Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to the Swakuho podcast.
Speaker: Today's episode is the last episode before the annual conference in Frisco, Texas.
Speaker: I want to give a big shout out to Ellie Luna and Amanda Bobo and all our friends and colleagues at Southern Methodist University who, given this conference starts in just 10 days, might be privately regretting their decision to host given all the obligatory stress that comes with these final days.
Speaker: As Dr. Ken Stoner talked about on episode 13, I'm pretty sure that SMU has reached critical speed and there is not enough runway to this conference to safely abort.
Speaker: So Bobo and Ellie, you have my personal permission to sit back, relax, and trust that all your planning is going to play out well.
Speaker: Now it's time to rock and roll.
Speaker: Today we are going to talk about the business of relationships.
Speaker: Here in Campus Housing, we don't operate on an island and couldn't be successful without the products and services provided from the private sector.
Speaker: I'm talking about housing management software, key security systems, and among other things, the tens of thousands of extra-long twin beds throughout our region.
Speaker: These services involve people who we sometimes have long-standing relationships with or with whom we are entering brand new relationships.
Speaker: We will be diving into when and how we initiate those relationships and how do we facilitate those relationships over an extended period of time.
Speaker: David Berkus wrote the book, Friend of a Friend.
Speaker: And one quote that always stuck out to me was this.
Speaker: The problem with most of us when we meet someone is we assume that if they are not immediately useful to me now, then it's a waste of my time.
Speaker: The real point of this episode is not only to remind everyone that networking isn't a four-letter word, but more importantly, also emphasize the importance of understanding the value of building and facilitating long-term relationships, even if they may be weak or dormant ties for an extended period of time.
Speaker: Today's episode was initiated by SWACUO's Exhibits and Displays Committee, so I appreciate them stepping up, helping shape the topical areas, and recruiting our guest list.
Speaker: So without further ado, our first guest is Trey Stermer, who joined Southwest contract in September of 2004.
Speaker: In the last 18 plus years, he has served on both the corporate partner and exhibits and display committees for the AIMHO and SWACUHO regions.
Speaker: When not visiting campuses, Trey enjoys spending time with his wife, Kelly, and their growing family, which will be expanding by two with the first grandchild expected in March,
Speaker: and a second grandchild shortly thereafter in June.
Speaker: Trey, welcome to the show and congrats on the expanding family.
Speaker: Thank you so much, JC, and thank you for inviting me and giving me the honor to attend your podcast and be one of the many.
Speaker: Our second guest is Norma Ramirez, Assistant Director at Texas Christian University.
Speaker: Norma was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas.
Speaker: She has a huge love for music and giving back to the community.
Speaker: Her passions led her to Wichita Falls, Texas, where she earned both her Bachelor's of Music and Master's in Educational Leadership.
Speaker: Her love for working with college students emerged at Midwestern State University, where she worked in housing and residence life for over 10 years.
Speaker: Life brought Norma back home in the summer of 2022 for a new adventure at Texas Christian University.
Speaker: Norma continues to be very involved outside of work as a volunteer in the Junior League of Fort Worth.
Speaker: Norma, welcome to the show.
Speaker: Thank you, JC.
Speaker: We are just so excited to be here and to be a part of all of this.
Speaker: And obviously, it's going to be a great time-grade adventure for us today.
Speaker: So thank you so much.
Speaker: Our third guest is Felicia Perroden, Assistant Director for Administrative Services at the University of Arkansas.
Speaker: Felicia has been involved in SWACUHO in a variety of roles, including the Placement Committee, Conference Host Committee, not once but twice, and
Speaker: program committee, Arkansas state director, Swakuho U cohort coach, and currently serves as a co-chair of the exhibits and displays committee.
Speaker: Felicia has attended every Swakuho since 1996 and enjoys spending time with her husband, her kitties, friends and family, and cheering on her favorite sports teams, Go Hogs, Bobcats, Packers, Bengals, and Chiefs.
Speaker: and attempting to read the many books that she has on her bookshelves.
Speaker: Felicia, welcome to the show.
Speaker: Hi, JC.
Speaker: It's great to be here, and I can't wait to spend this time with all of y'all tonight.
Speaker: So...
Speaker: The pleasure is truly mine and our listeners.
Speaker: So thank you all for being here.
Speaker: But first things first, Norma and Felicia, what is the preferred terminology these days when it comes to working with outside entities?
Speaker: Is it vendor, supplier, exhibitor, corporate sponsor?
Speaker: What should we be saying?
Speaker: Well, I personally try to use the word exhibitor because I really and that and corporate partner.
Speaker: And that's actually something that Norm and I are kind of working on right now in terms of even looking at the name of our committee.
Speaker: But I always try to use the word exhibitor and corporate partner because I really feel like those who we do business with who come to our conference.
Speaker: Our regional conference, our annual conference who come to our campus, they are our partners and they're helping us in our roles as housing professionals contribute to the success and satisfaction of our students on our campuses.
Speaker: So they're a partner with us.
Speaker: We can't do what we do without them.
Speaker: Yes, absolutely.
Speaker: It's been so great over the years through the different evolution and just relationships that we have built.
Speaker: And with that, we know it's been a collaboration, a partnership, and we really tried to lead that way and also with our committee as well.
Speaker: And so we continue to build those relationships and we see it all as one entity when we get ready for conference, but not just through conference, through all of the other things that Sokuho has done.
Speaker: to offer for our housing professionals.
Speaker: And so we're really excited to continue to pursue those relationships, build new relationships, and absolutely those partnerships.
Speaker: Great.
Speaker: And Trey, as the quote corporate partner guest on this show, please speak for all corporate partners.
Speaker: What do you prefer?
Speaker: Or do you even care at all?
Speaker: No, I agree with both Norma and with Felicia.
