Gaining Momentum! Tips from the Trade Show Floor - Part 5

Welcome to January's "Gaining Momentum"!  In addition to our trade show list and city profile we send you each month, Momentum Management would like to help you to continue to "gain momentum" in the trade show world with our "Gaining Momentum" tips.  This email is just a short list of common sense solutions to everyday problems you may run into. We'll also be posting these on our facebook page so if you have any comments or suggestions in addition to our tips, please take a few minutes to comment on our page. We welcome any tips from you that we can add to our "Gaining Momentum - Tips from the Trade Show Floor" email.  If we use your tip in an upcoming issue, we'll mail you a Starbucks gift card!  Annette Jester with Art & Display replied back after a previous issue with her helpful hints which you'll see highlighted below.  Thanks Annette! --Your Momentum Management Team

Kaci Bledsoe - Momentum Management Billing Coordinator   

Tip #11 (for iPhone, iPad users)  

Pressing the power and home button together on your Apple device creates a picture of your current screenshot.

Creating a screenshot of your screen on any iPone or iPad is as easy as a touch of a button.  Simply press your home screen and the power button at the same time and it creates a photo of your screen and saves it in your 'camera roll' on your phone.  You can easily send the photo to someone via a text message or email. This can also be helpful when someone is unable to open a certain type of file like .pdf or .xlsx.  By sending them a "picture" of the document open on your screen, they should be able to open it no matter what type of device they are working with.  If you are using an Android device, you can download an app called "Screenshot It" to get similar results. 

   

Annette Jester - Art & Display 

Tip #12-16

• Visit Starbucks as often as possible during breaks to keep yourself refueled.
• Keep visqueen down as long as possible so that you won't stain the carpet when you spill your coffee.
• Use a backpack instead of a purse or nice laptop carrier/brief case.  No one wants to steal an ugly back pack!
• Bring works gloves.
• Bring a BIG black felt pen, preferably with your name or company logo on it because it will likely be "loaned" out.

  

Momentum In The Exhibit City News...

From Ideas to Innovation: 

Benchmarking Best Practices

Momentum Management was founded in 1991 by Randy Bott and a small group who shared a common vision of creating a nationally recognized labor management company. The company currently handles installation and dismantle service request for tradeshows and other events across the U.S. and Canada. 

“After all these years I couldn’t be happier with the direction we’re headed and the progress we’ve made,” said Bott. 

Three years ago, Randy brought Rick Bellerjeau to the company as general manager. What made this appointment unusual is that Bellerjeau’s background is not in either the tradeshows or labor industries. In fact, Bellerjeau came from a technology background. 

“With a background in another industry,” said Bellerjeau. “I could look at the company through a different prism. Randy is a very forward thinking leader, and he believes in benchmarking best practices across industries.” 

In the technology industry, companies understand the value of strategic partnerships. Companies partner and leverage strength, and through strategic partnerships, all of the partners become stronger. How could this be an advantage in the I&D industry? 

Bellerjeau ‘s fresh eyes saw an industry dominated by fear. Because the tradeshow industry depends on acceptance of a creative  effort, there is a personal element to customer acquisition. Will they like the exhibit? Will it ‘wow’ senior management? Will someone else get the business? Will they buy it? 

Not only is the pressure personal, but time pressure is a big part of the industry. Deadlines are tight, as are schedules and delivery dates. With this in mind, Momentum shifted its focus away from the fear of cannibalization to committing to work with exhibit houses in order to understand what exhibit builders mean when they say they sell value to a client. What type of delivery do they promise? And how does a company like Momentum help them keep their promises? 

Momentum is on a path of keeping track of continuous improvement. The company takes labor, a commodity, and adds innovation to reinvent themselves and the industry. 

In doing so, Momentum is redefining service in the I&D segment with systems, processes, training and action. Bellerjeau, as general manager, believes in taking people to another level, specifically in taking a union employee who is part of a labor force that has done things the same way for decades and reintroducing this person to a new concept.

“The first step was to get our product, our labor force, to be excited about exceeding themselves on the show floor,” he said. “There are some companies that will throw their partners under the bus to make themselves look good; we’re not one of them. We know that our whole culture is about the client experience on the show floor exceeding everyone’s expectations.” 

“We focus on our people, on training and on presenting the bigger picture, the whole vision,” Rick continues. “There’s a consistency to our approach from the time the dock doors open until the show opens. We know that our customers back at the corporate office are worried that something might go wrong. Maybe they’re launching a new product and they know that the show is  important. It’s the primary place where they can meet their customers and they realize that a lot of business is started on the show floor. 

“We’re a communications company as well as a labor company. Communications dissipates fear, and when the exhibit houses put our processes and procedures in their RFPs. It works. Our processes turn price discussion into value discussions. Especially in a down economy, we want to provide the highest level of service and sell value. In our work, we demonstrate how our vision is working as we build a culture of partnerships, value and customer focus. We make the fear go away.”

Gaining Momentum! Tips from the Trade Show Floor - Part 4

Welcome to December's "Gaining Momentum"!  In addition to our helpful trade show list, Momentum Management would like to help you to continue to "gain momentum" in the trade show world.  Every other month, we'll send out a short list of common sense solutions to everyday problems you may run into.

We'll also be posting these on our facebook page so if you have any comments or suggestions in addition to our tips, please take a few minutes to comment on our page.

We welcome any tips from you that we can add to our "Gaining Momentum - Tips from the Trade Show Floor" email.  If we use your tip in an upcoming issue, we'll mail you a Starbucks gift card!  Katana Luther with Skyline replied back last month with her helpful hints which you'll see highlighted below.  Thanks Katana!
--Your Momentum Management Team 

Mike Ciufo -  Northeastern Regional Manager  

Tip #7 - Bring a big spray bottle of one part fabric softener, one part water.  Spray it on the carpet to eliminate static (just don't spray too close to any plugged-in equipment).    

 

Tip #8 - This may seem obvious, but never forget your first aid kit.  You never know when you may need it!

Katana Luther - Skyline Exhibits and Events

Tip #9 - To avoid any possible theft, never wrap pallets containing flat screens or other valuable items in clear shrink wrap.  It's better to always wrap in black wrap so that passersby cannot easily view items waiting to be unwrapped or shipped off.  

Tip #10 - When filling out the outbound MHA for show management, make sure that you write clearly and note each item in the appropriate line on the form for each item you have shipping out of the show.  Don't look at the MHA for the items shipping to the show and write down the exact same items, weight or description because it is likely that the number of pieces shipping out and their description will be different than what was sent in.