Experience Builders

There are over 10,000 trade shows a year in the US, and in 2025 alone they sparked $168 billion in business-to-business sales from encounters on the show floor. Yet one in three people working in the industry is new to it in the last five years, and most young people have never heard of it as a viable career.Chris talks with Bobby Diehl, Director of Operations at Genesis Exhibits and a second-generation industry pro who grew up setting up exhibit units at his own birthday parties. They get into how to break in, what the work actually rewards (curiosity and connections over hard skills), why there's never a dull moment, and the wow moments along the way, from an Andy Warhol at JP Morgan to the first-ever soccer match on the grounds of the United Nations.The headline Chris didn't expect is that the real value of trade shows is bigger than the numbers. It's the people. The industry supports families, builds lifelong friendships even among competitors, and rallies around its own when someone needs a hand. If you're weighing a career change or just curious what this world is really like, Bobby makes a compelling case for coming in eyes wide open.Key Topics & Timestamps01:13 - Meet Bobby Diehl02:17 - Breaking Into the Industry06:33 - Mistakes and Problem Solving10:02 - Why Trade Shows Matter17:06 - Day to Day and Wow Moments32:45 - Why This Industry Matters34:43 - Friendships and Giving Back42:05 - Hiring and Career Advice47:14 - Episode OutroMemorable Quotes"We're not just product sellers. We're story creators." — Bobby"You realize what we do is we help the world trade." — Chris"Ask very successful people what makes them happy, it's not money. It's about connection." — BobbyKey TakeawaysThe industry has something for everybody. Whether your strength is tech, organization, or people, there's a lane, from AV to project management to sales. As Bobby puts it with his pen analogy, no one makes it alone. You're a puzzle solver working alongside graphics, hardware, flooring, labor, and shipping partners.Come in eyes wide open and never stop asking questions. With one in three pros new in the last five years, curiosity and energy matter more than a perfect résumé.Mistakes are part of the job. What counts is how you respond. "Until you make a half-million-and-one-dollar mistake, I can't be mad." On the show floor in the 11th hour, the skill is solving the problem, not avoiding the position.Soft skills and connections beat hard skills. The people who go far are the creative thinkers, problem solvers, and connection makers. The bigger your Rolodex, the better off you are when you need a favor in a strange city.Trade shows deliver unmatched ROI. Where else can you get in front of 20,000 to 40,000 buyers in three days and fill a year of sales pipeline? It doesn't happen by accident, though. Prior planning prevents poor performance.There's never a dull moment. A typical week spans sales, service, project management, accounting, and client relationships. If your current job has gone stale, this is an industry where you're never going to be bored.The real value is people. Beyond the numbers, the industry supports families, builds lifelong friendships even among competitors, and comes together when someone is in need. Choose an employer who listens. Look for a boss who welcomes questions and treats you like a partner. Company size shapes the role, since smaller shops stretch you across more hats. Understand the culture, the values, and what success looks like before you say yes.ResourcesLearn about the EDPA Future Leaders Program: EDPA Future LeadersNeed Help With An Event? Get in touch with CrewXPWatch On YouTubeFollow Us On Social: LinkedIn, FacebookHave Questions? Email usMore from Bobby DiehlGenesis ExhibitsBobby on LinkedInMore from ChrisCrewXPEmail ChrisChris on LinkedInMore from Khalilbenali.comEmail KhalilLinkedInInstagram

Trade shows are one of the biggest, most meaningful branches of marketing, and one of the best-kept secrets in the field. Business events add $408 billion to the US economy every year and spark $168 billion in business-to-business purchases, and the people who build them get to say they help the world trade.Chris talks with Ashley Crane, Business Development Manager at Acer Exhibits, who left a fashion career in New York to join the family exhibit house. Part of an industry-wide push to introduce the next generation to careers most people never knew existed, the conversation gets into why the work is so meaningful, the traits it takes to thrive when a show has to open no matter what, and how to choose the right employer.Ashley shares what keeps her in it (the people, above everything) and what surprised her coming from fashion: an industry that runs on relationships, where even competitors lend each other gear on the show floor. If you're curious about experiential marketing or weighing a career change, this conversation opens a door worth walking through.Key Topics & Timestamps00:00 - Meet Ashley