Speaker: I think the progression from truly just an exhibitor to a corporate partner really captures the spirit of that relationship.
Speaker: And primarily it's due to the fact that
Speaker: it does require both the supplier of services or products or whatnot, and the delegates and the association to come together.
Speaker: And so that's probably the best term for that relationship as a corporate partner, because it is a true partnership.
Speaker: Great.
Speaker: Because I agree, as soon as like, Trey, if we started talking outside of the conference, we're not in an exhibit hall anymore.
Speaker: So that doesn't fully capture that.
Speaker: But
Speaker: I remember the days when it was vendors and just the evolution as we continue to go.
Speaker: So I appreciate the definition.
Speaker: So we're all on the same page.
Speaker: Trey, you attended your very first Swakuo conference at San Antonio in 2002.
Speaker: As a perfect illustration of the importance of building and facilitating relationships over an extended period of time, why don't you start by telling us who the very first person you met was at that conference?
Speaker: I appreciate bringing that up, especially as it relates to my current age.
Speaker: But prior to, just a little backstory, prior to entering into higher education and essentially student affairs, my background was medical sales.
Speaker: And I really entered into the furniture market in a very haphazard way and whatnot.
Speaker: So I
Speaker: When ultimately from medical sales and medical furniture sales into higher education, somebody said, your first responsibility is to attend SWACUHO.
Speaker: And I asked them again if they could repeat that.
Speaker: And then I asked them again if they could repeat it again.
Speaker: And then someone said, it's a...
Speaker: division or a branch of Akuhoi.
Speaker: And I said, well, can you repeat that?
Speaker: And, you know, one acronym after another, as I stumbled on the plane and came down to San Antonio.
Speaker: So I gathered up my belongings and heading to what was at the time truly an exhibitor space or a vendor space.
Speaker: I think it was kind of
Speaker: old school in 2004.
Speaker: And as I walked into my booth, still pretty apprehensive about why I was there, what I was going to say, not knowing anything about higher education or student affairs, and barely knowing anything about the products that I was about to have to speak to.
Speaker: The first person that I met in the booth next to me was Craig Zamine.
Speaker: And it was very, very...
Speaker: much a David Lynch movie moment because I had not seen Craig in a,
Speaker: 15 years, much less expected him to be there.
Speaker: And Craig happened to be my RA and my suite mate, my freshman year of college at University of Texas at Arlington.
Speaker: And we had literally not seen each other in 15 years.
Speaker: And that was my first experience.
Speaker: And Craig and I are friends to this day, staying in touch all through his tenure at American campus at the time.
Speaker: And now
Speaker: with his responsibilities at University of North Texas.
Speaker: So it was a great welcoming and eye-opening and probably most importantly, such an industry shift to the welcoming and the true partnership.
Speaker: And this goes back to kind of what we're talking about relationships.
Speaker: There was what I thought would be an intimidating situation was, you
Speaker: immediately I was put at ease.
Speaker: So that was kind of the start of what would be the next 18 years of a wonderful relationship at Suakuho.
Speaker: And like Felicia, I have not missed one since.
Speaker: And, you know, Craig is on the Exhibits and Displays Committee.
Speaker: So there you go.
Speaker: So anyhow, that just shows how everything goes around.
Speaker: And Trey, I don't know if you remember, but it might have been in San Antonio when you and I first met.
Speaker: And I remember talking with you.
Speaker: about my big black cat that I had at that time and showing you the picture because he was so huge.
Speaker: And I remember you saying, I went home and told my kids about this and everything.
Speaker: And so, you know, it is, it's truly a great space to, you know, to reconnect with people and that, you know, who maybe you haven't seen in a while on that.
Speaker: So I think that, again, it just shows how natural these relationships can happen.
Speaker: The exhibit hall is just the venue to help create that.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: So for, you know, like Trey was a newcomer back in 2002.
Speaker: For listeners who aren't aware or are going to their first conference here in a few days, like what exactly is the exhibit hall at a conference?
Speaker: Like what is it?
Speaker: We've talked about it a little bit.
Speaker: Let's give the lowdown for anyone who's coming up for their first conference or has no idea what we're talking about.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So our exhibit hall is a space where we invite all of our partners to come through that are any type of the services that were mentioned before that impact the work that we do.
Speaker: And so this year we are so lucky.
Speaker: Shout out to Bobo and Ellie for the schedule because we have this year.
Speaker: We're so lucky to be able to have four hours of uninterrupted time where we're
Speaker: all of our new participants to the conference and our returning participants get to know all of our exhibitors and sponsors in this space.
Speaker: And so it's this big exhibit hall where we will have booths and they will come through this space and we actually get to have lunch.
Speaker: That's the first thing that we get to do with our amazing partners.
Speaker: So we'll get to have lunch and have conversation and
Speaker: We have a lot of time built in.
Speaker: So then that way, different participants can go through and get to know these different companies that we're working with and the people that we're working with.
Speaker: And that is just so valuable to be in that space, whether they are the first time attending conference and they feel like they don't have any decision making abilities to this is, you know, their business.
Speaker: 10th plus conference and they have those interactions and they know exactly who's going to be in that space once they come through.
Speaker: It really is a space for everyone and all parties involved to really just mix and mingle and learn more about how we can enhance that experience for our students on our college campuses.
Speaker: What's also really neat is that all of us come from different backgrounds, different experiences, different types of schools, universities.
Speaker: And so there is something for everyone in that space.
Speaker: And that's that's one of the things that Felicia and I are really excited about this year as we're once we have our partners register, we are getting more and more just new people coming through.
Speaker: And then, of course, our
Speaker: are returning people.
Speaker: And so it'll be just a nice space to get to know those services, especially to if you aren't aware, sometimes people might get intimidated, or if it's their first conference, they're like, I don't know what I'm walking into.
