I must have "sucker" tattooed on my forehead!

[Dukedog]

I don't know exactly how this came about but after a general meeting of Cradley Heath Model railway club last Friday evening I came away from the meeting bearing the title "EXHIBITION MANAGER"!

 

Now, I'm not affraid of the challenge but I could do with some help and advice from the more experienced amongst us.

I have been involved in exhibition organising before but that was over 30 years ago! and things have changed a little bit since then.

 

Here's the story so far....

 

The Cradley club have never held an exhibition before, The provisional date for our first event is scheduled for October 2013(Date to be confirmed this week by talks with building landlords)

 

For our first event we are planning on a one day show, with reasonably local layouts and traders attending.

 

We don't want to run before we can walk so although we would like the exhibition to be successful we want to keep expenses down until we see how things work out.

IF we make a success of it then 2014 may see a 2 day event with layouts from further afield being invited.

 

So basically that's it!

Any advice that you experienced Expo managers can offer will be welcome.

I need to know basic things that I have no previous knowledge of such as how much should I charge a trader for his stand? TBH I have no idea and don't want to over charge or lose out either.

 

That is the kind of advice and help I am looking for.

so, bring it on!

 

Cheers!

Frank

[Happy Hippo]

Dear Sucker,

 

I managed to sidestep that appointment at our club, but only because I became Secretary.

 

Our EM has managed to get me fully involved in the planning of our show next September...................a few days before yours!

 

My advice is don't try and do it alone. start co-opting other committee members and anyone else from the club you feel will be of use and start tasking them.

 

You are the EM not the GF (General Factotum)

 

Manage and delegate.

 

Regards

 

Richard

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

If you don't already have it, then you need advice swiftly on suitability of the building for public access, and maximum numbers permitted in building, also any considerations relevant to folks with disabilities especially those in wheelchairs. Local authority guidance and a fire officers inspection is the place to start on these. Then parking and vehicle access to the location. In other words make sure the building you want to use is definitely suitable before anything else.

[bbishop]

Frank,

 

Join the club!

 

You could ask a local exhibition manager if you could shadow them. But not Warley!

 

Bill

[cromptonnut]

That's how it kinda happened to me. Few bits of advice in no particular order

• Venue. That's already been covered above.
  
• Budget. You'll need to work out what amount of money the club can afford to lose in a worst-case scenario, if footfall doesn't exceed X amount of people to make a break-even point. Is it better to have 200 people through the door at £3 per head or 300 through the door at £2.50 per head?
  
• How many people do you need to "run" the event, ie people on the door, car park attendant, catering, spares, setter-uppers, cleaning at the end of the day. Expect at least 1/4 of these not to turn up on the day.
  
• Measure the floorplan of what space you have for exhibits and traders. Don't forget where you have alcoves, pillars etc that may disrupt your plans. Also remember where plugs etc are. You'll need 6ft, if not 8ft, walkways for the general public to us, and at least 4ft behind a layout if it has operating space and a stock table required.
  
• Whilst on the subject of tables, don't forget you'll need some tables for stock, and possibly traders. And some chairs. If you don't have them, can you borrow or hire them from somewhere like a local church or similar.
  
• Now you've worked out what space you have for walkways, what space is left for traders and exhibits? Any side room that has only one entrance is ilkely to cause a bottleneck if you get busy.
  
• How many club and members layouts are in a suitable condition for exhibiting (remembering that many people have different standards). Don't feel obliged to have a member's layout just because it's offered. Do you want one 30 foot layout or four 8 foot layouts? A good balance of layouts of varying scales/gauges, eras, countries tends to be appreciated more.
  
• Traders. You'll need a few, as their stand rent will help offset layout costs. But don't have four "box shifters" all selling the same Hornby/Bachmann/Heljan/etc stuff - similarly one 'second hand' trader is often enough. Booksellers, tools, scenics etc always go down. For a small show it's probably not worth inviting a specialist trader unless there's an obvious tie.
  
