Feature Story

Global Desktop Resources

by Ray C. Rogowicz
Founder/CEO
EXIBITTRADER.COM, Inc.
Dallas, TX

Throughout recorded history, innovative designers, businesses and marketers have been building, renovating, remodeling, overhauling, buying, selling and trading pre‑existing assets as a major part of commerce and trade.

It was this consoling tidbit of historical fact, coupled with a personal passion toward an unresolved industry stigma, that ultimately led to the creation and development of our e‑commerce Internet portal EXHIBITTRADER.COM, Inc. The unique online platform is specifically designed as a global desktop resource for connecting buyers, sellers and rental users with pre‑owned trade show exhibits, new properties, accessories, related products and services.

I am not completely sure whether I am actually pre‑destined to fight for the cause or just bound and determined to expose and address the taboo topic of pre‑owned trade show exhibits. In my mind it is an issue that needs to be addressed and few have a better background than I to take on the challenge and confront the stigma of this forbidden business sector head on. My specialized contribution to this point in my career was the designing and production of new custom trade show exhibit solutions with budgets in some instances in excess of $5M, to developing and distributing new lines of modular/portable products and fulfilling orders, in some cases in $50 increments. The most important service we can deliver to our customer is a full range of products and methods that strategically, economically and fashionably get their message across to their target audience. With that in mind, let us also not lose sight of the results of all the recently published surveys stating that the number one concern of exhibitors is “the cost associated with trade show participation.” It is time to respond to that concern. We can help them if we address some of their concerns head on. That is what I intend to do by confronting the issue and taboo of pre‑owned property. Why is it that the vast majority of both custom and even modular/portable fabricators historically shy away from addressing a customer solution via pre‑owned property? Why specifically does our industry inherently not only sidestep this alternative as a resource, but in most instances leave it lurking beneath the surface as if it does not

even exist? Are we afraid that if we accept a pre‑owned property as a viable solution for a client it would mark the end to all new fabrication? Do we think that if one does not address it, then clients will not think of it, maybe forget it, and if we just lie low the whole theory of it will go away?

This decades old problem is continually being identified and churned by exhibit managers and owners. Ask any dedicated account executive or account manager if he/she has ever been confronted with the question, “Can you help us sell our exhibit property,” or “Would you like to buy our property back,” or “Do you have any used property available for sale,” or the question that always baffles sales people, “How much are we being charged to dispose of our exhibit, you know, the one we recently paid thousands of dollars for?”

Not that I am trying to resurrect a bittersweet subject that occurred not all that long ago, but not addressing the pre‑owned property dilemma has that same unsettling undertone as when the modular/portable movement began. Surely someone can still recollect when the majority of custom builders shrugged their noses and looked down upon the modular/portables market? Have we forgotten how an innovative group of engineers and graphic types came into this industry via that so‑called cheap stuff’ and now basically control a huge portion of the market, and rightfully so? That was back in the days when those egotistical exhibit guys were going to take a firm stance. If it was not a custom built exhibit, then there was going to be no exhibit at all. That was some stance, and oh wouldn’t it be nice to re‑look that decision again.

Do not misinterpret what I say here; I am in no way stating that the modular/portable designers and producers are not worthy of being in the family. Quite the contrary. They came into a promised land, surveyed the terrain, and engaged the sleepy enemy with a full scale assault. They were brilliant and still are. Surely some of the old guard learned a painful lesson from burying their heads in the sand. Or do we once again have to accept and live with the fact that some things never need to change? Do we look at the pre‑owned solution for our clients as we did the modular/portable solution, as short lived and going by the wayside? Maybe if we just continue to shrug our noses it will go away. Not only do I strongly disagree with the thought, but I have the proof, especially since $30 – 50K exhibit managers each month are coming in and out of my Web site looking for and discussing pre‑owned and like solutions. Not just pop‑up clients either, I am talking about tabletops to two stories, GE to DuPont, The London Museum of Natural History to those

attending their local fair. In my book the answer is and will always be: We must pay attention to the pre‑owned solution. All things change and business is an ever‑shifting environment. We must be able respond to many different circumstances or we again will have to make room for those who have done due diligence.