Speaker: And so this is just a great opportunity to ease that and to have conversations and not feel rushed and to go back and forth to just get to know more about the different areas that impact our university housing.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And last year we were able to return back to our exhibit hall experience because obviously we were virtual in 2021 due to, you know, the lovely COVID.
Speaker: And so, you know, I think last year we were excited.
Speaker: We had about 27 different booths in our exhibit hall, which is about half of what we typically try to have.
Speaker: And I, you know, I think there were still some concerns in that last year, but having that opportunity again this year to really have people come together more, to have new people come, I think being in the Dallas-Fort Worth area this year helps out a little bit too.
Speaker: And so it's just exciting to be able to do that.
Speaker: With that in mind, Trey, let me ask you, how much business is actually done in the exhibit hall?
Speaker: Like, I'm signing on the dotted line for this new case goods from Southwest contract.
Speaker: Yeah, I want to address that.
Speaker: from the perspective of my time when I sat on the corporate relations or corporate partner committee in AIMHO and even the exhibit and displays committee when I was with SWACUHO on two different occasions, because I really took that approach to be the liaison between the corporate partners and the association and,
Speaker: And if there was as much education that needed to take place with the vendors or corporate partners posed to just being a business opportunity for people to come and create deals, if that's what you, you know, if that's when you say sign on the dotted line and whatnot.
Speaker: Always be closing.
Speaker: Yeah, we we have I've always tried to communicate this with a lot of our friends and corporate partners that it's really the responsibility of the companies that participate in the student housing market with products and services to support the professional development.
Speaker: and support the associations that truly support their businesses.
Speaker: And that's always been kind of the role when I sat on those committees to communicate that ahead of time so that when companies come to attend and come to exhibit, they're not...
Speaker: focused purely on generating sales or marketing leads or some other metric that may be communicated from their companies as a necessary measurement of the success of whatever that investment might be.
Speaker: I kind of go back to
Speaker: What I would communicate is kind of the three R's, and it is the responsibility, the relationship, and the respect.
Speaker: And that kind of goes or applies to essentially both parties in this arrangement.
Speaker: the companies that are participating and the delegates that are attending every aspect of that.
Speaker: In doing so, it does take a little bit more education because a company that does attend with the intent of receiving purchase orders for particular aspects of their business,
Speaker: they may be very disappointed in the results if that's the only measurement of what a successful conference would be to them.
Speaker: And we've had that surface during feedback and surveys, post-conference surveys and whatnot.
Speaker: And so in many cases, we'll do an educational session to explain to corporate partners how
Speaker: what the intent of the conference is.
Speaker: And it doesn't mean that there will not be opportunities for very constructive conversations about orders or services or future renovations or whatnot, but that's not the sole objective for exhibiting.
Speaker: Yeah, that's great.
Speaker: And I think it kind of illustrates the point is like, we're not trying to necessarily sell products or receive products.
Speaker: It's
Speaker: It's all about the relationships that are being built because, I mean, most of us are restricted by state purchase requirements, bidding processes and all.
Speaker: It's like, even if I wanted to, I couldn't even enter into any sort of agreement standing in this exhibit hall.
Speaker: And that's happened to be two other furniture companies there who are submitting competing bids at the same time.
Speaker: And, you know, it's just like there's a patience that's needed to cultivate the relationships that gets your foot in the door for later on, I would assume.
Speaker: Trey, I love that concept of the three R's.
Speaker: I actually wrote that down because I really think the responsibility, the relationship, the respect, I really think that's great guiding principles.
Speaker: I mean, we should do that within all of our relationships or interactions we have with others.
Speaker: Yeah, with everybody.
Speaker: In that context, it's fabulous.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: I wrote that down.
Speaker: It does kind of break down the question of expectation, both from the delegates, from the attendees, and from the exhibitors that are participating, so that
Speaker: And really focusing on that respect component, everyone has to understand where each party in this relationship is coming from and what their goals are for that particular time period.
Speaker: And so I think it's beneficial to communicate that, especially if that happened to be during a pre-exhibitor session or whatnot, which is something that we have done in the past at different conferences.
Speaker: Well, I think that's a fairly organic segue that if we've now established that the exhibit halls are not necessarily about sales, but more about the exposure, the connections, relationship, does that only apply to people with purchasing power or purchasing authority?
Speaker: Like what value is there for a hall director to participate within the exhibit halls?
Speaker: I think there's a lot of value, to be very honest.
Speaker: I mean, I think we get so focused on
Speaker: The work that we might be doing in terms of helping this student through this issue or this is the program we're planning or I have to talk to my RA about this specific topic.
Speaker: and not always taking that holistic approach to what does it really take to create that experience for our students, right?
Speaker: And so kind of knowing what all goes into that, I think is really important.
Speaker: You know, as a hall director, I don't know that I really thought about that a whole lot.
Speaker: And I think it just takes, you know,
Speaker: kind of talking to, you know, a supervisor or, you know, somebody else who maybe has, you know, some extra experience or seasoned, as I like to say.
Speaker: Not old, but seasoned.
Speaker: But, you know, just to kind of say, talk to me a little bit about this or, you know, how do I navigate this?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And I think that it's really important.
Speaker: I know one of the things, you know, I personally don't have any purchasing power per se in my position.
Speaker: But one of the things I have typically done is gone like to our director of facilities.
Speaker: uh, to say, Hey, is there anything in particular you're looking at right now that if we have a, you know, somebody who's at the exhibit hall at SWACUHO that I could take a look at, you know, or I would, and, and, and kind of to get that right out there to say, what, is there anything in particular, a helps educate me on what is my department looking at, but also is there something I can do to help them out in terms of maybe making, you know, getting some information brochures or business cards or whatnot.
Speaker: Um,
Speaker: And I think that's really important.
Speaker: I remember being at a Kuhoi several years ago.
