RISE AND GRIND
I am so thrilled that you have decided to join me this evening! As the weather grows colder, the Fall and Winter craft and vendor show season really starts to heat up. It seems like every church, school and organization in your community is hosting a vendor or craft show. For a direct sales consultant, this can be a very busy and exciting time of year! Now you can take part in craft and vendor fairs all year long, but there is no easier time to jump in than the fall. Fall is prime buying season which means people come to these events looking to start tackling their Christmas lists. Here are a few tips to help you have an amazingly successful Vendor Event! First, I have to say before we even get started that Vendor Events should not be the lifeline of your business...home or online parties should be. Vendor shows are great for finding new customer and getting your name out there. If you have the opportunity to book a home party on the same day as a vendor show, choose the home party. It can becoming pretty pricey if you replace vendor shows with home parties. With that said, vendor shows can be very helpful in your direct sales business if they are done properly. We are going to start off with some basics to make sure that we are all on the same page. Before you even get started researching Vendor Events, you will want to familiarize yourself with your company's Policies and Procedures on Vendor Show and Events so you know what is expected of you as a consultant representing your company. SET YOUR GOALS The purpose of a vendor show is to find new hostesses, customers and potential team members. Think about what your goals are for this vendor event and focus your energy there. Do you want to book more parties? Looking to grow your team? Or sell some of your inventory? I keep an eye out for the women who need some extra income or who is looking for a girls night out to escape the every day chaos. I invite them into my booth to see what direct sales can do for them. WHERE DO YOU FIND VENDOR SHOW OPPORTUNITIES? Google Vendor Events in Your Community with these key terms: Local Festivals County Fairs Job Fairs Craft Shows Bridal Shows DO YOUR HOMEWORK Once you locate an event that you would be interested in, you will want to confirm with the event coordinator that there isn't another consultant from your company signed up already. I typically will pay only $25 - $75 for an event that I will attend by myself. If the fee is more expensive than what I am willing to pay on my own, I will contact another team member to see if she would be interested in splitting the booth fee with me. This also means splitting the leads, use your own judgment on how you would like to handle. Very large vendor events can be pretty expensive and can range up to $700. Be sure to do your homework before investing this kind of money. With an event this size, it's best to enlist the help of several team members. QUESTIONS TO ASK THE EVENT COORDINATOR Is this a first time event? How well was this event marketed? How many people has this event attracted in the past? How many vendors will be in attendance? Don't be afraid to ask these questions, you want to make sure this event is worth your time and money. For larger events, I have even spoken to a vendor from another Direct Sales Company who has had experience this event in the past. I want to get her knowledge and advice about her experience to see if it is something I would be interested in. You also want to familiarize yourself with the Policies and Procedures of that particular event. A few other questions to ask the event coordinator are: If the event is outside, what is there is bad weather? How early do you need to arrive to set up your booth? Is the event supplying vendors with tables or do you have to bring your own? Is there a contract to sign? You want to make sure there are no surprises when you show up. DISPLAY OF YOUR BOOTH When setting up your booth, you want to keep these key points in mind: Keep it clean and simple. Keep it inviting. An more importantly, is it obvious that it's a booth representing your company? What makes your booth unique. Would I stop at my booth if I were a passers by? Setting up your booth should not be difficult, grab a tablecloth, your kit, and a tent if the event were outside. You want to make your job look and fun and easy incase any potential team members stop by. Now that you have your booth set up, now how do you get people into your booth? Offer a Giveaway! You can giveaway a gift card or a product. Women are very visual and would love to win one of our beautifully packaged products. Have a pad of paper and a sign that you are doing a giveaway. After speaking to each person who stops by your booth, say to them "It was such a pleasure speaking with you, would you like to enter my giveaway?" Who doesn't love free stuff? I have not had anyone turn me down yet. Ask them to write on your notepad their name, phone number and email address so you can contact them if they won. At the end of the vendor show, you now have everyone's email address that you spoke to. The biggest benefit to doing this is that you can now add all of their emails to your monthly newsletter. This year, I am trying something new at my vendor events and displaying a booking tree. It's a similar idea to my Deal or No Deal booking game. It offers a prize for booking a party on the date they selected. You always want to stand outside of your booth and invite people in. Do not sit behind your booth, it makes you look unapproachable. WHAT TO HAND OUT AT YOUR BOOTH One of the biggest questions I receive when I am working my booth is "Can I have a catalog?" I don't mind handing out catalogs, don't get me wrong, you just don't want to give a catalog to everyone. That can get pretty expensive! What I do is that I have all of my old catalogs sitting out and I have them labeled. And that label says something catchy...'Although this catalog is old, take one look and you will be sold. Contact me for a new catalog!' This is a great way to get rid of your old catalogs. And its a great way to conserve my new catalogs. I keep my current catalogs out of sight and reserve them only for serious leads such as someone wanting to book a party or join my team. Some other things to have on the table are business cards, recruiting packets for potential team members, and of course, a little jar of suckers or stickers to give to all the little kids that stop by your booth. Keep in mind, you want to keep a clutter free area. Under the table, you will want to keep hostess packet for all interested in booking parties. You are going to want to keep your booking calendar tucked away for easy access for those who want to book their parties that day. Keep a notepad of all the warm and hot leads that you receive. Keep notes about what you talked about. They will all start to run together as your day goes on and what you are going to want to remember what you and that sweet stay at home mom talked about that stopped by your booth and wanted to learn more about becoming a direct sales consultant. She would make the perfect addition to your team and you don't want to forget what you two talked about. THE FORTUNE IS IN THE FOLLOW UP When I get home from my event, I send out a mass email reminding them that we met at the event and thanking them for their time. Congratulate the winner of your giveaway and let them know you will be in touch with them. This keeps the conversation going and the relationship building. I add any hot or warm lead to my lead binder that I keep with me at all times. If I am ever in the car waiting to pick up my daughter at preschool or have a few minutes during my kid's naptime, I pick up the phone and call my leads. It is imperative to make an appointment in your calendar in a few days after the event to follow up with all of your leads before they go cold. If you don't schedule time for follow up them you wasted your money by letting those leads go cold. VENDOR EVENT DO'S AND DON'TS DO stand in front of your booth and talk to people. DON'T sit your chair and wait for them to come to you. DO call your leads and DON'T talk yourself out of it by telling yourself you are bugging them. DO put your cell phone away and DON'T text or Facebook from your booth the entire time. DO have a sign at your booth that says 'Join My Team' DO make the best out of your event even if there is a low attendance. DON'T forget to get to know the other vendors and leave your business cards with them. DO your homework so there are NO surprises when you arrive at the event. DON'T eat at your booth. DO work smarter, not harder. DO talk to everyone who passes by and DON'T prejudge, you never know who is needs a little direct sales in their life. DO build a good relationship with the event coordinator and DON'T forget to ask to secure your spot at their next event. DO remember you are representing your company at your booth and you always want to be at your best. I hope you found these tips to be helpful! Have you been signing up for Fall Craft and Vendors shows yet? I would love to hear how you plan on having a successful direct sales Vendor Event. For even more tips for your business, follow me on Instagram,Twitter,Facebook
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