Crane04:37 - How She Joined Acer09:24 - Marketing Meets Trade Shows12:05 - Why Events Matter25:40 - Trade Show Seasonality27:26 - Skills to Thrive Onsite30:45 - Choosing the Right Employer35:03 - Industry Culture and Big MomentsMemorable Quotes"There's a whole other branch of marketing that exists that they're not teaching us." — Ashley"At the end of the day, we all have one objective, and it's to build something beautiful for our clients." — Ashley"You absolutely can make a six-figure income and support your family." — Chris"No one achieves anything alone." — AshleyKey TakeawaysTrade shows are one of the largest and most meaningful career fields out there. Business events contribute $408 billion to the US economy each year and drive $168 billion in B2B purchases, and the people who build them get to help the world trade.The opportunity is wide open. The industry is actively working to introduce the next generation to these careers, and it needs creative, strategic, and operations talent alongside skilled trades. Around 2.6 million people already work across 10,000-plus events a year, and a six-figure income is realistic.Ask why people stay and the answer is the people. Between office teams, show-floor crews, and industry groups like EDPA and Women Experiential, the relationships are what make the work intoxicating.There's a role for every working style. Whether you prefer the office, the road, or a mix of both, the industry has a place for you. What predicts success is temperament: patience, problem-solving, positivity, and being team-oriented.Events don't get rain delays. A show opens on schedule no matter what breaks or changes at the last minute, so staying calm and solving problems on the fly is the core skill the work demands.Match the employer to how you work. Interview the interviewer, ask around the industry for honest opinions, and choose the company size, small, medium, or large, where you'll do your best work.The industry runs on relationships, not rivalry. Competitors help each other on the show floor because everyone shares one goal: building something great for the client. The people who show up for others get taken care of when they need a lifeline.ResourcesNeed Help With An Event? Get in touch with ⁠⁠CrewXP⁠⁠Watch On ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠Follow Us On Social: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠, ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠Have Questions? ⁠⁠Email us⁠⁠More from Ashley CraneAshley Crane on ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Acer Exhibits & EventsMore from Chris⁠⁠CrewXP⁠⁠⁠⁠Email Chris⁠⁠⁠⁠Chris on LinkedIn⁠⁠More from Khalil⁠⁠benali.com⁠⁠⁠⁠Email Khalil⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠Connect With UsReady to future-proof your experiential business? Subscribe to Experience Builders for more strategic insights that help agency owners build bulletproof businesses. Share this episode with fellow industry leaders navigating their busiest season.

Thinking about a career in the events industry? Maybe you've watched the festivals and brand activations come together and wondered what it actually takes to build one, or whether this industry is even for you.Chris and Khalil welcome back Noelle Webster, a program manager who's spent a decade producing everything from million-square-foot convention takeovers to intimate whiskey tastings. She gets honest about the unglamorous side, the long hours and high-pressure builds, and why the payoff still makes it all worth it.If you're weighing whether this work fits you, how to break in without a formal background, or what really separates the people who keep getting asked back, this conversation lays it out.Key Topics & Timestamps00:50 - Welcome Back, Noelle!03:06 - Loving The Event Life04:18 - Building The Blank Canvas08:28 - Is Events For Everyone13:06 - How Noelle Got Here15:02 - Choosing Employers And Teams33:45 - Biggest Wow MomentsMemorable Quotes"A lot of the times I say we do the impossible because we quite literally do." — Noelle"It was the greatest accident that ever happened." — Noelle"At the end of the day, we're judged as one." — Chris"If you work hard in this industry, you build those relationships, and people want you back." — Noelle"There is something for everyone in this industry, and you can capitalize on it and build a career." — NoelleKey TakeawaysYou'll know fast whether this industry fits you. The people who thrive love the work itself, not just the finished event, and most figure out within about six months whether the long hours and high-pressure builds are worth it.Treat event production like training for a marathon. The months of pre-planning are where the real work happens, the show itself is race day, and the payoff is stepping back to see what your team pulled off together.You don't need an events degree to break in. Noelle fell into the industry on a professor's suggestion and built a career through an internship, mentors, and saying