| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 10:03:59 AM
I don't talk about this much because it doesn't usually tie in to the farmgirl theme as much as the things the girls here are selling, but I'm just really excited about this so I thought I would see if anyone had any tips for a successful booth.
I am selling craft kits by Crayola for a company called Big yellow Box. I am the only active representitive for Spokane and only one of 2 in all of Montana, business is doing really well in Spokane but I am having a hard time getting started in Helena mostly because I don't know a lot of people here yet, and my spokane business took off with word of mouth more than anything else... I am really hoping that I can expand business with this trade show to save myself the 5 hour drive to Spokane each month.. I am actually getting to the point where I could really use someone else to start doing them over there, because I have had more demand than I could fill in one week.
If anyone would like to see my website it's www.bigyellowbox.net/letsplay
If any of you are experienced in trade shows or booths, I would love some feedback on the things that work really well to draw peoples eye, because I'm a total newb at that sort of thing!
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| lovejanet |
Posted - Jul 20 2006 : 04:54:09 AM
congrats Bobbi!
love, janet
http://www.lovejanet.typepad.com/ |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 19 2006 : 4:30:57 PM
Oh Bobbi,
I am so happy for you! That is too cute the story of the little boy! I hope those bookings bring you much sucess and more business! Thank you for letting us know how it went!!!
Hugz!!!
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| cmandle |
Posted - Jul 19 2006 : 08:00:22 AM
Congratulations Bobbi! Keep on movin'!
Catherine |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 19 2006 : 07:17:22 AM
Well it went pretty well! I booked two shows and sold two things, which makes up the cost of the booth. I went with the grouping of 3 crayons and that seemed to do pretty well. I also put lollipops out for people.
It was funny this little kid was digging in my lollipop jar and i asked him if there was a particular flavor he was looking for and he said "cotton candy is my favorite, but I already picked them all out" I just let him keep them, and he moved on.
It was good to get out and activly talk to people about the company. It was really a lot of fun.
B.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 8:24:11 PM
Bobbi,
You are more then welcome!! I hope it helped and I wish you the very best at the show!!! And yes please, if there is anything else, please drop me question or e-mail.
Hugz Til Next Time...
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 8:17:57 PM
Thanks so much for your input! No one I know really knows much abut this stuff so I am really winging it here! The main company has some tips and stuff but they don't have a section on howmuch to initially spend or what percentages to put into it, so that is VERY helpful! If I think of anything else I'll be sure to ask!
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 8:11:18 PM
Ok in that case, Make sure your business card is absolutly great and maybe try and find a cute and very inexpensive way to promote.
Ideas might be;
Look into small bags with bright primary colored candy inside (if you buy the bags and candy bulk the cost of these bags will be very low) attach your card with a small piece of raffia or ribbion (whichever is least expensive) OR make your busines info on your computer in a way that you can place over the crayon wrapper as a "wrapper" then instead of Business cards hand out single crayons with your info as their label ( I would not attach a business card to one crayon, it may look a bit odd). OR at your local craft supply find crayon beads or embelishments and attach those to your cards to make them stand out.
There are three ideas, I am sure you can come up with more!  The main idea with retail is promotion to the everyday person who just really likes your product because they like crafts or have children they want to entertain. I hope I was of some help! Idealy you do not want to spend more then 5%-10% of your profites in a small venture like that if you can help it. With the trade show you would not count that as a one month expense because you only go once or twice a year I would imagine so that would figure out as $4.17 per month if done once a year and $8.34 per month if you do it twice. Your spending budget for business expenses should not exceed $25 dollars a month and is better kept at $12.50. Of course as your sales increase so does the budget for expansion. Of course you would want to top off at some point and allow your profits to increase all by themselves!!! I hope this helps and please feel free to ask anything else...I miss it all and can't wait to get back in the swing of things so I am enjoying this very much!!
Hugz!!!
PS if you tied your card to say three crayons with raffia, this may work but one would not be a good visually and therefor may work against you. 
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 7:38:34 PM
I am retail, and I make 25 percent off of each sale. I am averaging about 1000.00 a month in sales which comes out to 250.00 a month.. not huge but it's still nice to be able to bring in extra without having to spend much time away from the kids... thats the reason I want to keep expenses to a minimum, because if I am only bringing in 250.00 I don't want to eat my profits. It's a smallish show, so the booth was only 50.00... would it be silly to put a business card on an individual Crayon? I would have enough then. It would come to 1.2 cents per crayon, plus the ink, paper to print on and the time rigging up something that didn't look rediculous...
