"Is NeoCon A Trade Show for New Product? Or Has It Turned Into a Job Fair For My Sales People?" - 05/29/19 Edition
Stephen Says Column
Dear Stephen:
It is now two weeks before NeoCon. As we all know, the show can be fun and exciting, and in the moment it all just feels like a blur. More and more this year, though, I find myself dreading the feeling I get post-NeoCon: a sinking feeling the aftermath of the show will (once again) shake up my company.
I own a small manufacturing business or what you might call a “seventh floor manufacturer.” We do good business, and NeoCon is, of course, a major event for us. However, I have always found within a month of every NeoCon, we lose a good sales rep or two.
Like everyone else, we are at the show to premiere new products for the A&D community and dealers. We run a sales meeting for our dealers and our reps, take important clients out for meals and generally do whatever we can to remain in the public eye. I actually quite like NeoCon and during the show, everyone is engaged, and all seems good.
However, behind my back, many of our sales reps have used the trade show as a job fair. Some have been known to sneak off to meet with a headhunter or HR rep they’ve been talking to, some will even be bold enough to sneak away with a stack of business cards to hunt for greener pastures. Everyone coming together in one location is the perfect excuse for candidates to meet prospective employers (on my dime I might add), and somehow I always end up screwed. I get if someone is not happy, they are going to leave, yet I hear the same story every time: “They approached me at NeoCon,” and “We got a coffee at NeoCon.” How do I handle this? Is there any way to come away from the show with my sales roster intact?
Signed,
Why on My Dime?
Dear Dime:
Are you kidding me? I know this might be too blunt for you, but you really do sound like a whiner. Everybody worth their salt knows the golden rule: If you do not want your people interviewing at NeoCon, then do not send them. But if that’s not a good enough solution for you, keep reading.
Interviewing at NeoCon has been going on as long as NeoCon has existed. And it happens every way you just mentioned. Yes, recruiters stop by and eyeball your people, grab business cards and talk to them while they are demonstrating that sit-to-stand table you’re so proud of. Smart HR people and sales managers from your competitors will do the same. Yet, the real recruiting is done way in advance. And you are right, it is on your dime.
NeoCon is the perfect opportunity for a headhunter like me to meet face to face with candidates from across the country, many of which I have only met over the phone or via email. It is also a great opportunity for smaller and cheaper manufacturers to get some face time for a final interview. Recruiting and interviewing is a time honored tradition at NeoCon. If you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
I do feel I should thank you briefly — this question has really gotten my wheels turning on this great Chicago institution we all have. Following is some advice for your salespeople and those of your competitors on how to best present yourself at NeoCon.
First, be wary of the cheap manufacturers looking to bring you through final interviews in the McDonalds at theMART. Most classy companies fly people on their own dime and time. They’re too busy selling to worry about you during the largest trade show in the industry. If you are a candidate being asked to do this, think twice about the company before signing anything.
On the other hand, if you find yourself unemployed during the month of June, there is literally no better investment you can make than a flight to Chicago. Bring a stack of personal business cards, let people see you dressed for an interview and carry a folder full of old-fashioned paper copies of your resume. Give a card to literally every person you meet and a resume to anyone you think may even be remotely connected to a job opportunity. You never know what will happen, so don’t be afraid to go wild printing at the nearest FedEx store, and give those babies out like candy.
“Dime,” I know I have been a bit hard on you but here is my honest advice: Please don’t fear NeoCon as a way of losing your employees. Worry instead about the way you are treating them every day. A trade show is not going to lure your employee away anymore than a headhunter can. I don’t know you or your company but a bad boss, terrible benefits or a lowball salary are the real enemies of employee retention, not the show floor. NeoCon is a busy event for the furniture industry, and you are right — after the show, a lot of people change jobs.
You’re forgetting a lot of people are also fired. Just as many companies shed people after the event. They may have found someone good at another booth or just needed to keep a body on the show floor before cutting them loose. Anything can happen after June 12. Go to NeoCon, focus on your customers, and do not worry about losing your salespeople. If you lose them, it will not be because of NeoCon.
Predicting what your employee roster will look like after NeoCon is as impossible as it was predicting the ending of Game of Thrones. I’m a headhunter, not a fortune teller.
Stephen
You can send your workplace questions to Stephen at: StephenSays@bellow.press
Questions selected to be answered, will appear in this column. Please use the subject: Stephen Says for all emails. Stephen Viscusi is a bestselling author, television personality, and CEO of The Viscusi Group, global executive recruiters located in New York. Follow Stephen on Twitter @stephenviscusi. Like Stephen on Facebook and follow him on LinkedIn.
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