yes to hands-on opportunities.The real skill is managing people. Producing an event means pulling specialized crews out of their silos toward one shared outcome, because if one person fails, the whole event can fail.When you choose an employer, look for a culture that throws you in the deep end but won't let you drown. Developmental teams and authentic, people-first leadership matter more than a formal training program.How you treat people decides whether you get asked back. The freelancers and partners who get rehired treat the person cleaning the floor the same as the executive walking the keynote stage.Connect With UsReady to future-proof your experiential business? Subscribe to Experience Builders for more strategic insights that help agency owners build bulletproof businesses. Share this episode with fellow industry leaders navigating their busiest season.ResourcesNeed Help With An Event? Get in touch with ⁠CrewXP⁠Watch On ⁠YouTube⁠Follow Us On Social: ⁠LinkedIn⁠, ⁠Facebook⁠Have Questions? ⁠Email us⁠More from Noelle WebsterNoelle Webster on ⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Willwork Global Event ServicesMore from Chris⁠CrewXP⁠⁠Email Chris⁠⁠Chris on LinkedIn⁠More from Khalil⁠benali.com⁠⁠Email Khalil⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠Instagram⁠

If account management and project management really are two separate skill sets, what does that actually look like inside an exhibit house that's still scaling? Chris and Khalil bring Chris Dunn, VP of Sales and Business Development at BlueHive Exhibits, onto the show to unpack how a three-pronged team of account executives, account managers, and project managers actually runs.Chris walks through BlueHive's flexible pool of eight AEs, eight AMs, and four PMs, why they merged the estimator and project manager roles, who really owns the client relationship after the sale, and how to measure capacity now that hybrid and rental booths build from scratch every time.Key Topics & Timestamps00:56 - Episode Intro02:29 - Meet Chris Dunn05:50 - AM vs PM Split08:30 - Hunters, Farmers, Trappers11:00 - When AM Makes Sense13:03 - BlueHive Team Structure14:50 - Pooling And Bandwidth17:49 - Client Journey Workflow25:06 - Handoff And Role Duties30:17 - AM vs PM Responsibilities30:58 - AE Staying in the Loop32:02 - Meeting Mix and Overwatch33:27 - AM-PM Friction and Culture35:55 - Capacity and Scaling Roles37:38 - Small Company to Three Roles40:10 - Estimating and Proposal Workflow41:55 - Client Touchpoints and Expectations52:54 - Good Cop Bad Cop Deadlines57:46 - Wrap Up and Key TakeawaysMemorable Quotes"Account managers are forward-facing, customer-facing. They're the voice of the customer inside the org." — Chris Dunn"That account manager has been through that entire process. They were in discovery, they were in the pitch. They heard the client go, “I freaking hate that color.” — Chris Dunn"You're either the hunter, or you're the farmer, the nurturer. The hybrids really are what I would call the trappers." — Chris Griffin"As you grow, what ends up happening is that there's drift in the context. That's really what you're trying to solve with your three-pronged model." — KhalilKey TakeawaysAccount management and project management have become two distinct skill sets, even at smaller exhibit houses. Where one person used to cover both for repeat exhibits, hybrid and rental builds now make every project closer to starting from scratch.BlueHive runs a three-pronged team. The AE leads the sale, the AM owns the client relationship as the voice of the customer inside the org, and the PM runs vendors, labor, trucking, and shop production.AMs and PMs work from a flexible pool, not fixed pairs. The Director of Client Services watches bandwidth and matches AMs to AEs based on availability, industry fit, and client continuity.Merging the estimator and project manager into a single role keeps pricing context with the person who runs the project. When BlueHive split those roles, gaps opened up between the proposal and the build.Capacity is no longer measured in dollars. With more hybrid and rental booths in the mix, BlueHive tracks volume of projects per month per AM rather than the old monetary benchmark.Setting expectations on day one keeps the relationship clean. The client knows the AE introduces the work, the AM owns the day-to-day, and the PM stays mostly internal during production.More from Chris DunnBlueHive ExhibitsEvent Marketer Toolbox podcastChris Dunn on LinkedInResourcesNeed Help With An Event? Get in touch with CrewXPWatch On YouTubeFollow Us On Social: LinkedIn, FacebookHave Questions? Email usMore from ChrisCrewXPEmail ChrisChris on LinkedInMore from Khalilbenali.comEmail KhalilLinkedInInstagramConnect With UsReady to future-proof your experiential business? Subscribe to Experience Builders for more strategic insights that help agency owners build bulletproof businesses. Share this episode with fellow industry leaders navigating their busiest season.