Why Attending Vendor Events is Crucial to the Success of Your Home Party Plan / Direct Sales Business 0
Lets face it......the Home Party Plan - Direct Sales Industry has changed. Technology has totally transformed this industry and it will never be the same.
Gone are the days of holding 3-5 home parties a week to build your Direct Sales Business. Heck, even holding 1-2 home parties a week is pushing it. Now, most Consultants in the industry are lucky to hold 1-2 parties a MONTH!
Home parties used to be the ONLY way to build a Direct Sales Business and be successful. The idea was to book a few parties, to meet new people, to book MORE parties, to meet even MORE PEOPLE and so on. It was about exponential growth......and it was built on building personal relationships. It was done locally in your own city.
We didn't have the internet. There were no facebook parties back then and people socialized more in person. People used to LOOK FORWARD to getting together with their friends in person at home parties. Today, people don't feel as much of an urge to get together at home parties because they already "feel" constantly connected to their friends through social media.
Maybe they should rename the Home Party Plan Industry to the SOCIAL SELLING INDUSTRY, instead! After all, that really is what it has become, right?
So how do we adapt to this change? Depending upon your age, you may not know anything is different. Holding Facebook Parties seems like the norm to you. However, what you may not know is that it is still CRUCIAL to the success of your business to build a local customer base and a Team of Consultants that you are CONNECTED to IN PERSON!!! You can influence someone when you are face to face with them so much more than you can if you are only conversing with them online. Holding Facebook parties is great, but you are still missing that personal element!
So, how do you do this, you ask, when people aren't willing to hold in home parties anymore? It's SIMPLE! ATTEND VENDOR EVENTS!!!!
Vendor events now come in 2nd place to holding parties online when it comes to building a Direct Sales Business. Home Parties, in our opinion, comes in third. So if you are not willing or able to hold in home parties, or you haven't mastered the art of Facebook Parties, vendor events is the KEY to meeting those new people and building personal relationships with them. Its how you build your local customer base of people who will come back to you to get more product, especially if you sell a consumable product! If you service your customers well, people are truly loyal. Most people know how this business works and your customers will come back to YOU because of the relationship you have built with them....in person!
This is also the best way to Sponsor new Consultants and build a local Team. Why is that important when you can just sponsor people you've met online? Because if you want to influence and inspire your team to become successful, you can do it so much more effectively in person, than you can online. Remember, the only way YOU will become successful as a Leader is to have successful Consultants on your Team!
Success at Vendor Events
Keep in mind that selling products at vendor events is just as important as meeting lots of new people. You want people to go home with your products, experience them and fall in love with them. But you also need to make sure that you have a way to get back in touch with them, too! Depending upon the event, you wont have time to sit and get to know EVERY single person. You may get too busy at times, so it is crucial to get their contact info, especially their EMAIL ADDRESS!
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have each person fill out a door prize drawing slip, which includes all of their info, so that you have a way to get back with them, or add them to your email list. Invest in giving away a really nice door prize, or a basket of a sampling of your products. Trust us, it will be worth it! Remember, you want them to give you their info.....so give them a good reason to!
Door prize slips should ALWAYS include:
1) Name
2) Phone Number
3)Email Address
Ask these three questions:
1) Are you interested in Hosting a Party to receive FREE PRODUCTS YES/NO
2) Are you interested in learning more about becoming a Consultant? YES/NO
3) Would you like to be informed about upcoming specials, sales or events? YES/NO
Now that you understand how crucial attending vendor events is to building your Direct Sales Business, now its time to FIND the events and get them on your calender!
Vendor events are easy find on facebook. Just type in "vendor events" and the "name of your city, state or county in the search field. You'll be surprised at how many groups are set up that discuss and promote vendor events and craft shows in your area!
We recommend events that are smaller.....at least at first. Doing large expos can be costly and are very ovewhelming for the first timer. Events that typically cost $25-$50 are your best best and wont break the bank.
Its also important to do MANY events. Not just one or two. Not every event will be successful. Ask others who have attended the event in the past to see if it was successful for them. Events that have been around year after year are usually best, as attendance will typically be better. The more events you do, the better you will get at it and the more people you will meet. Reinvest the money you make at one event into buying more product for cash & carry at your next event and so on. Don't be surprised when you see some of the same customers from one event at another event! Attending multiple events helps you to build brand recognition and that shows poeple that you are serious about your business. Let your customers know what other events you will be attending so that they can look for you!