Speaker: I think it was back in Seattle several years ago.
Speaker: And my assistant vice chancellor at that time was there at the conference as well.
Speaker: And we were walking around the exhibit hall there and there was a moving cart company.
Speaker: And I was like, oh, this is really interesting, you know, for.
Speaker: And so I took I took that information to her.
Speaker: We ended up buying some of those carts where we're using them.
Speaker: And that, but, you know, but kind of saying, this is a really interesting thing.
Speaker: Why don't I share this information with the person who does have that purchasing power to say, take a look at this.
Speaker: How can this help benefit our students and help them in this case, their moving experience?
Speaker: Yes, I'd also like to add that I remember going into the exhibit hall for the first time in 2013 as a hall director.
Speaker: It was my new experience.
Speaker: And thinking through that, I wish somebody would have told me then that it's not as intimidating as it might seem.
Speaker: And you go in and build relationships because in my head, it was more than that.
Speaker: And I just thought, you know what, like,
Speaker: I'm going to walk around, but I don't know that I have really any power in this space.
Speaker: And so what I would say to the new professionals out there is this is a great learning opportunity for you to not be intimidated by the exhibit hall.
Speaker: There's this idea of identity capital.
Speaker: And so as you're working through your journey as a hall director or entry level staff, you're going through different experiences and
Speaker: to learn more about yourself, to figure out what type of person you want to be, to figure out what type of professional you want to be.
Speaker: And as you're building your identity through our professional network, it's a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone.
Speaker: I know with COVID and just other things that has made us a little bit more hesitant about going up and talking to people or being in a space and being
Speaker: That being said, we want it to be an inclusive space, a space where anybody can feel like they can come into.
Speaker: And it's just a great opportunity.
Speaker: The conference is all about learning and meeting new people.
Speaker: And that is true to be in the exhibit hall as well.
Speaker: So as you're figuring out what kind of professional do you want to be, that could also mean is maybe you start out as a hall director and you meet someone in the exhibit hall, you meet a corporate partner, and who knows, you might end up in a field that's related to the
Speaker: higher ed and student affairs, but you may not stay in the same area that you're in.
Speaker: And so it's really important to put yourself out there and get to know people.
Speaker: A lot of our corporate partners that we work with have some housing background experience.
Speaker: And so that's really neat to see professionals transition as well.
Speaker: So you just never know kind of what opportunity is around the corner.
Speaker: You just have to put yourself out there and find out.
Speaker: So it's really exciting.
Speaker: Norma, I think you really, I took a note here earlier when you mentioned a space for everyone.
Speaker: It truly, truly is a space for everyone, both corporate partners and for the attendees, regardless of level.
Speaker: So, I mean, that truly is the space.
Speaker: The space for everyone, regardless of whether you're an entry level, whether you're a mid-manager, whether you're a...
Speaker: In many cases, I always hear this, well, I didn't want to walk through the exhibit hall because I'm an introvert or I don't have any purchasing power or I don't use any of these products or any of these services in my day-to-day work.
Speaker: I never come in contact with any of those things.
Speaker: There's still an opportunity for every single individual to learn and grow from those interactions with people
Speaker: both exhibitors, but then also with some of their colleagues as they hear some of the conversations as a bystander and hear what are the questions and what are the topics that are being discussed.
Speaker: A lot of times I'll hear entry-level professionals ask, well, what should I ask the exhibitors or the corporate partners if I do?
Speaker: I'm not involved with furniture or I'm not involved with architectural services or laundry services or whatever the case.
Speaker: And my suggestion always has been ask them and make the approach to find out what.
Speaker: What do they know about the day-to-day issues that you're facing?
Speaker: Because I do believe this kind of goes back to that responsibility.
Speaker: I believe it's a responsibility of the corporate partners to understand not only the segments of their business, but more importantly or equally important,
Speaker: the day-to-day scenarios that take place on a college campus outside of the products and services that they're providing.
Speaker: It is truly their responsibility to understand what your pinch points are on a college campus, because that will lend themselves to providing solutions, whether it's with their own products or
Speaker: with products and services from another company.
Speaker: But that's how an entry level individual could approach a vendor and say, do you know some of the things that we're facing and start that conversation that way.
Speaker: And you know, Trey, we get questions sometimes from some of our exhibitors, our partners who say, can I go to program sessions?
Speaker: And we're like, absolutely, because that way they are learning about what are some of the topics that are out there on a higher ed campus.
Speaker: It gives them a better understanding of our students.
Speaker: The student of today is way different than the student of 20 years ago.
Speaker: And technology's changing, trends are changing, how students communicate is changing.
Speaker: And so I think that's a great opportunity, hopefully, for our exhibitors to learn as much about, like you said, what we're doing on a daily basis as well as us learning about how this product or service can best benefit our students.
Speaker: Well, a couple of notes.
Speaker: Trey, when you were talking about students or people growing the most when they're challenged, I think you're set up to teach a student development higher ed course anytime.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So if you're ever looking for a little segue into a new career field, we got you covered.
Speaker: Let me know, Trey.
Speaker: I'll sign up.
Speaker: And then, Trey, another one of the things I hear, I loved your list of examples of, like, why people don't want.
Speaker: Another one I hear is, like, well, if I don't have any purchasing power, I don't want to waste the time of the corporate partners when they could be talking to someone who might be purchasing.
Speaker: Yeah, and I have heard that –
Speaker: This was an example at the AIMHO conference when I was part of that corporate partner committee.
Speaker: We tried to come up with a different approach to the exhibit hall.
Speaker: And we, I forgot what year it was, but basically all of the delegates were assigned to teams and there was a senior housing officer with every team and it might've had seven or eight other younger professionals.
Speaker: And they would go specifically to booth to booth, every single booth.