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 7:24:20 PM
Bobbi,
The only way I could tell you for sure if it is cost effective is to know what an average sale/order would be for you and what percentage you make from each sale. Without this information, my answer may not be very good. However at face value, yes that would be a very good idea! You should have enough business cards for everyone. However, since you do not have many crayon packs I would keep those for customers who seem very interested and/or place an order. If you can get more that would be great then I would hand the crayon packs with your business information out and give an inexpensive kit to those that place an order over a certain dollar amount. Personally I remember vendors that gave me samples/gifts (if the gifts were useful ie a pen) more because at the end of the day they are an extra reminder. But you do have to factor in the cost effectivness of your business helpers so you spend a minimum of your profits.
Are you selling wholesale or retail? If you do this as a retail business, this might change they way I would approach things. I was a Buyer and attended wholesale trade shows. You were speaking about "parties" hence my questions.
Hope this was of some help and anything else I can help with, please let me know! I am always happy too!!!
Hugz!!
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| Whimsy_girl |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 6:33:06 PM
I do have a question Buttercup... Because it is Crayola, I went to the store and took advantage of a school supply sale that had boxes of Crayola crayons for 20 cents each. Is that too much to spend and be cost effective if I intend to make business label stickers and put them on the crayon boxes to hand out in place of business cards?
I know that will make me a little more memorable, but I wasn't sure if it is too much of an investment when I could use them as prizes at my parties. Either way they are freebies to people, I just want to use them in the most business savvy way I can. I would either be able to give them out to people as thank you gifts for booking a show, making it an incentive for them to re-book or to show party attendees that there are perks to hosting, or I can hand them out at the show to draw people in and be remembered later when their kids are coloring on the walls with them..!!
I was able to get 70 of them, and the show is supposed to bring in appx. 1000 people... How many cards should I be prepared to hand out?
What do you think ?
B.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
| Buttercup |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 5:58:55 PM
Bobbi,
I owned my own store for years and was a purchase agent for 8 plus years for a small college and health spa so I have been to MANY trade shows. I would be more then happy to help with anything I can. As Beth mentioned, presentation is a HUGE part of it. But more then that you want people to be able to feel, hold, and sample your product. If at all possible samples with a catalog and business card are a big help because especially at large trade shows there is so much to see and take in you can be easily forgotton at the end of the day if all they have is a price list and plain business card. And then just as immportant, whoever is running the booth must be pleasent, organized, and comfortable. If I as a buyer see a seller flustered, disorganized, or frumpy, grumpy, pushy, curt, etc. I remember that and am catious about buying from them even if I loved the product/presentation because if that is my rep, I am stuck dealing with those problems for possibly years and would much raither find something else with a better rep. Also something to further show how important this can be, I had several reps that I loved and when they left their companies and went on to rep for someone else I would often end up with that product too because of the rep.
Anything I can do to help, I would be more then happy to just let me know! I wish you the very best at the show!
Hugz....
"If we could maintain the wonder of childhood and at the same time grasp the wisdom of age, what wonder,what wisdom,what life would be ours" |
| lovejanet |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 2:45:38 PM
hi Bobbi,
I have done some flea markets and shows. They are fun, you get to meet people and other vendors. Presentation is a big part of it and your product as well. Sounds like you have both, so you should be saving yourself that long drive in no time. It's just a matter of time.
Good Luck!
love, janet
http://www.lovejanet.typepad.com/ |
| happymama58 |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 1:09:10 PM
Absolutely no experience with either one here, but I wanted to wish you good luck this weekend. I'll be thinking of you!
Some people search for happiness; others create it.
http://happymama58.typepad.com/my_weblog/ |
| celebrate2727 |
Posted - Jul 11 2006 : 12:51:25 PM
I currently do Flea markets with my wares and all I can say is presentation is everything. I try different things but have found that having a good table is very important. My tables are covered with checkerboard tableclothes, then I add sunflower vines and picnic baskets filled with goodies. Plus it doesn't hurt that I have Suzi Soap which smells fantastic! I get a lot of people commenting on how nice everything looks.
Good Luck!
blessings
beth
Dreaming of Friday Night Lights
http://bethsblissnblossomfarm.blogspot.com
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