• Look for deals. Some traders have a layout they can bring which can offset the costs of exhibiting. You need to judge if it's worth it to you.
  
• Look round here and UKModelshops layout directory to see what layouts there are in your area - the less miles to travel, the less the expense for you.
  
• Don't be afraid to "keep their details on file" for another year, you don't have to invite every layout you find or are offered.
  
• Some people may ask for overnight accommodation. You may be able to get a good deal if you can block book a number of rooms in advance at a local B&B.
  
• Advertising. Many magazines need details some months in advance (a quick call or email to most that have show listings will tell you how long). Don't miss their deadlines, they will all be different.
  
• What other advertising opportunities are there? Local radio and newspapers often have "whats on" columns. If you can get the mayor or some local celebrity or well known person to "open" the show they might be more interested if there's an article in it. Local supermarkets often have community notice boards too.
  
• Check your Insurance. You may need to join an 'umbrella organisation' and take advantage of their policy, it's probably cheaper than going it alone. As well as the usual public liability stuff don't forget covering your attending layouts as well.
  
• What about First Aid cover? You may be able to get a St Johns member or two attend for a reasonable fee for the day.
  
• Buy some extension leads of various sizes. You will need them even if people think theirs is long enough... and remember not to overload sockets, it's better to run an extension round the edge of the room from 50ft away than overload the socket that's convenient.
  
• On the day - delegate. Your job is not to be humping tables around and making tea, that's what the club members are there for. You're there to meet and greet, and show people where their spaces are, and deal with any issues that arise that weren't planned for.
  
• Think very carefully before upgrading to two-day. More than twice the expenses for likely less than twice the income.
  

 

Sounds ominous I know. But if you're organised, it's easily achieveable. The first show I ran had about 20 layouts and 500 through the door, for a one-day show. With a good team, everything went awesomely and the only 'downer' was the mayor dropping dead of a heart attack 3 days later so the story of him opening our show, and his obituary, were two pages apart in the local paper the following week.

[Revolution Mike]

Get your club to join the CMRA - useful guide on how to manage an exhibition plus access to lots of useful advice, exhibition insurance discount plus equipment like banners, leads etc.

 

Cheers, Mike

[Andy C]

Resign.

 

OK a joke, it can be a rewarding job but dont try to do it all by yourself - that way lies a nervous breakdown. Its a club show and the operative word there is club - they also must take some responsibilty. The word manager applies and a manager delegates - do it!

 

Having said that retain some independance and stamp your signature on the show, be aware of the parameters - ie the trade rent should bring in what the hall costs at least, look at your last attendance and base your layout budget on that - bearing in mind that attendance is the one imprecise science and can be affected by things like local events, football matches, the weather and even in our case in Manchester, an IRA bomb!

 

And the experts on running shows - god there are loads of them about, some who try to pass themselves off as having years experience of organising shows whern in reality their biggest role in any show has been distributing chairs to exhibitors at the Warley show - nothing you can tell that individual about how to put on a show! Take any advice profferred with a large pinch of salt.

 

Best of luck with it , its a rollercoaster ride and can be a lot of fun, but also can be a lot of heartache - layouts bailing out two days before the show, been there seen it and got the T shirt. Might all seem a bit cynical but its all true!!!

 

There's loads of EMs out there - but if you want any specific guidance / opinion/ advice then please feel free to PM me.

[bbishop]

That's how it kinda happened to me. Few bits of advice in no particular order

• Venue. That's already been covered above. But when do you gain access? You need at least two hours to mark out. How long will your layouts need to set up? What is the venue lighting like? Because you can't put a layout without lighting in a dark corner.
  
• Budget. You'll need to work out what amount of money the club can afford to lose in a worst-case scenario, if footfall doesn't exceed X amount of people to make a break-even point. Is it better to have 200 people through the door at £3 per head or 300 through the door at £2.50 per head? Don't forget a float.
  
