Hopkins Super Billiard Expo.....

[The Renfro]

As many of you are aware this was Outsville's first trip into the wild... We started making tips and racks almost 4 years ago and since we are growing it was time to actually attend a tournament where I wasn't stuck in the production booth filming with Accu-Stats...

It has been almost a 5 days and my feet still hurt but I figured before things get cloudy in the memory bank I would go over what I learned and what my take away after being there...

If you have a product and you need to get it into peoples hands doing the tournament circuit seems like a good idea....

I was ready to trade in the mustang for a big conversion van and hit the trail but then I started getting feedback from some friends in the industry and matter of fact I was told do the expo and do the BCAPL nationals... From there you can add APA nationals and the BCA Tradeshow if things are moving for you....

Ok so no small events... Guess it's about ROI... Return on investment drives everything from who and what you sponsor, how you advertise to what events you need to attend.....

So off we go to the expo.... Since this was my first rodeo I had nooooo idea what I was in for... I had 5 big banners and some small printed sheets for the booth and I figured I was good to go.... bzzzzzt.. Wrong answer.....

John Barton allowed me to setup in his booth and I took him up on it as I wasn't wanting to lose a few thousand my first trip off my porch... John Showed up with JB Cases baners but he also had huge slogan banners everywhere... Bullet points that caused people to stop and ask questions... He had told me I needed things like that but I didn't listen.. Next time we will have the bullet point info printed up in big style...

John's people would spend about 20 minutes per customer working on a custom case.... Custom case runs maybe $300 or more... My stuff not soo much... Tips/BreakTips/Accu-Racks/Great White chalk/London Bridge... If you bought everything I had you were just barely gonna spend a hunert... However I was actually spending MORE time per customer than John's people because I have to educate people on what makes the differences in templates, chalk, Ki-techs and our HammerHead break tips.... IF you have to spend time to educate you are limited in the number of people you can engage... We will be doing videos over the next month that I will loop at the next show so I don't have t jump on my soapbox for every customer.....

HELP.... Bring help... Luckily and Thankfully John's people kept an eye on my booth when I was not there.. And I was not there ALOT.... One of the main reasons I was there was to network... We are pursuing contracts on several fronts so I had to be there to kiss hands and shake babies... Next time I go I will have my own booth and pool table for demos and I will have to have a partner in crime so things can get done without hanging out a gone fishing sign......

Hopkins is going to get his money... 2 booths I think was in the neighborhood of 22-2400... Table rental was 350 and up depending on what you rented.. Diamond collected that.... And they even charged you 300 to cut a wiretie and drop you an extension cord so you had power... The hotel is going to get you for 130ish a night and you are going to be paying 8 bucks for a philly and 2.50 for a coke... Beer was 5 and I think call mixed drinks or liquor was 7+.... It's going to be a little spensive but hey you are going to sell out ALL your product so go ALL IN....

Doesn't always work that way... I saw tons of booths that had very little traffic... I heard from several vendors that they lost their shirts.... I think we would have been fine but man am I glad I went up this year as a student and did not go all in....

IF you are thinking about doing an apparel company because hey a few designs and I am going to get rich... There were more shirt booths than I ever imagined... Hustlin was busy busy busy and I am sure they all figure they are going to be the next hustlin... ummm no... Unless you are in front of people at ALL the events that you can get to and not just the big ones I think you have a hard row to hoe..... I saw several of the shirt guys losing theirs every day up there....

IF you are thinking about designing cues and having them made in china That with neat designs and a logo you can go make it big... Welcome to the expo... I saw several guys jumping onto that bandwagon... Usually I saw tumbleweeds rolling thru their booths as I walked by......

Jump cues?? Anyone for jump cues?? HAHA Well I have a Jump Cue designed called the Icarus... I will NOT be moving forward on the project... EVERYONE has a jump cue... Some were crap and still managed to get a good crowd but wow wow wow wow... Market saturation because there is very little education out on what makes a good jump cue so everyone can build one and sell it....

