Reflections on the Las Vegas Furniture Market
Reflections on the Las Vegas Furniture
Market
A couple of weeks
ago, I flew to Las Vegas for a mastermind meeting with colleagues and to attend
the Las Vegas Furniture Market. Having
attended the High Point Market frequently, I was excited to tread new terrain
and experience a fresh atmosphere of furnishings vendors. (Given that the
weather was unusually cold in Charleston at the time, I welcomed the warmer
climate, too.) What I found in Las Vegas
was not only a fresh platform for experiencing design, but also a renewed
perspective for serving clients.
Having Limited Options is Less Stressful
When visiting the
High Point Furniture market (a to-the-trade only event), one is generally
overwhelmed. This is the largest home
furnishings market in the world and has been operating for nearly 100 years. It
takes up a majority of the small downtown area of High Point, NC during its
twice-yearly operation. In fact, there
is 100 million square feet to cover! You must travel on trams and buses to have
any hope of visiting the 1800 vendors that display there. It is in my opinion, exhilarating, intimidating
and rather exhausting. Having no hope of seeing everything, one makes a plan
and focuses on specific vendors or buildings (some over 10 stories) to
accomplish the tasks of placing orders or making contacts.
Oppositely, the
Las Vegas market, while newer on the scene having begun in 2005, is comprised
of three buildings and a few tents. Its compact campus makes it easy to navigate
and its more open building structures create a breathable scene that is not
daunting. I felt no stress at all about traversing the campus. Each floor
clearly marked the vendors who were on display and are so compact that you do
not feel as if walking through a maze. We wasted no time in finding our
merchants and that made our visit very efficient. While the campus is smaller
and offers fewer vendors, I left feeling energized and in a rather good mood. I
was mentally tired, but not physically worn out.
Genuine Courtesy Matters
When we walked
into the Las Vegas Market, we were thunderstruck by the friendliness of the
attendants and staff. (And I’m from the
South y’all where pleasantness is a way of life. Charleston is known as the politest
city, after all.) As we walked into the
market, we were greeted with smiling faces and warm greetings offering what
truly felt like sincerity and kindness. I must say that at the High Point
Market, one is also welcomed and greeted favorably, but something about Las
Vegas was different. Perhaps it was the dry open air that made me more aware of
the faces that greeted me, but there was a genuineness that was palpable.
Follow Up is Not Optional
After attending
the market, I received a thank you email from the Las Vegas market. (I know
that the High Point Market does this too.)
Like most people, I receive a daunting amount of emails every day. (Truth be told, my “delete” button is
beginning to fade slightly.) While I did
purge this email, I appreciated feeling as though they completed the exchange
of my visit with this message. I’m aware
that this email was digitally generated because my registration badge was
scanned in, but it was follow up nonetheless and it mattered to me.
Final Thoughts
Not only did I
bring back from Las Vegas some excellent design ideas, new vendor
opportunities, and a lighter checkbook, I also learned some things about how to
enhance my business. First, that having
options is great, but having fewer options is less overwhelming. They grant some
degree of control over to your client while staying in the wheelhouse of what
you are able to competently provide. I also learned that true courtesy can be
genuinely captured by its recipient. We often use kind words and rogue
expressions because it is the right thing to do, but sincere gentility has
depth of meaning. Finally, follow up does matter, even if it is a mechanical message.
Completing the circle of the sale with communication has great value. All of these
are business components that my team and I utilize. When put into context by an experience like
my own, it is a gentle reminder that they have great significance.