tell you why. First, most crews take a 30 minute lunch break which doesn’t leave a lot of time for me to go out and find lunch for myself much less eat it. Second, the guys eat in the booth so they don’t come straggling back late. And third, I’ve never seen anyone else do it. And neither did most of the crews I had. Whatever your work ethic is, when your boss buys you lunch it’s going to get better. For a four man crew and myself I typically buy three pizzas.  Figure $15.00 a pop puts you at $45.00. Add the drinks and you’re talking maybe another $15.00.  So $60.00 and I’ve fed my crew.  Let’s round it off to an even $100.00 just for the sake of argument.

Most city rates are over $75.00 an hour per man and some go much higher. Go into overtime or double time and we’re talking real money on a 12 to 16 hour set. Spending the pizza and drink money can cut an hour or more off that time, per man, easily paying for itself several times over. I also have a crew who is more careful with my exhibit property.

Every crew I’ve purchased lunch for has not only been verbally appreciative, but has also been visibly more productive. Saving time on the install does more than just save money. After the crew is done I still have a full day of putting swag away, setting up my sound system, wiping down the booth, hiding wires and a million other tasks. The sooner the crew is done the sooner I can get to work on the rest.

I’ m still not a fan of unions, their regulations or the overpriced labor but by taking a different approach I’m able to make the best of it.

So, my advice when it comes labor unions is to find a way to work with and/or around them. They aren’t going away and trying to fight them will only cause you larger issues.

Honestly, I didn’t know there was a difference in the spelling and meaning. Having checked it out I found he was right. My intention was to describe my ideas about taking an irregular approach to job hunting. So Guerilla is the word I should have used.  However, at this point I must say that if acting like a big hairy primate will get me a job, I’m willing to give it a shot.

So, whether Guerilla or Gorilla is more appropriate, if you haven’t read my blogs about job hunting I encourage you to take a look and see what you think. Leave a comment or suggestion if you like.

Thanks Stu.

Here are a few of the details of how I implemented my strategy for those interested.

1. I continually maintained a positive attitude. On days when I didn’t have it I didn’t go knocking on doors. This is pretty difficult at times when you’re being rejected but it’s an absolute necessity. If I’m not confident in myself why would anyone hire me? You won’t have someone cheering you on every day, or most days, so you have to do it yourself. Whatever it takes to keep yourself upbeat and positive.

When I did go out door knocking I used MS Streets and Trips to plan my route to make the most efficient use of my time and gas money. I also took note of other businesses in the area and researched them.

2. I did as much research as I could before knocking. The Internet is huge here of course and I really don’t know how people did serious job hunting before it. I signed up on about fifteen job boards and had daily emails coming to me from all over with possibilities. I used LinkedIn to get information on companies through employees and I scoured company websites for anything that could give me an edge.

But the Internet will only take you so far. I’ve seen statistics that only 2% of people are hired through the Internet job boards. That seems incredible considering how much money is spent on job boards but I don’t know of anyone who was hired that way. Another consideration is that most job boards use computer programs to weed out and narrow down the number of applications. The worst part about this is that you may be perfect for the job but a computer program rejected you for something as simple as an extra period or space it didn’t like. It’s bad enough being rejected without ever even being told you were rejected but being rejected by an inanimate object is just brutal.

One trick I learned was to copy the ad and remove stuff like the company name, misspellings etc. Reduce it to a 1 point font and make the color white. Then copy and paste the ad at the very top of your resume. When the computer scans your resume it will see all the stuff it’s looking for in a candidate because it was in their own advertisement. This wont’ work if you paste your resume into a form normally but if you attach your resume it will. Worth a shot if nothing else.

3. I created a personalized cover letter for EVERY resume package I handed out and ALWAYS addressed it a specific person with a title. Sometimes you just have to call and ask who you need to talk to. (Incidentally, the job I took was a place I didn’t find in my research. I had to call a Convention and Visitors Bureau to get a person to address my cover letter to (I was applying at the CVB). When I visited the CVB I was told they would love a staff but didn’t have the money. The director then gave me a list of about five places to try. She gave me the GM’s name and said he was a great guy. You’re more likely to get further in the door with “I’m here to meet with John Thompson, the HR Director.” than “May I speak with your HR Director please?” LinkedIn is great for this but be sure you get the right person. I found a couple of companies where I wasn’t sure of who to talk to so I created a cover letter and package for each person and winged it when I got there.