LD Shafts..... Holy crap they were everywhere... Now alot of you know I played precat predator for about 20 years and I migrated to OB... I have hit the Jacoby and I like it... I have the r360 and it's a pretty solid entrant at the lower end and I have a few custom LDs from Bill Gibbs that I love because they are tuned to me... The guys that I had to do a double take on were the guys who found out they could order a maple shaft blank... Run a gun bore bit into the end and toss a ferrule and tip on them and try and get around 200 bucks a pop.... Maybe I am overly critical and they are going to be consistent... I am just not willing to bet that way.....


All in all the expo was a great experience... I will go back next year... I may not do another event this year but we are growing...

I can tell you this... I am buying some gosh darn comfortable shoes for the next one....

Chris

 

[lost]

Welcome to the world of unionized big city labor. Been like that for many many decades. How much do people really think Hopkins makes after all the expenses...seriously. I know of people that run much bigger events than that (custom auto shows for example) and they do OK, but aren't raking in a fortune on a single show

Hopkins is going to get his money... 2 booths I think was in the neighborhood of 22-2400... Table rental was 350 and up depending on what you rented.. Diamond collected that.... And they even charged you 300 to cut a wiretie and drop you an extension cord so you had power... The hotel is going to get you for 130ish a night and you are going to be paying 8 bucks for a philly and 2.50 for a coke... Beer was 5 and I think call mixed drinks or liquor was 7+.... It's going to be a little spensive but hey you are going to sell out ALL your product so go ALL IN....

Doesn't always work that way... I saw tons of booths that had very little traffic... I heard from several vendors that they lost their shirts.... I think we would have been fine but man am I glad I went up this year as a student and did not go all in....
Chris

 

[bdorman]

My sympathies. In 35 years I've done hundreds of trade shows. The best part becomes the opportunity to see old friends (people/vendors that you met a trade show 20 years ago...).

Make the video(s) a high priority. A lot (most) people want to learn about a product but they're afraid of being cornered by a salesman. The only downside is that you'll hear/see the video in your sleep.

Rest up for next year!

BTW, I've been using the AccuRack for about 3 weeks and love it.

 

[hang-the-9]

Nice to see your thoughts on the experience, was great meeting you and thanks for the goodies for my son!

There were quite a few booths that defiantly did not have a lot of traffic, but as you said they were mostly me-too products or those that were made to appeal to beginners. Most show goers were not looking for $50 cues with flaming skull decals, but some of the higher end cue traders/dealers had quite a bit of visitors.

My buddies booth, Drawman, had a LOT of people there, helped that he had some very fine quality cues there.

 

[Cardigan Kid]

It's always great to get a raw look at the goings on behind the scenes. thanks for letting us in on the man behind the curtain working the levers, Chris.
There are a LOT more expenses and hidden costs to being a vendor than I was aware of. And yes, I feel for the t shirt booths even more now after seeing very little traffic there.

JB's idea of the enclosed small booth really did work. Every time I looked inside, it looked busy and popular. You guys had your share of curiosity and interest by the uninitiated.

It was great to see you again and talk shop. Thanks again.

 

[12squared]

... However I was actually spending MORE time per customer than John's people because I have to educate people on what makes the differences in templates, chalk, Ki-techs and our HammerHead break tips.... IF you have to spend time to educate you are limited in the number of people you can engage... We will be doing videos over the next month that I will loop at the next show so I don't have t jump on my soapbox for every customer.....

Nice write up and insight. An alternative to a video (which I think is a good idea) is to have 4-6 times a day that are scheduled and advertised for you to give your presentation. You can do give-aways for those attending using a contest or a drawing for those providing you with their contact info. This has been very effective in computer related trade shows I have worked and attended. You may have to have chairs, but I guess all can stand and listen as well.

You can still run the video but there is nothing like the personal touch at these events. Good luck in the future.

Dave

 

[gregnice37]

I was there thurs and sat, and was in the JB booth a lot of the time, bought 3 cases actually. To be honest, I didn't even know there was anything else going on in there besides the cases. Of course it was constantly packed with people moving cases around and very busy. Glad you learned a lot and hope to meet you next year.