The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. – Joseph Campbell

Ever seen this happen?:

The buyer has been working with the vendor for years and years – they’ve had a great relationship, with ups and downs. Long ago, the vendor rescued the buyer and earned their trust. Then things really clicked – the buyer could RELY on the vendor – jobs got done on time, on budget, and execution was to a T.

Later on, moments came up when the buyer looked at a proposal and wondered if was just a little too fat compared to last time -and now it seems like the buyer is rescuing the vendor more often than not.

Finally, after years of batting away hungry salespeople, a “second opinion” comes along worth considering.

The competing vendor has a good proposal. The price confirms the buyer’s suspicions, the support side looks at least comparable, and the product is rock solid – cutting edge even. For a fleeting moment, the buyer thinks that he may have a superior alternative in hand… Read the rest of this entry »

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It's not a rendering - it's Ziosoft at RSNA in Chicago/McCormick Place. Rental.

It’s a question of opportunity costs. To some business people, that is a fictional, made-up term that they ignored during Econ100 lectures. Would you blame me for trying to show what it means to your exhibit program?

Suppose you’re exhibiting at a few shows in 2010 – and you own an exhibit that can support all of the booth sizes you’re in. Renting a new booth would cost a significant sum when compared with reusing the booth you own (just ship it, set it, and forget it! How easy!). On paper, that’s a no-brainer.

Why aren’t you using your brain?

Attendees at 2010 shows are looking for cutting edge companies that provide value and who are strong in an economic climate that has weakened so many. How do you want to be perceived? Read the rest of this entry »

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“Show Me The Water!” OK, we grant you that it lacks the ring of Jerry Maquire’s “Show Me The Money” from where it was ripped off but, if you’re one of the 13,000 or so water professionals planning to hit the world’s biggest water conference in Chicago this June, you might think the show’s official slogan is pretty darn slick. Or not.

Right now the thought of the ACE 10 show, hosted by the American Water Works Association, is either making exhibiting companies crazy with excitement or feel they are drowning at the thought of coming up with a stunning booth with half the cash they had to play with last year. That’s right, welcome to the recession, where your budgets for exhibiting have probably been severely squeezed. Chicago-based exhibition-experts, Catalyst Exhibits, though has a solution. Lots of them in fact, and all designed to help your business stand out in the crowd without breaking out in a budgetary sweat. The company has unveiled a wide range of customisable rental solutions for booths of all sizes. Whether you plan for something small and bright or something towering and scary, Catalyst has a huge selection of booth designs that can be tailored for your exact needs.

Need a tall tower set-up with highly visible graphics to overshadow your rivals? Check. On-booth meeting room with roof and air-con for that important customer pitch? Check. State-of-the-art display cabinets to help attract new business? Check. And because you’re renting, it’s so much cheaper than going it alone.

Catalyst knows that companies are finding it hard but they know that exhibitions like ACE 10 cannot be overlooked which is why they are showing companies how to exhibit smarter, without breaking the bank. Find out what they can do for your water business at ACE 10 here. So, stop panicking, go with flow and give Catalyst a call.

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With the Windpower 2010 show on the horizon, we’ve been sitting around today trying to think of famous wind-related quotes. You know, ‘The answer my friend is blowing in the wind’ and ‘We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails’. Wind power is big business with more than 25-gigwatts (GW) installed in the US now and with more than 6-GW of installs planned for 2010. The tens of billions of dollars and the companies behind that swing to cleaner energy will all be blowing into Dallas, Texas this May for the world’s biggest wind energy event, Windpower 2010.

Last year the show had more than 23,000 visitors and 1,200 exhibitors in just three days. How did your show go? Did your company get its slice of the wind farm billions floating around or was your booth and company invisible in the crowd? To stand a chance of getting noticed businesses need a booth designed to boost their profile. A great booth doesn’t have to be the biggest so you can stop those budget-breaking plans to drag a 100-yard tall wind turbine to Dallas right now. Budget constraints are all the rage in the current economic climate, meaning it’s time to approach this year’s event smarter than last year’s.

Renting a custom designed booth from exhibition experts Catalyst Exhibits is a smart first step since few companies can afford to waste the time or money on creating their own booth. Taking the recession onboard, Catalyst has designed a wallet-friendly series of designer booths and modules that can be highly customised to suit all businesses. There’s tall, high-identity towers with printed graphics, easily transportable lightweight aluminium fabric walls, fully featured meeting rooms to escape the crowds and highly visible booth designs with lots of cleverly disguised storage.

So, if budgets are tight and you want WindPower Expo blowing customers in your direction, check out the key to a successful show here.

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Despite the recent upturn, anyone claiming that the US manufacturing sector has cleared the jaws of the global recession is probably high or, full of crap. Or both.

2010 is the year when manufacturing firms will be looking for ways to take a few months of positive growth and turn them into long-term recovery. For many firms, September’s International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) – the largest manufacturing technology show in the US -  will be a key event. It may come as a surprise to some but these shows are not just about swilling free champagne in the evening, ogling booth babes and collecting as many free pens as possible. In reality, IMTS is probably a manufacturing technology company’s best way of getting together with all of their existing customers while being able to showcase technology to thousands of potential new customers. [OK, and maybe chug some free champagne, annoy booth babes and stock up on pens].

Still, to make the most of it, companies will have to stand out. Why? Well, IMTS 2010 will have thousands of companies exhibiting and around 91,000 visitors. To make the most of it companies will have to make their booths, well, stand out from the crowd. However, with constrained budgets, companies should be looking at smarter ways to exhibit. Catalyst Exhibits has taken the recession on board to create a wide range of custom, rental exhibit solutions to suit any budget. After all, if your company’s chief financial officer is now flying economy and eating burritos like the rest of you, you can’t afford to start designing and building your own booth. At least not one that looks great.

Many companies underestimate the cost of trying to build their own custom exhibits. Think of the popular home improvement expression ‘money pit’ and you’ve got it. No matter the size, Catalyst has a long track record in designing stunning exhibits that don’t break the bank. Sure, you’ve probably seen some crappy rental exhibits in the past. You know the ones: bland, beaten up, with weird unidentifiable stains and carpet so threadbare it looks like a herd of buffalo were the last ones across. Catalyst, however is offering something fresh and bright, designed specifically for your company to stand out.

From lightweight aluminium fabric walls and conference rooms with noise-proofing and air-con, to high identity towers and lit display cases, it’s time to stop wasting time and money and let the experts in exhibiting make your IMTS event a successful one. They’ll even throw in a free pen. But not a booth babe. That’s probably illegal. Go here to see where the smart exhibition money is being spent.

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