• How many people do you need to "run" the event, ie people on the door, car park attendant, catering (with food safety certification?), spares, setter-uppers, cleaning at the end of the day. Expect at least 1/4 of these not to turn up on the day.
  
• Measure the floorplan of what space you have for exhibits and traders. Don't forget where you have alcoves, pillars etc that may disrupt your plans. Also remember where plugs etc are. You'll need 6ft, if not 8ft, walkways for the general public to us, and at least 4ft behind a layout if it has operating space and a stock table required.
  
• Whilst on the subject of tables, don't forget you'll need some tables for stock, and possibly traders. And some chairs. If you don't have them, can you borrow or hire them from somewhere like a local church or similar.
  
• Now you've worked out what space you have for walkways, what space is left for traders and exhibits? Any side room that has only one entrance is ilkely to cause a bottleneck if you get busy.
  
• How many club and members layouts are in a suitable condition for exhibiting (remembering that many people have different standards). Don't feel obliged to have a member's layout just because it's offered. Do you want one 30 foot layout or four 8 foot layouts? A good balance of layouts of varying scales/gauges, eras, countries tends to be appreciated more. What sort of layouts do your punters want to see? You need to balance the ovals for Joe Public and his kids and the finescale layouts for the RMWeb enthusiast.
  
• Traders. You'll need a few, as their stand rent will help offset layout costs. But don't have four "box shifters" all selling the same Hornby/Bachmann/Heljan/etc stuff - similarly one 'second hand' trader is often enough. Booksellers, tools, scenics etc always go down. For a small show it's probably not worth inviting a specialist trader unless there's an obvious tie.
  
• Look for deals. Some traders have a layout they can bring which can offset the costs of exhibiting. You need to judge if it's worth it to you.
  
• Look round here and UKModelshops layout directory to see what layouts there are in your area - the less miles to travel, the less the expense for you. But I would recommend you spot layouts yourself, that way you know what you're getting. There is a way of spotting a layout, you need to see how the public reacts to the layout and how the operators interact with the public. Never spot in front of the layout, stand to one side.
  
• Don't be afraid to "keep their details on file" for another year, you don't have to invite every layout you find or are offered.
  
• Some people may ask for overnight accommodation. You may be able to get a good deal if you can block book a number of rooms in advance at a local B&B.
  
• Advertising. Many magazines need details some months in advance (a quick call or email to most that have show listings will tell you how long). Don't miss their deadlines, they will all be different.
  
• What other advertising opportunities are there? Local radio and newspapers often have "whats on" columns. If you can get the mayor or some local celebrity or well known person to "open" the show they might be more interested if there's an article in it. Local supermarkets often have community notice boards too.
  
• Advertise, advertise, advertise. As well as the above, flyers at all the local shows.
  
• Check your Insurance. You may need to join an 'umbrella organisation' and take advantage of their policy, it's probably cheaper than going it alone. As well as the usual public liability stuff don't forget covering your attending layouts as well. See the reply recommending the CMRA, of course I support the suggestion as I'm on the CMRA management committee.
  
• What about First Aid cover? You may be able to get a St Johns member or two attend for a reasonable fee for the day.
  
• Buy some extension leads of various sizes. Available from CMRA. You will need them even if people think theirs is long enough... and remember not to overload sockets, it's better to run an extension round the edge of the room from 50ft away than overload the socket that's convenient.
  
• On the day - delegate. Your job is not to be humping tables around and making tea, that's what the club members are there for. You're there to meet and greet, and show people where their spaces are, and deal with any issues that arise that weren't planned for. Have a chief steward to deal with club members, your responsibility is to layouts, traders and the public.
  
• Think very carefully before upgrading to two-day. More than twice the expenses for likely less than twice the income.
  

