The Traveling Saleswoman

I participated in a fundraising vendor fair last night at a local school. There were 12 tables, 11 of them populated by direct sales vendors of different varieties. All the usual suspects were there. The crowd was small and most vendors seemed pretty disappointed with the turnout and their return on the event. It would appear that I did better than most, turning a profit and securing a party booking. So I thought I would share some observations on what works at these events and what could be problematic:

DO…
* bring cash and carry items. When you’re meeting people for the first time without them being in the security of a friend’s home for a party, most people are reluctant to give you their credit card number and wait 2-3 weeks for their item to show up. Far better to let them take something home with them that day. Sell off your samples or use your consultant discount to purchase a few popular items cheaply.
* have food samples and/or a raffle at your table – anything to get customers to stop and linger at your table long enough that they will actually look at your product and listen to your brief spiel.
* offer a further donation (if it’s a charity event) if someone books with you – this encourages a decision.
* court the other vendors – they can be a good source of info on upcoming vendor events, and sometimes your best customers!

DON’T…
* sit and chat with your friends rather than actually manning your booth.
* act totally bored and disinterested.
* refuse to hand out catalogs because they are too expensive – just get their contact details so you can follow up.
* sell Christmas items at a fair in May on an 80º day!
* leave in the middle of the event to get pizza!