In the past several months, my husband and I have attended various Book Fairs, Festivals and Fundraisers for Churches/Schools/Temples/Pet Adoptions and Rescue Groups promoting my book "Paws of Wisdom-Valuable Lessons We Can Learn From Our Pets.... ". One thing that I could not help but notice at some of these events is that not everyone's day was going as well as ours. We were experiencing a constant stream of people stopping at our table and buying my book, while some of our fellow authors or vendors were sitting idle and waiting. Several or our customers also came back to chat and brought their friends to buy from us. We were having a great time.
Now, I have to admit that has not always been the case in the past. We, like others had experienced the same thing that our fellow vendors were experiencing--and we had to stop and evaluate what we were doing and how we needed to change things around to be more successful. Spending money for these events and not selling anything is not fun, it is actually pretty depressing.So, we decided to get better at it and we have observed other vendors, we have made changes to our presentation and we have learned and evolved (and we still have a long way to go). But since we have seen a significant improvement in our sales, I felt that I had to share with my fellow authors or other vendors some of our successful strategies.
First,get rid of your Director's Chair. Do not avoid perspective customers. Don't hide behind your table. Be friendly, smile. Get out there and interact with the public and strike up a conversation. Ask yourself : Why are you there? You have spent too much time, money and energy in creating your book/art/product. You spent money to exhibit at the show and you are spending your time . You want to sell your product. Why would you want to hide?
Second,when you stop your prospective customers explain to them what makes your book/product unique and how would it benefit them. Tell them how you came about producing it. Some people ask me what made me write the book, others may not ask, but I tell them anyway. Most people are interested, and when they buy your book/product they now have additional information about it and they can tell their friends and family.
Third,give a reason for someone to stop at your table. Have an appealing display and something that will create curiosity. Once they stop and you engage them in conversation give them suggestions for alternative uses of your product. My husband always tells people why the book makes a great gift for loved ones, he gives them suggestions that they may have not have thought about. Help your customer make a good decision.
Fourth, run a show special. For example, we started offering a free gift bag with the purchase of 2 books, or if they purchase 5 books they get a book free (one of our lower priced books). Around the holidays maybe you can offer them a holiday gift bag with the purchase.
Fifth, invite people to sign up for a free drawing to win a signed copy of your book. This will also allow you to have their name and email for future marketing purposes, for distribution of your newsletter, if you have one now, or plan to create one later.
Sixth, take a good look at your display. How does it look? Does it create an inviting atmosphere where people want to come and buy from you? Put yourself in the customers shoes..Would you want to stop at your booth? This has been as I mentioned earlier, a learning experience for us. We have attended many fairs ourselves and have gone from booth to booth to see how others do it and what seems to work. Which booths are people drawn to? and Why? What causes them to walk in to that booth? Take notice and take notes so when you get home you can apply it to your own set up.
Last, but by all means not least, have FUN and enjoy the time and the people. Keep your booth inviting, keep smiling, be friendly and non-threatening throughout the entire day. Remember, every time you stop someone, they are meeting you for the first time and first impressions are the most important. You only have a few seconds to make a great first impression.
So, have FUN, make people happy and have lots of SUCCESS!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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