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Who Is The Real Decision Maker?

You Are

 

A message from the Sponsors and Exhibits Committee

 

 

It is with great excitement that I write my very first UMR-ACUHO News story.  I do so as a first-time member of the Sponsors and Exhibits Committee.  We met in January in Des Moines to prepare for the fall 2008 Conference in Kansas City.  In addition to setting an aggressive revenue goal and creating a plan for raising those funds, we poured through evaluations from previous conferences. 

 

The comments from vendors and attendees were enlightening and caused the committee to rethink in part how we communicate.  Vendors responded with a greater need to have more time with “decision makers” and attendees expressed confusion regarding their role in the exhibitor area – who do I talk to, what questions do I ask, what’s the point other than collecting signatures?  So, we stepped out of money raising mode and into brainstorming mode to address the question – who is the real decision maker?  It is with even greater excitement that I get to report the answer is YOU. 

 

I am fortunate to be in a position on my campus where I have the privilege to make the final call on purchases.  However, my signing the check is only after an extensive process involving the real decision makers.  Although it is hard for me to admit, each hall/area director, assistant/associate director, and/or coordinator is far more connected to the latest needs and wants of our students than many of us senior housing officers.  As a result, we trust our professional staff to stay informed regarding vendor offerings, to stay in tune with the desires of our students and to facilitate various purchasing projects in our halls.

 

For those of us who have been fortunate enough to build new or purchase large quantities of furniture we know the excitement that comes with having vendors bring new products to campus and test them out for ourselves or on our students.  That excitement does not only have to be around new projects.  What can we do to make small improvements to the living and learning environments of our students and how can vendors help?    

 

I personally love to watch HGTV, not just to see what is new, but to learn about topics of interest to me i.e. sustainability.  Vendors are also a great source of information and can speak to many of the issues/interests we or our students have.  Much like a program session creates great learning opportunities, so can quality vendor interactions.   

 

So, at the fall 2008 conference the committee asks all of us to think a little differently about the relationship between vendors and attendees.  We ask vendors to see all attendees as potential customers and partners in the service we provide the students on our campuses.  We ask attendees to take ownership in the decision making process starting with soliciting feedback from the students and then learning about the vendors offerings.  Finally, we ask senior housing officers to spend time in the exhibitor area with their staff’s.

 

The sponsors and exhibits committee is working on improving the quality of time in the vendor area, the amount of uninterrupted time with vendors, the variety of vendors and other ideas for participation.  If you have any vendors that your school works with that you have not seen at UMR, please send those contacts to Jason Neuhaus at jason.neuhaus@uwrf.edu.  We would also like to hear about any ideas you have for increasing or improving the excitement in the vendor area with contests or various levels of participation.

 

See you in Kansas City and happy vending.  Remember, you are the real decision maker and the vendor area at the conference is a great resource for you.

 

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