Exhibitor’s Money-Back Guarantee

Diane Taylor -- Tradeshow Week, 3/14/2008 3:32:00 PM

The brochure for the conference portion of Exhibitor, the industry tradeshow and educational conference for corporate event and exhibit managers held March 9-13 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, made a bold promise: “Learn what you came to learn, or your money back.”

Exhibitor Magazine founder Lee Knight originally made that guarantee 20 years ago, and he gave quite a few refunds that first year. Rather than backing off the guarantee, Knight determined to improve the Exhibitor sessions so that attendees would, as the show’s brochure claimed, “always get a professionally directed curriculum, rather than a sales pitch.”   

“Last year, only six or eight refunds were given,” said Chief Learning Strategist Dee Silfies, “and some of those were simply missed sessions due to illness.”  

How are quality standards set for Exhibitor? “Our speakers submit a proposal for their topic, including a listing of the class’s essential learning components.”



If the proposal is accepted, new speakers are then required to attend a day-and-a-half-long training session. Dan Lumpkin, who has led at least one session at every Exhibitor since its inception, conducts the training.

“The training session covers everything about presentations you can imagine,” said first-time speaker Mike Sorgani, of ITN Intl. “The training makes us all better presenters. We also become aware that attendees’ evaluation forms are critical for any speaker receiving a return invitation.”  

“Yes, the evaluation forms are our guides for future course content, topics and speakers,” said Silfies. Last year’s average speaker evaluation was 4.54, out of a possible 5, she added.  

Of the 160 instructors conducting classes at Exhibitor, most are industry veterans and none are paid (although one night’s hotel room and meals are provided). What’s in it for speakers is the exposure.

Northern Illinois University Professor Terry Bishop said, “Even though I’ve been lecturing for years, the training and experience at Exhibitor have been extremely valuable. This is a class operation.”

By a “class operation,” Bishop was referring to the speaker rehearsal rooms, a special speaker’s lounge and the distribution, at the start of each class, of detailed notes on the course content. 

Exhibitor attendees can take classes that help them toward the Certified Trade Show Marketer accreditation, which 23 industry professionals earned this year, bringing the total number of CTSM accreditation holders to 209.

Consultant Kathy Syverson is one of 3,000 current CTSM candidates hoping to join the ranks of graduates. She knows it could take her as long as three years to get her certification, but it’s worth it because “it is the best training in the tradeshow industry,” she said.