Speaker: And it was on this rotation that was timed and it was about a 12 minute or eight minute rotation.
Speaker: And the goal there was to break down that barrier of intimidating, an intimidating experience for the younger professionals.
Speaker: I will tell you it was a great case study.
Speaker: It was a one and done scenario because you literally talked for a
Speaker: about a two and a half hour time period, there was a break for lunch and then another hour and a half so that everyone could get to every single booth.
Speaker: And it didn't allow for some more meaningful conversations.
Speaker: And what happened was it became just a presentation.
Speaker: And that takes away from a lot of the organic conversations that you'll have that involve people
Speaker: the true relationship.
Speaker: In many cases, some of the best conversations that take place within the exhibit hall are not about products and services.
Speaker: They truly are about individuals and their families and their careers and their challenges and new developments and whatnot.
Speaker: And so I think that's something that's really important for young professionals to understand is that
Speaker: Yes, there are companies that have a responsibility of providing services or providing products, but they want to know and get to know about Felicia's large black cat at home or someone's vacation or their children or whatnot.
Speaker: And those truly are moments where you establish a relationship that may lead to a potential business relationship later on down the line.
Speaker: Well, and you also want to know like who these because, I mean, we buy beds or furniture or like lock boxes.
Speaker: Like we're going to be using these for a decade, two decades or more.
Speaker: It's like we're going to be working through these for a long period of time.
Speaker: It's not just like, hey, thanks, Trey.
Speaker: We'll never we'll see you in 20 years when we're ready to replace everything.
Speaker: Like it's a really ongoing, like like any relationship as maintenance and, you know, touching base, product checks, affirmations and those kind of things.
Speaker: Like it's I mean, this is skill development at its finest right here.
Speaker: Yeah, I really think, JC, you hit the nail on the head in that for young professionals as well.
Speaker: They can truly evaluate the they may not be making mistakes.
Speaker: purchasing decision or entering into a purchasing decision, but they can truly evaluate the integrity of the companies that they may want to work with later on down the line when they become in a position where they can make some decisions or whatnot.
Speaker: And it's kind of that scenario of treat others how you would like to be treated.
Speaker: The way that, and I've heard this constantly over the last 18 years of senior housing officers who have come up through the ranks where they have said XYZ company is a company I would never speak with based on how I was treated at that first conference because I was dismissed as a young professional.
Speaker: And
Speaker: It's like a pretty woman moment.
Speaker: See these bags?
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And in many cases, you know, it does go back to that.
Speaker: It always comes back to that respect component of it.
Speaker: And the companies that I believe are...
Speaker: And you can measure success in a variety of different ways.
Speaker: And it's not just transactions, as you mentioned.
Speaker: It's not a single transaction.
Speaker: It's a developing of a relationship.
Speaker: And those companies really do approach every individual that comes through that exhibit hall, as Norma said, a space for everyone.
Speaker: And those are our conversation.
Speaker: There is a conversation that can be had by everyone in an exhibit hall, regardless of their status or position on campus.
Speaker: Well, and I think, Trey, we met back in I think it was 2007 when I was one year into my first full time job.
Speaker: And we opened a new residence hall at Park University in Missouri.
Speaker: And I certainly didn't have any purchasing power back then, but I think I was the person tasked with doing the focus groups, gathering student input for like real shared governance, new build type experience.
Speaker: And then fast forward 15 years, and I still don't have the purchasing power, but we've stayed in touch over the years.
Speaker: And I think there's also people out there, it's like they don't have purchasing power, but they have influence.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I'm sure you've seen people that have come through that are like, I can tell you don't have purchasing power, but I know you've got the ear of the person who does.
Speaker: And I think that's also a skill to like build upon of like, how do you exert influence when you may not be in a position of authority?
Speaker: Is that something you've noticed before?
Speaker: Everyone.
Speaker: And I, I,
Speaker: I kind of hate to use the word power because that gets thrown around so often almost as a term of dominance or whatever the case.
Speaker: And due to my will.
Speaker: And in many cases, what everyone needs to understand, both corporate partners and delegates alike, is that while some individuals may not have the ability to say yes, almost everyone has the ability to say no.
Speaker: And have that influence.
Speaker: And I think that's important for a especially important for a corporate partner to understand is that while that individual based on their position, they may not be the one that is signing on the dotted line, but they can definitely communicate what their experience is within the exhibit hall or.
Speaker: Even the education that was provided, whether or not it was sufficient to give them an understanding of the products and services that are being provided, and if that fell short, that would probably most likely get communicated to the individuals above.
Speaker: Just like Felicia said,
Speaker: She was, in many cases, given a task to find out what can you bring back from that conference to someone who couldn't attend.
Speaker: And it's important for the corporate partners to understand that as well, that every individual may have some form of education that they would like to experience so that they can communicate that back on campus.
Speaker: Yeah, I would like to add to I like this idea of influence and, you know, working with our hall director teams here.
Speaker: We have a lot of new professionals and influences is big.
Speaker: And I always like to tell people when you interact with someone, good, bad or ugly, you're influencing their experience, that interaction.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: And so we have to be mindful of what does that look like in the world of social media?
Speaker: whether we have new professionals or, you know, seasoned professionals that have been here.
Speaker: I think there is that piece of the world looks a lot different in 2023.
Speaker: And there are things that are very tangible.
Speaker: And we have an awesome new entry level group that's coming through that has access of influence
Speaker: in those spaces, but expanded outside of what that conference will be.
Speaker: I can guarantee you myself and other people, they're gonna be sharing their experiences on social media very quickly, good, bad, or ugly of whatever's going on there, but it's this idea of connection.
Speaker: And so I just remember, kind of thinking back through my experience is there's a lot of times when people communicate and we feel like we're being talked at versus like that sense of connection and engagement.
Speaker: Did I, was I engaged in this conversation?