As with any new method of doing business or the introduction of a new product line, there are many unanswered questions for the innovative full‑service solutions provider. The pre‑owned concept creates interesting questions as basic as, “Should I accept the fact that pre‑owned market even exists?” “How can I acknowledge and adapt pre‑owned property into my current business model?” “How can I participate in this rapidly emerging market without jeopardizing my core business?” “How can we interface state‑of‑the‑art design/creativity with a ‘used’ (‘pre‑owned’) exhibit property?” “How do we gain quick access to the proper marketing exposure that is necessary to sell our existing clients’ booths on‑line and integrate buying and selling pre‑owned properties as a new product or service offering to our clients without spending a bundle?”

There are several interesting answers to these tough questions – and many mistakes that can be made and/or avoided along the way. The first real step to sobriety, however, is to admit there is a problem, clearing the way for professional help and opportunity. Once we get past this first uphill step the rest is actually fairly easy.

Let’s address the questions one at a time:

Q. Should I accept the fact that a pre‑owned market even exists?

A. That is entirely your decision, but remember, if your competitor gets it and your client gets it but you don’t, well, it will be awful hard to sell yourself as a full‑service provider and keep a straight face at the same time. Clients today want solutions, not excuses or ancient philosophy.

Q. How can I acknowledge and adapt pre‑owned property into my current business model?

A. That is an easy one, if you have read thus far; chances are that you concede that a pre‑owned solution could actually be a viable answer in some instances.

As for adapting pre‑owned property into your current business model, first let’s look at what this might require and what services you already offer.

Working with a pre‑owned property takes the identical resources a new construction project requires. However, the best thing is that the smaller firm does not necessarily need the big facility and huge overhead to negotiate a make‑over project, thereby allowing the local boutique builder/consultant to participate in the overall pre‑owned process as well. The exhibit provider/consultant must either provide in‑house or have easy access to a production/refurbishing facility, design capabilities, graphic capabilities and logistical support.

Thirdly, it is just plain ridiculous to think that by simply offering to assist your existing client in the sale of his or her pre‑owned property, or by offering that property to an interested prospect as a viable solution, that you will never be building new exhibits again or are giving up a chance to go for the “big new build.” By listing an existing client property for sale online, you actually gain the opportunity of fielding the new client inquiry. The truth is, you probably would not have even heard or been in contact with this new lead if you had not listed the property on behalf of your current customer. (And for what it’s worth, you better keep building new exhibits or I will be out of business soon.)

Remember, the definition of a true full‑service provider is having access to a full array of resources and ideas, ultimately providing the right solution, usually in a rapid time frame, within the budget, and with what would best suit or portray the customer’s overall message and accomplish his or her set objective. This is a little different than preaching new build. What if the potential client has budget limitations, conflicting shows and needs a quick solution, or is an international visitor looking for a one‑time solution, etc? Probably not new build material – pre‑owned or rental maybe; either way, good revenue.

Lastly, let’s walk through this new‑found additional service you have added to the repertoire. Example: Your existing customer comes to you and says, “Can you help me sell our booth?” You say, “We can list your property for sale online and give it our best shot.” Let’s now presume an interested party offers to buy your client’s property and your client accepts the offer and notifies you of the sale. Better yet, you are acting as the client’s selling contact and you are already in control. (Needless to say your existing client is now very happy, they just put some serious money back into their budget, some of which might even go back to you for other needs.) It gets better. Who do you think will most likely do the refurb and graphics makeover for the new buyer? To make things even more satisfying in this love triangle, your new client has just received a great opportunity to shine at their show by electing to go with a (new) pre‑owned property this round. Remember, this is a new property to them! (They now saved a bundle and are very happy with their new purchase as well.) What exactly is there not to get in this scenario? It is a win‑win‑win if there ever was one. As Jill Brookman, publisher of EXHIBIT BUILDER Magazine put it in an e‑mail she sent to me while discussing our services, “You’re like Santa!”