Sounds ominous I know. But if you're organised, it's easily achieveable. The first show I ran had about 20 layouts and 500 through the door, for a one-day show. With a good team, everything went awesomely and the only 'downer' was the mayor dropping dead of a heart attack 3 days later so the story of him opening our show, and his obituary, were two pages apart in the local paper the following week.

 

Additional comments hopefully in blue - Bill

[Allegheny1600]

And the experts on running shows - god there are loads of them about, some who try to pass themselves off as having years experience of organising shows whern in reality their biggest role in any show has been distributing chairs to exhibitors at the Warley show - nothing you can tell that individual about how to put on a show! Take any advice profferred with a large pinch of salt.

I'll second that!

It is truly amazing how they come running out of the woodwork to tell you how to do it all, then as soon as there is any sign of work to be done - they are NOWHERE to be seen! If you see them again again afterwards, they have such pathetic excuses as to why they couldn't be bothered to turn up to help.

Hold your own council, Get reliable colleagues to take on roles, Enjoy yourself - no-one is going to die if it does go wrong (keep calm and if necessary, take a step back if it does go wrong).

Finally from me, CONGRATULATIONS!!!

Another sucker,

John E.

[cromptonnut]

On the subject of budgeting, also don't forget cashflow - the expenditure before the show can be quite significant, when you think about room hire, advertising costs, float, what the catering team require, insurance, hotel deposits (if booking overnight accommodation) etc most things in fact except perhaps exhibitor's expenses will be paid out long before the first punter even walks through the door.

 

Of course, we don't need to know the details - but before you even start thinking about organising the show, you need to make sure the club's finances are in a good enough position with the cashflow to cope with an exhibition.

 

"Let's have an exhibition" is a great idea, of course, particularly from those with no experience and no responsibility for it...

[Joseph_Pestell]

On the subject of budgeting, also don't forget cashflow - the expenditure before the show can be quite significant, when you think about room hire, advertising costs, float, what the catering team require, insurance, hotel deposits (if booking overnight accommodation) etc most things in fact except perhaps exhibitor's expenses will be paid out long before the first punter even walks through the door.

 

Of course, we don't need to know the details - but before you even start thinking about organising the show, you need to make sure the club's finances are in a good enough position with the cashflow to cope with an exhibition.

 

"Let's have an exhibition" is a great idea, of course, particularly from those with no experience and no responsibility for it...

 

Good point. That's why I always used a simple formula.

 

Stand fees (paid in advance) had to equal up-front costs (hall hire, insurance).

 

Ticket sales had to cover layout expenses.

[PLD]

Whilst I have never been the EM, I can speak as Exhibition Treasurer and effecively no 2...

 

All the abouve is good advice so just a few additional thoughts from my experience:

 

DO build a team around you (roles such as treasurer, publicity, show guide production, perhaps trade liason can be delegated depending on the size of the show) - Your role as EM is to coordinate those roles/responsibilities not to do it all yourself. I can think of only one truly successful EM for whom the show was (for a while) pretty much a solo effort.

Communicate regularly with that team. Also trust them to do their functions (or replace them if they don't!) and take on board their thoughts. One previous EM we had wouldn't delegate or communicate (except to complain he got no help, refuse any help offered, complain what little assistance he did accept wasn't good enough...) then panic when he ran out of time to do everything. It was a revelation when he retired to see the number of members who suddenly were willing to step forward and take on roles for the new EM they hadn't been willing to do under the previous EM and the fine job they made of it...

 

Having that core of experienced members who are 'in the loop' also is helpful in handing over to a successor when you decide the time has come to hand on the reigns either by one of them stepping up to the top job or they being their to support a new man.

[when you do move on, support the new EM. Don't be precious and gripe about everything that 'isn't done your way'. It is inevitable the new man with have his own ideas and want to make his mark]

 

DO learn and adapt from experience. Not everything will go right at the first attempt, so make a note of what does/doesn't work (plus a checklist of the things you will inevitably forget!) for future reference, but don't fall in to the trap of doing something year after year because "we've always done it that way".

