Big exit |
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a buyer pay for? There are three key points. Slots are critical – don’ t launch a giftware show or a vet show in the BDC or Harrogate if you want to be a billionaire because you are unlikely to be able to move it to a larger venue. They won’ t give you a slot.
Understand that the rebook system on-site is critical – it’ s like a subscription to Vogue. It guarantees next year’ s revenue, it discourages potential competitors, it proves resilience. Neglect it and your exhibitors can soon forget your show.
Exploit the fact that the trade show business is price inelastic – there is always room to raise prices intelligently above inflation. Learn to ask“ What will the market bear?” Space price and sponsorship is regularly no more than 20 % of an
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exhibitor’ s total expenditure at a show. And never price at anything other than an xx9.
Don’ t mess around with silly prices – debate every single price. Do you really think that someone who will pay £ 669 won’ t pay £ 679? Almost every show in the UK underprices its product. If you want to check whether a company is well-run, just go on their websites and check their prices. If they are not xx9 then their management is not paying attention.
6. Pick the sectors you want to work in very carefully. Ideally, pick sectors which are a growing percentage of GDP in the markets in which you operate – CloserStill chose Medical / Health
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“ Employing good people is not actually the key. The key is what you do with them afterwards” |
and the top end of IT and we stuck to that. With a turnover approaching £ 300m, 75 % of our business is still basically in IT and Medical / Health. This is easy to say, very hard to do.
7. People – the inevitable cliché. Never forget that everyone is the hero of their own lives. Employ good people – of course. But employing good people is not actually the key. The key is what you do with them afterwards. Everyone wants to belong, to be part of something successful. Almost everyone will become more than you expect if they feel they are part of something worthwhile. We think this is the reason CloserStill has won so many awards in the last 12 years.
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16 Issue 3 2026 |
www. exhibitionworld. co. uk |