Lastly, be sure to create an inviting booth or table display that really shows off your products. Keep things simple and uncluttered. (This is where Stack Displays really come in handy!) You want your booth or table to look inviting. Always have some sort of banner so that people can easily see what you sell and to also give a more professional look. Display your products at different heights using something like our tiered displays. It lifts your products off the table and allows you to group your items in ways that make sense to the customer. Be sure to always have a solid color tablecloth that not only covers the entire table, but goes down to the floor to cover the legs of the table, as well. Their are lots of articles on creating the perfect vendor display table or vendor booth, so be sure to do some research. The best thing to do is to attend some vendor events and look at how others have set up their booths, tables or displays. This will give you some inspiration on how you may want to set up yours!
Good Luck at your next event and happy VENDORING!
To your success,
The Stack Displays Team!
*Vendor Pictures Coutesy of:
Perfectly Posh
Why Attending Vendor Events is Crucial to the Success of Your Home Party Plan / Direct Sales Business 0
Lets face it......the Home Party Plan - Direct Sales Industry has changed. Technology has totally transformed this industry and it will never be the same.
Gone are the days of holding 3-5 home parties a week to build your Direct Sales Business. Heck, even holding 1-2 home parties a week is pushing it. Now, most Consultants in the industry are lucky to hold 1-2 parties a MONTH!
Home parties used to be the ONLY way to build a Direct Sales Business and be successful. The idea was to book a few parties, to meet new people, to book MORE parties, to meet even MORE PEOPLE and so on. It was about exponential growth......and it was built on building personal relationships. It was done locally in your own city.
We didn't have the internet. There were no facebook parties back then and people socialized more in person. People used to LOOK FORWARD to getting together with their friends in person at home parties. Today, people don't feel as much of an urge to get together at home parties because they already "feel" constantly connected to their friends through social media or by texting.
Maybe they should rename the Home Party Plan Industry to the SOCIAL SELLING INDUSTRY, instead! After all, that really is what it has become, right?
So how do we adapt to this change? Depending upon your age, you may not know anything is different. Holding Facebook Parties seems like the norm to you. However, what you may not know is that it is still CRUCIAL to the success of your business to build a customer base and a Team of Consultants that you are CONNECTED to IN PERSON!!! You can influence someone when you are face to face with them so much more than you can if you are only conversing with them online. Holding Facebook parties is great, but you are still missing that personal element!
So, how do you do this, you ask, when people aren't willing to hold in home parties anymore? It's SIMPLE! ATTEND VENDOR EVENTS!!!!
Vendor events now come in 2nd place to holding parties online when it comes to building a Direct Sales Business. Home Parties, IMO, comes in third. So if you are not willing or able to hold in home parties, or you haven't mastered the art of Facebook Parties, vendor events is KEY to meeting those new people and building personal relationships with them. Its how you build your local customer base of people who will come back to you to get more product, especially if you sell a consumable product! If you service your customers well, people are truly loyal. Most people know how this business works and your customers will come back to YOU because of the relationship you have built with them....in person!
This is also the best way to Sponsor new Consultants and build a local Team. Why is that important when you can just sponsor people you've met online? Because if you want to influence and inspire your team to become successful, you can do it so much more effectively in person, than you can online. Remember, the only way YOU will become successful as a Leader is to have successful Consultants on your Team!
Keep in mind that selling products at vendor events is important, too. You want people to go home with your products and experience them and fall in love with them. But you also need to make sure that you have a way to get back in touch with them, too! Depending upon the event, you wont have time to sit and get to know EVERY single person. You may get too busy at times, so it is crucial to get their contact info, especially their EMAIL ADDRESS!
ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have each person fill out a door prize drawing slip, which includes all of their info, so that you have a way to get back with them, or add them to your email list. Invest in giving away a really nice door prize, or a basket of a sampling of your products. Remember, you want them to give you their info.....so give them a good reason to!
Door prize slips should ALWAYS include:
1) Name
2) Phone Number
3) Email Address
Ask these three questions:
1) Are you interested in Hosting a Party to receive FREE PRODUCTS YES/NO
2) Are you interested in learning more about becoming a Consultant? YES/NO
3) Would you like to be informed about upcoming specials, sales or events? YES/NO
Now that you understand how crucial attending vendor events is to building your Direct Sales Business, now its time to FIND the events and get them on your calender!
Vendor events are easy find on facebook. Just type in "vendor events" and the "name of your city or state" in the search field. You'll be surprised at how many groups are set up that discuss and promote vendor events and craft shows in your area!
We recommend events that are smaller.....at least at first. Doing large expos can be costly and very ovewhelming for the first timer. Events that typically cost $25-$50 are your best bet and wont break the bank.