Speaker: Did the other person actually listen?
Speaker: Did they care?
Speaker: Did, or were they just, you know, sharing whatever was going on in that moment?
Speaker: And so it's this idea of making it less transactional and more like, how are you as a person, as a being and being truly engaged?
Speaker: And I think that as I think back through my experiences, even as I'm working through different
Speaker: I'm working with different people this year through the committee and also with our corporate partners.
Speaker: It's that engagement level that really sets aside like what type of interaction did I just have?
Speaker: And our new professionals are definitely taking that in as well.
Speaker: I can guarantee that people, you know, they're going to show up to the conference and they're going to be excited.
Speaker: And as they continue to have conversations, as they attend sessions, it'll be interesting to see.
Speaker: And we hope that they have a great experience.
Speaker: But
Speaker: Either way, they're going to have an experience.
Speaker: And I think it's up to us to make sure that we educate and that we work to provide an amazing experience for all parties involved.
Speaker: But it's really neat to kind of think through that idea of influence.
Speaker: Well, and Trey, going back to kind of flipping what you said in the Norma, I think really illustrated of that.
Speaker: Everybody has the power to say no, whereas like, you know, there's that relationship of too much drama, like, or you didn't treat us well.
Speaker: We're done with you.
Speaker: Let's flip that and talk about have you ever interacted with like staff – and you don't have to name any names, but like, wow, this staff is drama.
Speaker: I hope we don't get this bid because I don't want to have to deal with them.
Speaker: Can I name names?
Speaker: Of course.
Speaker: Please.
Speaker: You know, the –
Speaker: I appreciate the question because, again, I hate to continuously go back to those three R's that we talked about, but this also really hits that respect component because it is two-way respect.
Speaker: Sometimes we have experienced those scenarios as corporate partners that you should be lucky that we do business with you.
Speaker: And that does take place in certain scenarios and whatnot.
Speaker: So there is a level of respect that should be exhibited to everyone in the room.
Speaker: And a lot of times I'll use definitions because it helps my simple brain communicate kind of some of those aspects.
Speaker: And I look at the word relationship and the root being relation.
Speaker: And I wrote this note down that it's a logical or natural association between two or more things, relevance of one to another, and then a connection.
Speaker: And that's what takes place within an exhibit hall, within a corporate partner organization.
Speaker: and attendee connection, both in the conference and then outside of the conference.
Speaker: And it's, it all goes back to that.
Speaker: And, and the respect has a strong component of it both ways.
Speaker: I love that.
Speaker: And Trey, if you keep bringing up the, and please do keep bringing up the three R's, we're going to have to add one repetition.
Speaker: And that's how we build habits.
Speaker: So there you go.
Speaker: And I just want to say everyone in the room keeps talking about all the notes they're taking.
Speaker: I think this is like the most like engaged learning between each other.
Speaker: Everyone's like, Oh, I'm going to take notes on that.
Speaker: So, you know, I'm glad that all the, all of us are getting something from this as well.
Speaker: But I think that's an important point to think about is like, whether we like it or not in any relationship, whether new, old, or whatever, it's like,
Speaker: even our subconscious actions have influence, whether we good, bad, or indifferent, like somebody said that, you know, how we behave reflects on good, right?
Speaker: Or otherwise, like it reflects on the department.
Speaker: I think that's just something to keep in mind and,
Speaker: Like Norma, you were saying, like, it's all on social media that so, but no business out there is going to blast on social media and individual participant.
Speaker: But I know they're going to be talking about it behind the scenes or sharing like, whoa, this is something to be mindful of.
Speaker: But that's where I think the respect is not always, or the respect might be a little bit more extended with grace and generosity from the corporate partners than some of our professional staff.
Speaker: So.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And I would also add that I think, you know, you think about that, that one moment where you're like, maybe I wasn't at my best or, you know, whatever have you whenever you're having engaging with other people.
Speaker: But I also think about kind of the ripple effect.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: So if you have a great experience.
Speaker: Let's say you, you know, do business with somebody and you have a great experience.
Speaker: I just bought a house.
Speaker: So that was really exciting for us.
Speaker: And I was like, hey, I had a great experience with my people.
Speaker: And so I am very much sharing all of those things.
Speaker: I think the same thing can be true in the exhibit hall or, you know, between conversations between corporate partners and universities and, you know, different things that they're doing.
Speaker: But I think that the other is also true.
Speaker: to where if you don't have a great interaction, that can also spread.
Speaker: And so really, it's just being mindful of like, what is it?
Speaker: What's the message that that we want to get out there?
Speaker: And I don't think it's intentional.
Speaker: I don't think anybody goes intentionally saying, hey, I had a bad experience.
Speaker: I think as you have conversations of like, hey, how is your week or how is doing business with this individual or this company, those conversations just come up.
Speaker: And so
Speaker: We can't ever take for granted that each time we have an interaction with somebody new, depending on whatever side you're on, it is going to have an influence and an impact.
Speaker: And it could be brought up and it could be shared.
Speaker: And then it just, you know, hopefully it's good news to get shared with everyone.
Speaker: And so it's really something to think about.
Speaker: You know, one of the things that Norma and I have tried to do in our roles is really
Speaker: to have conversations with our exhibitors and our partners about what they want their exhibit hall experience to be like as well.
Speaker: And I think that's really important because if we continue to provide the same type of exhibit hall experience that would be provided 20 or 20 some odd years ago, then we're not benefiting them.
Speaker: And so I think that's really important.
Speaker: Again, and I think part of that is we can do that because we have some we are working on and have built some relationships in our roles as co-chairs with these exhibitors.
Speaker: And I think that's really critical to listen to them, to make them feel like they are valued, which I think has been a really great thing.
