Congrats! You have started your own business. Now, you are looking for leads and to get your name out there. That's where a booth can come into play!
When working a booth, you may be thinking "Sales, Sales, Sales!" But in all honesty, booths are not about the sales. In some cases, yes, sales will be great. But the real reason we decide to invest in a booth is because we want to meet people.
Booths = Active Advertising
Face to face introduction of our company
Opportunity to sell ourselves as a consultant
Leads, where we can follow up vs. waiting for them to call us
Great recruiting ground
Chance to book parties, and meet people who can help us move our business forward.
FINDING BOOTHS
Booths are EVERYWHERE! You can find them for FREE, and you can find them for a FEE.
FREE BOOTHS
Often these are non-selling events. You may get to set up a table at a conference or a reunion, or a health fair, for example. The key to get into these is to show what you can OFFER them. For example, free cooking tips, or quick ways to make yourself look more professional, or parenting tips.
PAID BOOTHS
These booth events require a fee. It may be per table or by booth space. These are usually selling events, and some even involve applying and having to be accepted.
PLACES TO START:
County or state fairs
Home Show/Home Design Expos
Craft Fairs
Shopping Expo
Anything with EXPO in the name
Bridal Fairs/Kids Fairs
Fests or Festivals-- Fun Fest / Reading Fest / Family Fest
City celebrations or Birthday Bashes
Neighborhood parties
Church events/ dinners like Pork Loin Feed, etc
Park events
Carnivals
Bake Sales
Fundraisers
Women's events
Conferences (any conference where you have a product that fits the theme, reading conference, health conference)
Appreciation events
Events at hospitals
Often times it's the same type of event, just different wording
--Ask your sponsor to see pictures of differnt booth set-ups to get some ideas on how to set up.
--Are you working alone or do you need to bring in a team member? Bigger events are better with 2 people. You can also split it up into shifts. This is a great training ground for your team!
--I don't have a team, now what? Your choices are to work it yourself, or ask a friend to help and pay them in products! I've actually recruited friends this way. People who have helped me include: My mom, my mother-in-law, a hostess (who then joined), a wonderful old time friend I hadn't talked to forever but lived locally to the booth, my brother-in-laws sister, my cousin, a close buddy.
--Predetermine if you'd like to offer any specials at the booth.
So, now you'll need:
BASICS
Cash! (I take 20 $1s, 5 $5s, 4 $10s and 4 $20s, plus a roll of quarters/nickels/dimes and pennies)
Cash bag or cash box (use what works for you)
Pens
Order forms
Calculator
Catalogs (but keep them under the table to hand out if the opportunity presents)
Flyers to hand out like candy
Business cards
Recruiting packs
Hostess packs
Your calendar
Stickers or something fun to entice people
Lead/drawing forms (don't bring a box or basket for them, more later)
Tape (both scotch and the duck variety)
Dry Erase board to post specials
Cardstock paper
Markers to make things if needed
Scissors (sometimes they just come in handy)
Stapler or paperclips
Stamp with your info
Labels with your info
String (I've found it comes in handy)
Hooks to hang things
Large clip board for orders
Small clip board for lead slips
Price stickers, for items unmarked
Bags for your customers
Name tag
DISPLAY
Products samples
Products for sale
Display items, may be: Book or clothing racks, jewelry stands, crates, shelves boxes, etc.
Tablecloth (make it a cloth tablecloth, logo is good, but not necessary)
Banners to hang up in the back.
If no banners available, print out your company logo on Card stock
Using leads is essential to having a good booth, and ensuring good follow-up.
Place the lead slips on your front table, and by your check out. You can use small clipboards to hold them in place.
Have a small tent sign in front "Register to win a free ____"
When talking to customers, share with them "Oh, by the way, I'm having a drawing if you'd like to enter to win a XYZ." Then reach on the table to one of your clipboards and casually hand it to her.
Do not hold the clipboard to your chest, this makes you look aggressive. A "By The Way" approach works very well for me.