4. I spent time driving around different locations and making notes on my voice recorder about possible companies to research. One day I had over one hundred places to research just driving through a few business parks. I then researched the companies on the Internet to see just what they did and if there was a way for me to fit in. LinkedIn, company website and a Google search will yield some great information.

5. I Googled every term I could think of in the industry I was looking in. This is an obvious thing to do of course but as I did this I found that I was looking at companies and industries I hadn’t thought of before. I’d spent 5 years as an exhibit manager in the education industry but the skills and experience I gained in that position aren’t exclusive to it. I decided to sit down and list every skill I had and then Google the skills and found myself looking at the hospitality industry among others. If you’ve programmed for American Airlines and looking for work, you may find that some sports apparel company is looking to rebuild their inventory system or whatever. Even if your skills are more specialized like maybe a chef you can look at places like resorts, being a private chef or whatever. The point being to think outside your box and consider working in someone else’s.

6. I setup my laptop and printer in my car when I went knocking on doors. I created cover letters and assembled packages for at least 20 places on the spot. There were several times when I sat in the parking lot and used the company’s wifi to research them and create a cover letter. I also had several times when, after talking to the receptionist, I found that I had the wrong person. I went out to the car and printed up a fresh cover letter and was back in the door in a few minutes. That will get you some looks.

I also wrote my thank you notes on the spot before I left the parking lot. I have terrible handwriting so I used my cover letter as a template and typed my thank you notes in a script style font. Hand written is more personal but if they can’t read it then it does you no good. I had my return address labels already printed and printed an address label for the person in the car. More than once I dropped the thank you note in the mail box in front of the company I’d just visited. (Side note: Print directly on the envelope if possible. My old printer wouldn’t do this but my new one does and it’s a huge difference.

7. Each time I created a new cover letter or thank you note, I saved it on my computer with the city, company and name and title of the person it was addressed to. More than once I had to reprint letters to make a small change or correct a mistake. I also used previous letters as a starting template for new ones. Not having to start from scratch every time you create a new cover letter or note saves a lot of time.

8. Speaking of cover letters, I found a template for something totally unrelated and modified it into a cover letter. I then made my resume match the cover letter in font and both have a red accent line. Of course I printed everything on resume paper which I bought in bulk at Office Max. When I had business cards made at Office Max, I used the same font and found a template with a red line. Had I thought of it, I would have had Office Max print up envelopes too. The point being that everything matched and without going overboard I included a little color to help things stand out. I included a business card with every resume package I gave out and also in each thank you note. My email and phone were on everything including every page of my resume.

9. As part of my resume package I included my professional references (which matched the resume in all respects) and I had several letters of reference that were on the respective company letterheads. My thinking here was that, even if I get an on the spot interview, the employer isn’t going to make an on the spot decision. By including these items, the employer has everything they may need to consider me further. They don’t have to ask for information and then wait for me to follow up with it before they can contact references. If they see the references and letters and decide not to contact me then I haven’t had my hopes excited only to not hear back from them.

10. I took the approach that every place I walked into needed to hire me to improve their situation. They just didn’t know it yet. It was my job to introduce myself and inform them, in as polite a way as possible, that they were losing out because they didn’t yet have me as an employee. I wasn’t rude or arrogant but I didn’t allow myself to be intimidated either. I was straight forward and honest about who I am and what I was looking for. It was more of an attitude to keep myself upbeat than anything else. I also reminded myself that, regardless of what they thought or how the interview went, I couldn’t hurt my chances by walking in. They didn’t know I existed until I walked in so they couldn’t hire me and the worst possible result is that they still didn’t hire me.

This strategy may not work for everyone and it can always be improved upon, but it worked for me. I learned a lot in my last round of job hunting and I’ll make changes the next time I go looking. I was down on myself a lot over the past two years and it’s hard to look for a job when you’re not sure you’d hire yourself. But whatever the reasons for a person not having a job right now, that person knows better than anyone else what they are capable of and what their value is. Both jobs I had in 2009 were in areas I’d had no experience in except that my skills are in service. They knew that and my service oriented attitude is what they hired. I can learn the rest.

Life gives no guarantees aside from death. Security in work or any other aspect of life is relevant and a myth in my opinion. The president of General Motors made a huge salary and ended up being fired by the President of the United States. Michael Jackson was worth hundreds of millions and died at fifty. I worked for some great people at a fantastic company for twelve years and loved it. The company sold, management changed and I was let go. Things change. It’s not a matter of “if” things will change. They will. The trick is to move beyond the change.