Speaker: important piece for us as well, is we want to make sure that our exhibitors feel like that coming to SWACUHO and exhibiting is a valuable experience, is an experience that is of value to them, not just for their business, but for them personally.
Speaker: And so I think that's critical.
Speaker: I think Norma kind of addressed it early on about the upcoming conference and mentioned the dedicated time that was being spent
Speaker: And we talk about, Felicia, about the evolution of what that exhibit hall space looks like, you know, going back 20 years to today.
Speaker: I was commonly asked sitting on these committees, how many days should we
Speaker: open the exhibit hall up and how many hours should we keep the exhibit hall open for?
Speaker: And obviously there's a financial component of support level or whatnot where everyone is trying to satisfy everyone's expectations.
Speaker: And for many years it was, well, for this contribution amount, we want to make sure that the exhibitors have
Speaker: plenty of time with the different delegates and whatnot, even at the expense of potentially conflicting times with programming, other programming, and working that into a conference.
Speaker: And one of the greatest evolutions that I've seen in the last couple of years has been that truly focused time period, because it is a quality of time versus a quantity of time where exhibitors don't
Speaker: They definitely are corporate partners gain from being in an exhibit hall where everyone can come into the space and lots of conversations and there isn't something competing.
Speaker: And it doesn't have to be stretched out over three days.
Speaker: And so that has evolved really well.
Speaker: And with that being said, it's a dedicated time period.
Speaker: So it is important for those people.
Speaker: maybe young professionals to understand it's not necessarily the time to go check your TikTok, as JC mentioned earlier, or catch up on email or whatever the case.
Speaker: It is truly, that is the value of time for those corporate partners during that dedicated period.
Speaker: Well, Trey, you talked about quality of time.
Speaker: And I bet, you know, the way the Southwest booth is always set up, it's got like, you know, your couches and your chairs.
Speaker: Like, I bet you've overheard some real meetings of the minds at your station throughout the years where just random people come together and just start chatting about whatever.
Speaker: What's the most interesting conversation you've ever been a part of related to housing business, not furniture related?
Speaker: Wow, that's a great question.
Speaker: I think probably the most important, and I don't know if this would be the, well, let's put it this way, probably the most important happened to be last SWACUHO because it was finally an in-person event where we had all been cooped up and secluded and isolated, not only from a
Speaker: corporate partner standpoint, from a business standpoint, but also even from a staff standpoint.
Speaker: I mean, I still over 2020 and 2021 met with staff members who had not seen their other staff members because they were working alternating days and alternating hours and remote and things like that.
Speaker: So probably the most important time period or discussion or gathering was
Speaker: was truly last year at Swakuho, where we got to get back to the relationships and see the friends.
Speaker: It had, and I speak for almost all corporate partners in the sense of it had nothing to do with products and services.
Speaker: It had everything to do with human beings.
Speaker: And that's not unlike any other year, but it definitely was the priority of last year.
Speaker: And really the question is, and
Speaker: And almost the biggest conversation of that is not what do you need, but or how can we help?
Speaker: It was how are you doing?
Speaker: And as student affairs professionals, and I lump myself in, even though I.
Speaker: I don't have the academic background as a student affairs professional.
Speaker: I still call myself a student affairs professional based on the number of years and the conversations that I've had and seeing the stress and the toll that
Speaker: COVID and shutdowns and openings and modified openings and long hours, the toll that that took, gathering at Swakuho was just kind of a big...
Speaker: relief and just the ability to hug friends and see colleagues that we hadn't had a chance to see and gather together.
Speaker: So by all means, that's probably the most important.
Speaker: That's a long, long winded answer to what was the most important moment in an exhibit hall and even within the Swakuho conference history that I've been attending.
Speaker: And I was going to say earlier that when we were talking about word spreading and the organic development of these relationships, that sometimes it's like one of my favorite times of the year was always at the Swakuho Southwest contract dinner where Lee senior would get up and he would talk about how they've never, you all have never invested a dollar in advertising.
Speaker: And it's always been about the relationships and building from that on.
Speaker: It was just a, you know, a perfect illustration.
Speaker: And I think your story there talk like,
Speaker: perfectly encapsulates that we really are all in this together.
Speaker: The family aspect and the friends, the friendships is what drives it more than anything.
Speaker: So, yeah, it's, it's not only, it's not a, we like to tell that story as a company and as a family, but it applies to everyone.
Speaker: When we go back to, again, responsibility,
Speaker: We've always stated that we invest in people, not in paper.
Speaker: From an advertising standpoint and a marketing standpoint, we feel like, again, it is the responsibility going back to all of our corporate partners to support the professional development of young professionals, all the way to bid managers, all the way to senior housing officers, because without the development, our business is non-existent.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So, Trey, you've talked about AIMHO, SWACUHO just now.
Speaker: Tell us truthfully.
Speaker: You've been to a lot of conferences in a lot of regions.
Speaker: What's your favorite regional conference to attend?
Speaker: You know, just between the four of us.
Speaker: Just because no one else is going to hear this conversation.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: I would absolutely, you know, it's not right to pick, but, you know, I'm old enough now where sometimes I can probably communicate and not worry about the consequences.
Speaker: I don't know.
Speaker: Not in this day of social media and everything else.
Speaker: Who knows what that is?
Speaker: But I really do.
Speaker: I'm not just saying it because we're here.
Speaker: I have to say that Swakuho just has a special place in my heart because, again, it goes back to
Speaker: That day in 2002, being introduced into the marketplace and making those connections.
Speaker: And I was the introvert and intimidated individual and unprepared and apprehensive and anxious.
Speaker: And I was walking in to an exhibit hall.
Speaker: without knowing anyone.
Speaker: So it's not unlike a lot of the same scenarios for a lot of young hall directors for their first attendance.
Speaker: And then they don't know what Swakuho means in many cases.
Speaker: So, you know, I experienced that exact same thing.
