First Blog – kind of nervous – I have been writing a blog and a company newsletter for about nine years – but never with a national forum. We are a family run business both in Tustin, CA and Las Vegas, NV - Absolute Exhibits, www.AbsoluteExhibits.com, We started as a portable modular sales company and after all of the turmoil this decade we are a 95% rental exhibit company with enough stock to build a 45-50 larger exhibits at the same time. We now have a wholesale side to our company, www.WholesaleExhibits.com, that services other exhibit houses and brokers. And if you learn one thing about the exhibit business from me – it is that in 90% of cases – renting an exhibit is the right choice.
For exhibitors I have an incredible amount of information to take you through the nightmare of trade show paperwork from how to read your exhibitor’s manual to how much electricity to order – it is hand holding at its best. And when you are looking about for an opinion – Too many trade shows within an industry? Too much money for floor space? How to meet a real budget? Well, I readily dispense that too.
Today’s blog is for exhibit houses and brokers. Times have changed and exhibit companies must learn to work together. If you have a rental program in Seattle and an exhibitor that needs to rent in Orlando – you need a partner to complete the equation. If you have nine exhibits to take to Orlando – then go right ahead – but you still need a colleague when you get there – for labor help, quick fixes, and etcetera. I tried to establish a circle of exhibit houses for years and finally we went out on our own and created personal relationships. And it works!
Rentals become repeat business every year – stack ten or fifteen rental clients into your sales mix and you have diversified your business and created a new, more consistent, revenue stream. Are you a survivor? Do you have a resource for any client or prospective client – no matter what they need? The rental business is your best option at retaining a client, year to year.
Attend national exhibit shows and network. If you sell for a particular manufacturer use their resources to set you up across the country. Here is what you are looking for – a company with like-thinking, people that will fulfill rentals with a complete turnkey service including Installation and Dismantle, services, and shipping. You should not need to be there – that is the key, total confidence in your selected partner.