by Chris Kappes
The noise around AI is defining. Its impact on our lives is ill-defined, but omnipresent. Call it what you will…luck, serendipity, providence…chance opportunities present themselves when you’re “in the game” and ready.
But little has been written about the power of chance; how it can change the trajectory of business, careers and events. Here’s a few stories that make this point.
CHANCE ENCOUNTER #1
It was the last day and weening hours of the Exhibitor Show. As sales/marketing leader for a premiere experiential agency exhibiting at the show, I knew it was 5 o’clock somewhere but not time for the team to drink a cold one. Smart move. Research suggests that show goers leave the last few hours of a show to revisit and further qualify their “short list” of suppliers. We happen to be one and the Microsoft event team entered our exhibit to invite us into a forthcoming RFP. Fast-forward, we were not the incumbent, certainly a long shot, but won the project for what was the final COMDEX show. Chance prevails.
CHANCE ENCOUNTER #2
Wrapping up lunch at a restaurant in Milpitas, CA with one of my sales associates, we walked to the cash register to pay our bill. Off to the side of the cash register sat a fishbowl; no fish but business cards. Getting ready to drop one in the bowl, I noticed the top card to be for the Tradeshow Manager, Google. My immediate thought was to discreetly take the card, but karma prevailed; we recorded the contact information. Always mindful of karma, we left the card but recorded the information. Over the next few weeks, we scheduled a meeting which led to 2-Event RFPs. We were awarded one, and the client today is one of the agency’s largest clients. Chance prevails.
Every opportunity comes with this question: what to do or not do. I’ve learned the hard lesson that qualification of each chance opportunity is vital, but so is taking the chance because you know it’s not going to come around again.
CHANCE OPPORTUNITY #3
The George P. Johnson/Chicago office had been working for months to foster a relationship with Lotus Development (a company acquired by IBM). Based upon our meetings, we were invited to compete for IBM’s worldwide tradeshow/event program consolidation involving more than 200 employees and 1,200 events. One of the event industries largest event consolidations to date with a budget in the high eight figures, larger than most major tradeshow/event firms at the time. Responsible for reviewing the opportunity, I didn’t know what I do now: chance + vision + strategy + effort= Success. Speaking with GPJ’s leadership, I suggested we pass on the opportunity. Thankfully, management rejected my suggestion and gave the opportunity to GPJ/Boston led by Jeff Rutchik. It was a fortuitous decision as GPJ won the business and IBM became not only one of their largest clients, but a catalyst to open offices around the globe to serve them and other clients. Missed chance.
So, when I hear concerns about AI and impact on our business, I pause and reflect that AI would not have had any impact on these opportunities. Events foster F2F engagement and relationship building that foster chance.
Chris Kappes is a three-decade executive who has served as CMO, CSO and President of leading event agencies. Kappes is a published author of two trade books, The Noise Behind Business. How to Make Tradeshows Work & How to Master the Art of Selling at Tradeshows co-written with sales expert, Tom Hopkins. Kappes shares his industry experiences and views at conferences and publications like Exhibit City News. His contact information: kappes52@gmail.com