If you ask me, this beats the heck out of saying, “Sorry, your booth has no value but I can charge you to dispose of it if you like.” As many account executives can attest, this is usually not a real happy moment for either party. Have you been there before? If you haven’t, it is only because you are still a rookie and your day of reckoning is near. There is nothing quite like telling your customer you can’t really help them. Let’s face it, up until this point your client has been an ally to your cause, the very person you spent a great deal of energy and passion convincing why he or she should build from scratch. You taught them to cherish the ownership of assets consisting of plywood laminates, metal, fabrics and those high dollar class ‘A’ crates. They look to you for guidance, they entrust tens of thousands dollars to you, if not hundreds of thousands, for use toward the creation of their three‑day event. Then out of the blue, the game changes. The client asks if you can help them sell this incredible sculpture of high dollar design and exotic handcrafted material. And you respond, “The booth is two years old and really all we can do is dispose of it for you or keep charging you storage on this precious asset that according to you now really has no value.” Which is it?

As I previously noted, a perfectly good pre‑owned exhibit that has no value (in most cases) is absolutely absurd.Tell that to the CEO/CFO of the company that paid for the booth and see what they have to say. I do, however, concede that there can be and are some exceptions due to environment, heavy usage, poor handling or bad storage conditions, to name a few. If that is the case with your client’s exhibit, then by all means junk it. Depending on your perspective, especially if you are the owner of the property, a two or three year old exhibit may only have actually been used at the show for a total of six or nine working days. Maybe a carpet cleaning or new carpet and the repair of a few nicks and dings is in order, but throw it away? That should almost be considered a crime. To answer the original question, by not participating in this rapidly emerging market, you may already be jeopardizing your core business. Many of your competitors already are engaged, especially the marketing communications companies. They are getting this concept into focus; they see an exhibit as a three day branding or B2B event. They are not interested in long‑term ownership; they are concentrating on creating the right message, environment, getting on to the next marketing opportunity and having the funds left to further the cause. Believe me, they are not to proud to use a pre‑owned solution. Who cares, if it does the job well and was not used earlier at the same show – it is fine. The international community gets it. So are the folks visiting me everyday; they want greater selection. The real hang‑up for this alternative is the exhibit builder, plain and simple.

Q. How can we interface state‑of‑the‑art design/creativity with a “used” (“pre‑owned”) exhibit property?

A. If you really trace it down to its essence, just like new construction, it all starts with design and vision. When a client walks into your conference room seeking assistance, the designer can, in many instances, either make or break the deal. How many times has the frustrated designer had to sit and endure a client’s vision of his new booth only to find that there is no money there to induce his creative juices?

The client sits there for a brief moment not wanting to admit that he or she is under‑funded for the solution your company is proposing, maybe suffering from his/her own mild form of shock and amazement over the cost of building the exhibit. Now the client, being completely surrounded by the entire project staff, and in an effort to break the tension, steps up to the plate and says, “Well I may be able to get $65K.” At that very moment how do you react? Do you let him walk, does design throw in the towel and wash its hands, do you have to convince the client that a $65K rental is what they really want/only option? Are you going to have to appear before management, the same group you know historically refuses to think too far outside the box, thereby jeopardizing your perfectly good, new potential client, and a $65K sale – at your expense? Do you not say a word about the budget shortfall, leave the meeting with the old, “We will get back to you with designs and renderings.” Do you risk presenting them with a $150K design? Do you leave the meeting wondering if your competitor decided to use alternative resources?

At this very moment, why would you not crack open the pre‑owned artillery canon? Why not have some fun with it, have everyone jump online together. The day has finally arrived when the designer, the account executive and the client can go surfing for a booth to buy and renovate. They can even do it simultaneously from their own desks. Take a stroll through the pre‑owned booth listings to see what solution best matches up and fulfills the client’s objective. Maybe locate a great property with only six to nine days on it, a killer property that sold new for $150K‑200K and is reselling for $30K. Why not let the creative group engage and design in another $35K in high margin modifications and graphics? This proactive solution sure beats the heck out of losing a client or presenting a rental that is not even close to their objective. (In no way am I eliminating or down‑playing a rental as a viable solution; but many times what your company has available in rental inventory just does not fit the needed or desired look.)