 

Remember you are putting on a show for an audience with varied interests NOT for yourself. If every layout selected is to your taste you should worry... I can think of an otherwise excelent show which never includes any narrow gauge layouts, one which for a long time refused to acknowledge there were railways outside England and another which seemed to think Dr Beeching closed the entire railway system in 1962...

 

Be visible/available during the show. Either be there in person or have a representative to greet visiting layouts/traders as they arrive and thank them as they leave, and check on them through the show - don't hide away in a cupboard/office and leave them to their own devices. A freindly welcome goes a long way towards persuading them to come back next year...

 

Paul

[Dukedog]

Thanks for all the responses chaps, much appreciated and some very good points raised and reiterated by others.

 

As I said in the OP this will be our clubs FIRST exhibition, after many years of dithering about we have finally bit the bullet and going for it!

 

Just some more information which may help any further ideas or posts people may be thinking of posting.

 

The Hall,

We are lucky in as much that we can get the venue for free! The venue is the same community centre where the club meets.

There are two rooms about 30ft x 20ft and some smaller rooms which we will use for the non public areas.

 

The date

Yet to be set, but will be a Saturday in October, I am hoping to get a date fixed sometime this week.

 

Layouts,

I am trying to get mostly local club or privately owned layouts in a variety of scales/gauges. Quite a few RMWebers live near by and I shall be sending out PMs to a few soon!

 

Catering,

We are "contracting this out" One of our neighbouring clubs as offered it's services to look after the catering (With Hygiene certificate) with no financial risk or cost to us.

the only down side is that we won't make any money from the catering sales.

 

That is how it stands today, I have only had the job since last Friday and I'm starting to get in to it already, no doubt I will have a headache soon!

 

Any further comments welcome, and to those who have said it is OK to send a PM I may well do as and when I need assistance.

 

Thanks for reading and keep those posts coming it's encouraging to know I can rely on people here at RMWeb for help when I need it.

 

Cheers

Frank

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

So now you are into project management. Remember that project management is in place to get the job done right, and not necessarily to bring sunshine to everyone's existence. If you have the gift for project management, you may be able to convince most of the participants that the sun is shining most of the time...

 

I don't think it has been mentioned yet among all the good advice already given: collect and organise this advice with a project plan developed with as many key participants as possible. Sorry, and all that, but this usually measn a meeting when you don't get to do any modelling. Draw or print it big and hang it on the wall so that the folks who have tasks assigned can see how their contribution fits in, and why tasks 'A', 'B' and 'C' have to be completed before task 'D' can commence. There is nothing like good communication to make it obvious 'why we are doing it this way', and it can spring ideas of the 'wouldn't it work better this way' type too. If folks get a chance to develop and optimise the plan, the buy in is usually significantly greater.

[ChrisM]

I don't think there is really much more to add to what has been said before, other than the fact it will get easier with each year you do..... Masters for letters and hall plans etc can be reused meaning a substantial amount less work in the future!

 

If you want to know anything more specific feel free to drop me a PM.

[Donw]

As someone says this is project management. We used to get a pad of post-its write the various tasks on them you could then juggle them around to work out the sequence. Do it on a large piece of board then show it to the club committee at least, they need to support you and may spot things you have missed.

Do remember that aisles need to be wide enough. If you are not doing the catering work out how you will supply the layout operators some seem to run on tea!

 

Don

[Neil]

Ex-exhibition manager small local show, ex-team member large national show, currently de-facto no.2 for another small local show.

 

First show, start small and cheap. Small and cheap doesn't mean low quality. Call in favours from friends. Make sure that you have a reliable team round you who know what their roles are for the duration of the show and will stick to task. Don't spread yourself too thin. Make sure that the publicity is planned well in advance and is executed in a timely manner. Catering doesn't have to be cordon-bleu but look after the exhibitors and traders equally well.

 

Sorry it's all a bit general. Fell free to PM me if you think it would be helpful.