If account management and project management really are two separate skill sets, what does that actually look like inside an exhibit house that's still scaling?

Chris and Khalil bring Chris Dunn, VP of Sales and Business Development at BlueHive Exhibits, onto the show to unpack how a three-pronged team of account executives, account managers, and project managers actually runs.

Chris walks through BlueHive's flexible pool of eight AEs, eight AMs, and four PMs, why they merged the estimator and project manager roles, who really owns the client relationship after the sale, and how to measure capacity now that hybrid and rental booths build from scratch every time.

Key Topics & Timestamps

• 00:56 - Episode Intro
• 02:29 - Meet Chris Dunn
• 05:50 - AM vs PM Split
• 08:30 - Hunters, Farmers, Trappers
• 11:00 - When AM Makes Sense
• 13:03 - BlueHive Team Structure
• 14:50 - Pooling And Bandwidth
• 17:49 - Client Journey Workflow
• 25:06 - Handoff And Role Duties
• 30:17 - AM vs PM Responsibilities
• 30:58 - AE Staying in the Loop
• 32:02 - Meeting Mix and Overwatch
• 33:27 - AM-PM Friction and Culture
• 35:55 - Capacity and Scaling Roles
• 37:38 - Small Company to Three Roles
• 40:10 - Estimating and Proposal Workflow
• 41:55 - Client Touchpoints and Expectations
• 52:54 - Good Cop Bad Cop Deadlines
• 57:46 - Wrap Up and Key Takeaways

Memorable Quotes

• "Account managers are forward-facing, customer-facing. They're the voice of the customer inside the org." — Chris Dunn
• "That account manager has been through that entire process. They were in discovery, they were in the pitch. They heard the client go, “I freaking hate that color.” — Chris Dunn
• "You're either the hunter, or you're the farmer, the nurturer. The hybrids really are what I would call the trappers." — Chris Griffin
• "As you grow, what ends up happening is that there's drift in the context. That's really what you're trying to solve with your three-pronged model." — Khalil

Key Takeaways

1. Account management and project management have become two distinct skill sets, even at smaller exhibit houses. Where one person used to cover both for repeat exhibits, hybrid and rental builds now make every project closer to starting from scratch.
2. BlueHive runs a three-pronged team. The AE leads the sale, the AM owns the client relationship as the voice of the customer inside the org, and the PM runs vendors, labor, trucking, and shop production.
3. AMs and PMs work from a flexible pool, not fixed pairs. The Director of Client Services watches bandwidth and matches AMs to AEs based on availability, industry fit, and client continuity.
4. Merging the estimator and project manager into a single role keeps pricing context with the person who runs the project. When BlueHive split those roles, gaps opened up between the proposal and the build.
5. Capacity is no longer measured in dollars. With more hybrid and rental booths in the mix, BlueHive tracks volume of projects per month per AM rather than the old monetary benchmark.
6. Setting expectations on day one keeps the relationship clean. The client knows the AE introduces the work, the AM owns the day-to-day, and the PM stays mostly internal during production.

More from Chris Dunn

• BlueHive Exhibits
• Event Marketer Toolbox podcast
• Chris Dunn on LinkedIn

Resources

• Need Help With An Event? Get in touch with CrewXP
• Watch On YouTube
• Follow Us On Social: LinkedIn, Facebook
• Have Questions? Email us

More from Chris

• CrewXP
• Email Chris
• Chris on LinkedIn

More from Khalil

• benali.com
• Email Khalil
• LinkedIn
• Instagram

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