If you follow the social media channels of the sales managers at the Beurs van Berlage, you’ll regularly see posts about them: international trade fairs, conferences and networking events in cities such as Paris, London or Nashville. Interesting destinations, stunning hotels and venues, and formal and informal gatherings with industry peers. These trips are not only great fun, but also a challenging and important part of the department’s work. Why do they travel so often, and what does the Beurs van Berlage ultimately gain from investing in these trips?
Business Development Manager Jean Butler regularly travels on behalf of the Beurs van Berlage to attend these kinds of events. In this interview, he offers a glimpse behind the scenes: what does a typical working day look like during these trips, and why is personal contact so important within the international events industry? Read on to find out how he ensures he returns with new contacts and fresh inspiration.
It all starts with personal contact
“We are an experienced venue for high-calibre international conferences and events. But when you choose the Beurs van Berlage, you’re not just choosing a venue. You’re also choosing a team that thinks along with you from the very start and acts as a partner,” says Jean. “We truly enter into a partnership with you, with one shared goal: to make the event as successful as possible.”
With large-scale events, there is often a great deal at stake. That is precisely why it is important to meet in person. Sometimes this happens at major trade fairs, and sometimes at smaller-scale gatherings with pre-arranged one-to-one meetings. During these meetings, Jean does not try to tell the Beurs’s full story, but aims above all to make a connection.
A working day that starts before breakfast
An international sales trip therefore involves much more than just the appointments officially listed in the diary. Beforehand, Jean checks who will be there and which people he’d like to speak to. And from the moment the trip begins, he’s effectively ‘on duty’. “It can start as early as Schiphol Airport. There, you sometimes bump into other people from the industry who are travelling to the same event. You’re on the plane together or sharing a taxi, and that’s when the conversations start: how are things going for you, what are you working on? That’s valuable too.”
The same thing happens the next morning at breakfast, in the lift or on the way to the event. These informal moments are an important part of the job. “It’s precisely in those situations that conversations sometimes arise which allow you to really get to know someone. That human aspect is much harder to capture through email or the phone alone.”
Sometimes you only see the result years later
The impact of meeting someone at an event is by no means always immediately apparent. Jean, for example, met someone a few years ago at an event in Nice. A year later, that good relationship led to an enquiry to the Beurs. When they met again, just before the contract was finalised, the trust they had built up helped to resolve the final details. “That demonstrates the power of repetition. You come across the same people more often and build a relationship over the years. Ultimately, people also choose to work with those they’d like to collaborate with.”
That’s why contact doesn’t stop after a trip. Jean sends personal follow-ups, shares additional information and maintains relationships via platforms such as LinkedIn and WhatsApp. In this way, an initial meeting eventually grows into a network built up over several years.
‘When you choose the Beurs van Berlage, you’re not just choosing a venue. You’re also choosing a team that thinks along with you from the very start and acts as a partner.’
Gaining inspiration
But new enquiries and business relationships are not the only valuable benefits these trips bring to the Beurs van Berlage. At the same time, international events offer the opportunity to gain inspiration from other venues and destinations. “We are in the fortunate position of being able to regularly take a look behind the scenes at our competitors. As a result, you almost always return with inspiration: something that could be improved, something that could be done differently, or simply confirmation that we are already doing something very well ourselves.” The trips therefore broaden the frame of reference for both the sales managers and the organisation as a whole.
Experience for yourself what our clients experience
That inspiration goes beyond what happens within an event venue. During a trip, you experience for yourself the entire journey that an international conference attendee undertakes. This applies to organising the logistics at home, but also to the travel experience to another city:
“If you’ve spent a few days in Paris, Barcelona or Milan, you’ll have a better understanding of the considerations a client takes into account. Then you can also explain with greater insight what sets Amsterdam apart and what makes the Beurs van Berlage so special.”
And for Jean, this is perhaps where the greatest value of these trips lies. They yield contacts that sometimes only lead to concrete business years later. They ensure that existing relationships are strengthened. But they also keep the Beurs van Berlage in touch with what is happening internationally. Thus, every trip is not only an opportunity to raise the Beurs van Berlage’s profile internationally, but also to bring new ideas back home.