Speaker: And
Speaker: Instantly, I was welcomed with open arms.
Speaker: And that's why similar that experience and similar experiences for the last 18 years have allowed me to stay or given me the reason to stay within student housing, because it's a it's a very, very unique profession and.
Speaker: You deal with humans day in and day out, and you treat those who you come in contact with with the same level of genuine respect and care.
Speaker: And so that's why it's an unbelievable marketplace to have the honor to be able to serve.
Speaker: Well, we're getting close to wrapping up.
Speaker: I have what I hope is going to be kind of a fun little exercise to demonstrate the power of extended networks and how network science research actually tells us that there's often more value into tapping into the diversity of your extended network of weak and dormant ties compared to your active network echo chain.
Speaker: So we'll see how this goes.
Speaker: If it doesn't work out, it'll get cut.
Speaker: But...
Speaker: Some of our res ed colleagues get frustrated when nobody comes to a program they spent countless hours planning.
Speaker: On this side of the table, we are in the education business, so everything's an education problem.
Speaker: We didn't educate them enough about the program, so they didn't understand the value.
Speaker: We didn't market well enough, but we marketed free food.
Speaker: I'm going to give a program prompt, and then we'll go around the circle, and you have one sentence to sell this program.
Speaker: Use your expertise to sell the program where residents will peer review each other's English one essays.
Speaker: If you're standing in the exhibit hall selling this program to other housing professionals, how would you sell it?
Speaker: This program that this, this podcast, is that what you're, no, no, no.
Speaker: The res life function has made a program where they're, they're bringing students together to peer review each other's English essays or 100 level essays.
Speaker: It's an English class.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And they're going to peer review each other's essays.
Speaker: So when they turn them in, they're going to be stronger and it's going to be academic gains all over the place.
Speaker: Everyone's GPAs are going to go.
Speaker: Oh, no, now I'm selling it.
Speaker: Oops.
Speaker: I don't know if this is going to work.
Speaker: I have one, but I have to look it up just to make sure.
Speaker: I'm pondering.
Speaker: I'm accepting this challenge.
Speaker: My one sentence would be, and I think I have this correct.
Speaker: Welcome to the world of chat GPT.
Speaker: ChatGPT.
Speaker: It is, if you write it down and look at it, it is, from what I understand, it is artificial intelligence to the billionth degree where you can literally type in, fix my resume.
Speaker: And within 30 minutes, your resume is completely...
Speaker: It's used the power of the internet and search material and everything else.
Speaker: It's way beyond my, and I hope I don't ever have to rely on it.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: I think we might need a poster explaining that one to our residents.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I don't know if this is perfect, but come join your neighbors and learn how you can get that A-plus essay for English 101.
Speaker: There we go.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: And Norma, wait, I think you're the only one like in ResEd here.
Speaker: So.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So I'm going to take a different approach.
Speaker: Mine, if I had one sentence, I would say, I want to hear your story.
Speaker: Let's go on an adventure.
Speaker: Oh, I like that.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: That's much better.
Speaker: That's so much better.
Speaker: So all of our ResEd people, you got something to play with from every area.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: Any closing thoughts from the three of you about today's topic?
Speaker: JC, can I make a shameless plug?
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: That's what this podcast needs more of actually.
Speaker: So the amazing Norma Ramirez and I are doing a program session at 10 a.m.
Speaker: on Monday, February 13th called Bring Your A-Game to the Spokuho Exhibit Hall, where we are actually going to in-person talk
Speaker: Talk very similarly about some of the things we've talked about tonight, but again, just as a way for particularly targeted new professionals, but just a way for just for us to actively talk about this in person before they enter into the exhibit hall for lunch that day.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: And we will have members of our corporate partners there.
Speaker: So we are excited.
Speaker: It won't be just us talking.
Speaker: So for those of you that are like, oh, my gosh, not part two, it really will be more about their experience and kind of what to expect.
Speaker: And you get to hear from more of our corporate partners, which we're really excited about.
Speaker: And again, this, I think, well, some of that expectation setting and it really kind of this idea came about through conversations we had with some of our corporate partners in terms of maximizing the experience.
Speaker: So we're really excited.
Speaker: We were it's great.
Speaker: talking with our corporate partners, having the email exchanges or the phone calls.
Speaker: I had somebody call me today and ask me a couple of questions.
Speaker: And for some of them, we've not met them.
Speaker: And it'll be great to see them hopefully in person here very shortly.
Speaker: Trey, any closing thoughts?
Speaker: I'll just focus on the three R's.
Speaker: Responsibility, relationship, and respect.
Speaker: You got it.
Speaker: And that's a wrap.
Speaker: I want to thank Felicia and Norma for putting this together on behalf of the Exhibits and Displays Committee.
Speaker: And a big shout out goes to Trey from Southwest Contract for volunteering some of his time.
Speaker: While we joked about Trey speaking on behalf of all corporate sponsors, I do have to share personally that Trey and all of Southwest Contract are a really special group of people.
Speaker: You'll find no finer group of people who go above and beyond, but also care more about the people than the products.
Speaker: In fact, a lot of people have been asking me how I managed to support my computer equipment while I record these podcasts.
Speaker: I don't know what I did before I found this pedestal desk case goods from Southwest Contract.
Speaker: Make sure to mention this podcast on your next purchase and Trey will personally throw in 50 extra long twin mattresses for free.
Speaker: Yeah, that will hit the edit floor for sure.
Speaker: No, I'm kidding on that.
Speaker: But I've always wanted to say something like that.
Speaker: We will see you in 10 days for what is sure to be a lively event at the annual Swakuho Conference.
Speaker: Make sure to stop by and visit all our corporate sponsors and minimally thank them for supporting the conference because without them, there would be no conference.
Speaker: And with that, I say to you, good day.
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