Its also important to do MANY events. Not just one or two. Not every event will be successful. Ask others who have attended the event in the past to see if it was successful for them. Events that have been around year after year are usually best, as attendance will typically be better. The more events you do, the better you will get at it and the more people you will meet. Reinvest the money you make at one event into buying more product for cash & carry at your next event and so on. Don't be surprised when you see some of the same customers from one event at another event! Attending multiple events helps you to build brand recognition and that shows poeple that you are serious about your business. Let your customers know what other events you will be attending so that they can look for you!
Lastly, be sure to create an inviting booth or table display that really shows off your products. Keep things simple and uncluttered. You want your booth or table to look inviting. Always have some sort of banner so that people can easily see what you sell and to also give a more professional look. Display your products at different heights using something like Stack Displays. It lifts your products off the table and allows you to group your items in ways that make sense to the customer. Be sure to always have a solid color tablecloth that not only covers the entire table, but goes down to the floor to cover the legs of the table, as well. There are lots of articles on creating the perfect vendor display table or vendor booth, so be sure to do some research. The best thing to do is to attend some vendor events and look at how others have set up their booths, tables or displays. This will give you some inspiration on how you may want to set up yours!
Good Luck at your next event and happy VENDORING!
*Vendor Pictures Coutesy of:
Perfectly Posh
Creating an Unforgettable Display at Vendor Events & Craft Shows! 4
You arrive early and start setting up your booth. It's early in the morning and you only have a certain amount of time before the event starts. As you are closer to being all set up, you find yourself gazing at the other booths or vendor tables. Not because you are curious as to what products they sell, but because you are sizing up the way their booth looks compared to yours! Come on.....admit it! Everyone does! At this point, you ask yourself, "Does my booth look as good as theirs?" Honestly, you SHOULD be asking yourself this question!
How your booth looks is very important because you only have a short amount of time to get the attention of the largest number of people that you can! Which booths people go to will depend upon which ones visually stand out first. Customers also know that they only have a certain amount of time to visit all of the booths before the end of the event, so they are certainly going to go to the ones that seem worthy of their time!
CLICK HERE TO SHOP AT STACK DISPLAYS
HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO FOLLOW:
- Don't get in a rut doing the same thing. If you attend many events and have a local following, change your display up a bit to give your customers something new to see each time they visit your booth, without taking away from your basic theme.
- Have a theme or recognizable look to your booth. Utilize color or design to make your booth visially appealing and recognizable to repeat customers.
- Don't have a FLAT display. Build up your display using different levels. Raise items on the back of your table up higher and at eye level, then place items in the front of the display lower.
- Use props that make sense. Don't use too many props that clutter your table and confuse people as to what you actually sell.
- Brand yourself with brochures, business cards or postcards and display them easily for people to take. These items do not have to expensive, but having them makes you look more professional and gives people a way to contact you after the event.
- If you sell jewelry or apparel items, have a mirror that your customers can use to see how your products look on them.
- Display your products so that customers can easily try them on, or view them.
- Utilize extra lighting in your booth. Even if you are just using vendor tables, extra lighting that is facing your products will really make a big difference! Even if there is enough lighting at your event, you'd be surprised what adding a little extra direct lighting on your products does!
- Price ALL of your products for sale. If the event is busy, you may lose customers who have to wait just to find out the cost of your items.
- Be creative with your display. Try and imagine that your display is an actual retail display in a store. How would that look? Just because it is a vendor event, doesn't mean your display has to look cheap!
- Utilize the space well. There are many ways to fill up a booth space. Decide if you should allow customers to come into your booth, or if it would be more feasable to have your tables on the outside perimeter of the space. Do you want to be in front talking directly to your customers, or should you be behind your tables? These are important things to consider!
- Make sure you have easy access to all of the supplies you need. Order forms, credit card processor, your cash and anything else you need to complete your sale.
- Utilize fabric curtains around your tent or booth space that coordinate with your display.
- Solid color tabelcloths are usually best. Using patterns will make it harder for people to see your products.
- Use a well fitting tablecloth. A sure fire way to make your display look cheap is to not use a tablecloth that actually fits your table well and covers the entire table in the front and sides.
- Brand your products using creative labels. Again, these don't have to expensive. They can even be simple hang tag labels. Make them yourself, especially if your items are handmade. Add information about the product along with your website or contact info on the labels.
- After the event, look around at some of the other booths and displays. Take notes on things that other people are doing that you like. You can get a lot of great ideas on what you can do differently at your next event!
- Just remember, simple is better. Having a clean look to your display will always win over having a cluttered display with too much stuff.
- Stack Displays
- Tags: craft show display Craft shows product display vendor booth vendor events
