© 2003 Door & Access Systems
Publish Date: Summer 2003
Author: Tom Wadsworth
Pages 34-36

Expo 2003
STATS AND SNAPS
A Statistical and Photographic Review of the 2003 International Garage Door Expo

San Antonio, Texas
April 23-26, 2003

Keynote

GENERAL SESSION: Hundreds of attendees packed in the Marriott Rivercenter Ballroom to hear keynoter Brian Tracy.

Seminars

MOST POPULAR: Art Turock’s seminar on “Invent Business Opportunities No One Else Can Imagine!” attracted 193 participants, far more than any other seminar.

SELLING QUALITY: Dale Monnin, a sales professional raised in a garage door family, led two of the top ten seminars with his presentation on “Selling Quality to Your Customers.”

PINCH PROTECTION: DASMA’s seminar on the “pinch standard” attracted 71 curious dealers. The presentation chronicled the development of the DASMA 116 standard and the involvement of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Exhibits

POURING IN: On Friday, April 25, hundreds of eager attendees poured into the San Antonio Convention Center for the Grand Opening of the Exhibit Hall.

CARRIAGE CRAZE CONTINUES: Of the 29 Expo exhibitors displaying residential garage doors, 20 (69%) showed a carriage house door. Pictured: Raynor (left) and Ankmar (right) were among those displaying new entries in a crowded field.

SEEING RED: Expo traffic on the red carpeted aisles was heavy for the first hour on Friday, but dropped off Friday afternoon and Saturday. This photo was taken at 2:15 p.m. on Friday, less than four hours after exhibits opened. Expo attendance (3,349) dropped well below Nashville’s 2002 levels (3,989).

Total Expo Attendance

2000 Las Vegas 4,617
2001 Atlantic City 3,500
2002 Nashville 3,989
2003 San Antonio 3,349
ATTENDANCE GOES SOUTH: Attendance at Expo 2003 in San Antonio dropped below the poor showing at Atlantic City in 2001.

2002 Dealers in Nashville 3,337
2003 Dealers in San Antonio 2,611
2002 Exhibitors in Nashville 652
2003 Exhibitors in San Antonio 738
FEWER DEALERS: Whatever kept dealers away didn’t keep exhibitors away. Compared to Nashville in 2003, 726 fewer dealers attended San Antonio’s Expo, yet exhibitor staff attending San Antonio grew by 86 people over Nashville. At Las Vegas in 2000, 1,509 exhibitor personnel attended, more than San Antonio and Nashville combined.

Top Ten Expo Seminars
Ranked by Attendance
Seminar / Speaker / Attendance
1. Invent Business Opportunities / Art Turock / 193
2. Selling Quality to Your Customers / Dale Monnin / 132
3. Success Doesn’t Just Happen / Randy Moore / 128
4. Let’s Talk Callbacks / Cimmino, Schults, Stewart / 123
5. Brand to the Bone / Jack Sims / 109
6. Wanna Be Number 1! / Harrison, Mathews, Weber / 105
7. Rethinking Your Business / Art Turock / 101
8. Selling Quality to Your Customers / Dale Monnin / 93
9. The Professional Door Dealer is Here! / Todd Thomas / 72
10. Getting a Grip on the Pinch Standard / DASMA / 71

2000 Las Vegas 2,189
2001 Atlantic City 1,635
2002 Nashville 2,382
2003 San Antonio 2,249
TRAINING REMAINING STRONG: The demand for training at Expo continues to be strong. Even though total Expo attendance dropped by 16 percent, seminar attendance dropped by only 7 percent. Yet, Nashville offered 23 seminars, while San Antonio offered 36 seminars.