If you didn't have a chance, when checking them out, hand them a clipboard "While I'm writing this up, would you like to enter the drawing
Do not have a basket or place for them on the table. You want them to hand the slip directly to you. This allows you to make a connection and develop a relationship. Quickly glance it and if they marked something, now you can mention it. "I see you are interested in information on making some money. Great! Why are you interested in doing something like this?" Or, "Wonderful! I see you said maybe to a party. They are so much fun. You invite some friends, I bring the widgets, and you shop for free! I'm currently booking this month. Our special is." Then pause and let them lead the way.
On back, write notes to help you remember when they follow up.
Even if they put NO! next to one, don't let it discourage you. I've had recruits who wrote no.
Remember, ask questions, but dont' keep them long. Understand they weren't looking for a business or a party when they came. Respect their time
Watch their body language, and respect their companions.
LEAD FOLLOW-UP
Now you have the leads, what do you do with them?
When you get home, enter all email addresses into a database to add to your email loop. You should be doing a newsletter to keep your customers up-to-date on specials and new products
Make sure you mark what event you met them at on the top of the slip
Sort them out by interest
Put those who marked nothing aside. These are for your dry spells. They stopped by, they must like something about what you offer. 1 in 10ish of these will turn into something! Never throw a lead away. :-)
Seperate the remaining slips into subpiles of "best time to call"
Paperclip 5 - 10 together so you have a grouping to call at a time. Start with high priority, you bet, recruiting leads.
THE CALL
When you call, "Hi! This is Debbie with XYZ. Is Customer there? Hi! Do you have a quick minute to be on the phone?" This way you are respecting their time. Try talking to someone who is in the middle of stir-fry, changing a diaper, or running late to pick up their kids. (Yes, we all know we shouldn't answer the phone, yet we do!)
As you remember, we met at the booth! I loved meeting you and something you remember about them that you wrote down.
Was that your first time seeing our products?
What did you think?
How is that item you purchased
Awesome! Well, the reason I am calling is because I see that you are interested in making some money, or getting some free products, etc.
Remember, ask questions. :-)
YOUR QUESTIONS:
What is the cheapest, professional display you can put together? (with an emphasis on CHEAP) How do you display Kid Kits?
I use items I have around my household. Baskets are awesome! Crates, like milk crates and collapsible crates, folding bookshelves, and even a DVD stand for the chapter books. I also use bookstands. For Kids Kids, put them in a box, or place them on the floor. When I do small space events, I have a large basket I put on top of a TV tray (which I cover with fabric). Then I put hooks on the outside to feature a few. I prefer bags to boxes for this.
If doing a cash and carry event, how do you decide how much inventory to have on hand?
That's a tough one and depends on your budget. For the most part, people will buy what they see and like, but dont' stress on this. You'll sell about 1/4 - 1/2 of what you have on hand. :-) So if you want to sell $250, you want $600 - $1000 on hand. It will build up, so don't worry in the beginning. Your goal is not to go into debt. When you reorder, take advantage of hostess benefits to increase your inventory.
And YES, I've had people order before too. :-)
If you only have one table, what are some space saving tips?
Since we sell books, I use milk crates and push the table back. Then put the crates on the side and create bookshelves or display areas. :-) I can get alot in that way.
If it's a leads and orders events (no inventory), what do you display?
A great variety of what we offer, I just don't have to take as much (woohoo!). :-) Try displaying the month's recruiting kit to show them a great investment.
I need ideas on determining if the booth is a good cost or too high.
Above I broke down what to look for. Here is an easy answer, if you dont' have the money in your account, it's too high. Booths are great, but they are a gamble. Weather can be bad that day, people may come but not buy, there are many unknowns. Now some are better venues then others, like a Kidsfest for children's products. Figure out how many parties you need to book to pay for the event and then look at foot traffic. Talk with your sponsor to to see if it may be worth your time or not.
Can you share words to use to talk to people without scaring them away.
The secret is to ask questions and find out their needs. If you are busy, a good quick intro is:
Hi! Are you familiar with XYZ? Today our special is buy 5 get 1 free! Oh, and we are doing a drawing if you'd like to win a free book. Feel free to come in and browse!
If you have time, then ask them a question or 2, maybe share a product.
The secret is not to hover over them like a fly. Be a butterfly is a term I've heard used. Flutter to say "Hi" and welcome them, then go do something, then come back to check on them and fly away. :-)
