Timing can be just about everything. Whether in business, family life, sports, comedy, relationships or other areas. A health diagnosis can even be the difference between life and death (not to be too dramatic…). Many times, we don’t have control or an ability to impact the timing, but what about the times we do? And how would it change the outcome? Understanding this can be the difference between failure and success. Let’s look at some recent events that impact on us.
This time of the year seems to have an overload of overlapping events. Take for example last weekend: The Ipswich Show was on and RD Williams was proud to support the Dairy and Cattle classes as a legacy to Rod Williams, and his passion for farming and giving back to the community. The Ipswich Show public holiday has been a longstanding tradition since 1873, with strong attendance and community support.
The same weekend there was the Brisbane Truck Show, which is the biggest truck show in the Southern hemisphere. Whilst it has a significant number of interstate attendees, to a large extent both the supply chain and customer base (staff, transport companies etc) reside on the southern catchment of Brisbane, so is taking from the same pool as the Ipswich Show.
Tagging onto the Brisbane Truck Show with reciprocal ticketing was the Heavy Equipment and Machinery Show run by the very proactive CCF Qld show casing our Earth Moving Industry. And on the exact same weekend was the largest yellow equipment show in Australia: the Diesel Dirt and Turf (DDT) show in Sydney. Added to this was of course the Primex Field Days in Casino, also normally a good show.
It should come as no surprise to anybody that the feedback from attendees to any of these shows was underwhelming. Sure, all exhibitors spent big bucks to put on very impressive displays, but the timing of holding all these overlapping major events targeting the same demographic leaves one scratching our heads. Why???
But let’s not stop there, let’s double down on this… People in our industry all love “big boys (and girls!) toys”. So the upcoming weekend has the biggest Boat show in the southern hemisphere (Sanctury Cove Boat Show), a terrific floating display of 750 vessels from Jet Ski’s through trailer boats to mega-yachts – something for everyone with even a passing interest in water-based activities.
Then two short weekends later, we again overdose on too much good stuff at once instead of spreading the love. The biggest drag racing event of the year Winter Nationals at Willowbank (Ipswich) calendar clashes with one of the most impressive car events in the country (Cooly Rocks an hour away at Coolangatta). And why not mix in one of the biggest rural Primary Industry events (Queensland’s Farm Fest) in the same week?
We’ve rarely been able to reconcile the enormous cost of attending a trade show (the rent for a few days per m2 is basically the same as the rent per m2 in industrial premises for 12 months…), and a company basically needs to sell 10 times the cost of attending the show of NEW ADDITIONAL business to pay for it. One needs to ask about the sanity of holding all these shows in the space of one month when there are another 11 months to choose from.
Our industry needs to do more to promote and get people excited about machinery and the important industries we service. Trade shows supporting construction, mining and agriculture are an essential part of this mix, but exhibitors need to get bang for their bucks and reach the target audiences. Not only are we selling our products, but it is also a way of addressing skills shortages by getting more people excited about the great career prospects in areas that will always be a significant wealth contributor for Australia. A practical approach to how, where and when these events are run is required.
Now that I have helped plan your upcoming weekends, thought I’d conclude this edition by sharing with you my own quiet protest. Like many others, I am sick of not being listened to nor having an ability to influence the direction our country is heading in. Losing control of where our own money goes and how it is used is one area of frustration. I have therefore started my own small protest action by paying for everything I can by cash. It’s but one way that it’s harder for Government to control our lives, and my little way of ensuring we still have this available in the future as the banks and many companies are now making it harder and harder to have this little bit of freedom.
It’s time we all started voting with our own wallets, and paid for things we believe in, and don’t pay for things we don’t.
Words from the wise
“Revenue is vanity, profit is sanity, but cash is king” – unknown.
“Hitting is timing. Pitching is upsetting timing” – Warren Spahn
“Success is always a matter of some luck and timing” – Kathleen Kennedy
“When a thing is not worth overdoing, leave it alone!” – Henry S Haskins
As always, Onwards and Upwards!
Fred Carlsson
General Manager