Q. How do we gain quick access to the proper marketing exposure necessary to sell our existing client’s booths on‑line and integrate buying and selling pre‑owned properties as a new product or service for our clients without investing additional capital? A. The real trick to selling a customer’s pre‑owned property gets down to one word – exposure. The exhibit provider’s struggle/inability to provide targeted marketing exposure, promote the exhibit property and deliver potential buyers for the property is probably the single greatest reason why there has been no resale value for a pre‑owned exhibit property in the past. This is followed by overhead cost, business model, and ego, not necessarily in that order. The bottom line is simple – if no one knows the property is for sale then chances are it will never sell. This can be a real obstacle for a custom exhibit company, perhaps a bit easier for the modular/portable distributor because of product size and storage costs, but an obstacle just the same. Even if you just spread the word down the hall, at least the customer selling the booth may have a slight chance, depending on how many other potential

buyers the account team or others in the company may have access to. I assure you this number is much lower than you might expect. Even if you are one of the larger national firms, remember we are talking about potential buyers here, not clients.

Then you have to factor in the “what do I get out of it” theory that resides amongst the chaotic world of trade show production and logistical operations. It is not that no one cares; it is just that this priority falls to the bottom of everyone’s busy lists and schedules, thus basically leaving the booth’s destiny right back in the lap of the account executive. Until the exhibit producers themselves accept that the pre‑owned exhibit market actually exists, even the sales rep has no real incentive to assist with the sale, other than not having to inform the client of his inability to help.

Some exhibit providers are beginning to wake up to this potential revenue producer, but the industry is still just limping along. Many of them are trying to take the selling of their client’s property into their own hands. Most of the time this is a mistake. They lack the ability to provide the true exposure to the property required to deliver eyes and inquires. Do not make the mistake of thinking you can list it somewhere on that great Web site of yours and a buyer will be right there waiting to pounce on it. Even if you do create a dedicated program or classified area on the site, chances are it will do very little to help your cause. Why? Because very few new buyers ever visit your site, let alone look for pre‑owned properties. If the buyers don’t know who you are they will never look for you. Most of the time, the larger firms with the more expensive and complicated sites are glorified Intranet sites, dedicated to servicing their own internal departments, clients and distribution networks. Bottom line – without a large, consistent audience of new visitors, there will be little if any real opportunity to do justice to the sale of a pre‑owned property.

Don’t forget another very important element to consider – time. It is always working against you. Remember, the client is racking up a storage bill, and if you do not produce a potential buyer or inquiry in a reasonable time frame, it will be one more aggravation a client will hold against you.

Integrating the selling of pre‑owned properties as a new product offering without having to dedicate a lot of time and capital to the cause is simple today. Let the professionals that specialize in this area help you with this process. There is no reason why the exhibit provider should be out a dime in this process if they do their homework. There are less than a handful of companies in the market that deal in the selling of pre‑owned properties. I suggest you locate one of these companies for assistance with marketing and sales support. However, a word of caution is required. When identifying the right company with which to team, beware their business model and practices. Make sure their overall objective lines up with you and your client’s best interests.

The exhibit provider has an obligation to look for a non biased company whose mission is to deliver an audience, work with you to sell your client’s property, obtain a respectable price for the property, deliver a potential customer, and let you refurb and modify. In addition, only a small commission is paid once the booth has been sold and all monies collected. The fees paid here are to basically cover sales, marketing and overhead costs.

In closing, the best thing the exhibit provider can do in assisting their client in the sale of a booth is: Acknowledge the fact that the exhibit has a resale value, make the client aware that you will assist them in listing the property with a reputable service, offer to be the seller’s point of contact on the property to be sold, and allow you to do the interface with incoming buyer inquiries.

Create a catalog of photos (in the shop and at the show site), and maintain floor plan and elevation drawings. If you do all of the above and take a pro‑active approach, chances are you will help your existing customer and gain another client. eb