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PETE WALKER ON THE NEC SHOW
I hope some of you visited the show and saw the stand at this years NEC. I hope the stand was to your approval and you liked our approach to the show visitors.
This year we decided that a new approach was needed at the NEC, by reducing the number off stand staff and the hard sell approach that has become the norm when selling raffle tickets and MBNA credit cards.
We also had on display two motorcycles that represented the two ends of the custom market.
One motorcycle a built from the ground up award winning Harley, show winner from the Doncaster Pro Custom Show and featured at present in Discovery Channels Great UK Biker Build Off, worth around £30,000.
The bike owner is Stez, column in the first issue of The Road.
The other bike a standard GSX 600 with around £15,000 worth of bolt on extras, both motorcycles were big crowd pullers in there own right and this worked very well for us with potential members coming onto the stand to be approached by us.
We also had a back drop made for the stand with a picture of the AMA euro bike. This in its self stopped people and drew them onto the stand.
We backed this up with the new leaflet titled, IS THIS THE FUTURE which we found people willing to accept and the fact we never found them littering the floor 30 feet away from the stand, means that people kept them.
I also saw people reading them in the cafe and bars at the show.
We have taken 219 memberships at this years show, this is still not enough by any means, but compared with last year where we took 146 members at the show, the movement is in the right direction.
We had a lot more time for interested people and a lot more interested people full stop, but we still found it difficult to turn the people around to become members, a fact we all found frustrating at times.
If any one out there can think of a way of getting memberships then let me know (this is not to included free membership or sexual favours) the customers that we could not turn on the day went away with a future and a membership leaflet, so we will have to keep a close eye on the amount of memberships that come into central over the next few weeks.
So to sum up I believe that the show for MAG and the stand staff has been a success in more ways than one.
Firstly we cut down the expenditure on the stand with a smaller stand and fewer staff residing in a caravan below central.
Secondly the memberships for 05 has risen by 50% from 04.
Thirdly we have not upset any one by harassing people for money from raffle tickets and MBNA.
Fourthly we have informed a lot of people regarding riders rights, MAG and what we do, hopefully the results of which will show in a few weeks time in the membership figures.
The people to thank for the outstanding effort given at the NEC this year are.
Trevor Baird, Neil Stevenson, Sahara Gardner, Anji Sewell, Rod Littley, Jane Chisholm, Tony Cox, Shan Tedder, Ian Mutch and Jim Coxon.
A big vote of thanks to Trevor and Elaine for showing us hospitality in their home and the office staff for putting up with us in their work place.
All the best.
Pete Walker (On behalf of Magic Action Promotions).
Tell 08707743551
Email pwalker@maphq.karoo.co.uk
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