News and Notes
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Tricks of the Trade
Fax, email or mail us your favorite tricks of the trade!
203-268-2251-FAX, eastcoastartisan@aol.com, P.O.Box 4056, Monroe, CT 06468
- Do your handmade items belong in a grocery bag?
I don't think so. If you are spending quality time on a quality product you need to showcase your product until the very end. Most craftsmen don't think about providing packaging for their work. If your customer is paying good money for a great handmade product shouldn't you provide really great packaging for them?
For some reason packaging was always a big deal to me. I always ordered matching boxes, bags with tissue and special ribbons- all color coordinated. I even make my own stickers with my logo (matching of course) to put on my boxes and bags. Almost all of my customers comment on how nice my packaging is. I even had one customer write to tell me that my packaging was a class act.
When you wrap your product like you care it says a lot about your work. I have seen many metalsmiths put their jewelry in a zip lock clear plastic bag and hand it to the customer. Why bother? It takes the fun out of the purchase for the customer. How about putting your work in a crinkle plastic grocery bag? You are giving your customer three different messages. The first is that you don't really think highly of your work. The second is you are too cheap to spend money on your packaging, and the third is that you don't really care about giving your customer the best.
Your customer may want packaging that he or she can use as a gift. I have all of my bags ready- hole punched for the ribbons, post cards tucked inside and then folded flat again. In my boxes I have business cards. It takes me about a minute to package and tie the bag and hand it to the customer. Distinctive packaging may also lead to more sales once the customer sees that your packaging is ready for gift giving. A few dollars spent will say a lot to your customers about your product and will tell your customers that you value them as a client. Skip the plastic crinkle grocery bag this spring. Get distinctive!
- What's your show stopper?
Chances are if you don't have a show stopper you should have. You know, that one really fabulous piece that you really don't want to sell but will for the right price. Once you have your customers attention on the show stopper you can engage in some casual conversation and they will most likely move to their right. Items on the right of show stopper should also be placed carefully in order to impress the potential customer. You are now trying to draw the customer in. Another problem: are your items too cluttered? This will make it hard to focus on a particular item. The more air around an item the more important the items seems. Too many of one item may tend to make your customer back off. You can always tell your customer you have more items in the back. This makes them feel more special. They are having a private showing of your fabulous items before anyone else!
- Keep some of your things packed for your shows at all times so you don't forget them: loose change, hand wipes, extra pens, scissors, packing tape, bee spray, tylenol.
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Try changing your display to keep it fresh, you could update your drapery materials with brighter colors, check all of your display items to make sure they look new and if not refurbish them before the show season so your booth does not look tired.
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Pack a spray bottle filled with water to spray on your wrinkled display fabric.
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Bring extra shoes and socks because if the grass is long your feet will be soaked all day!
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Make sure you try out your new display ahead of time to make sure things are the way you expect them to be and that you do not have any problems.
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An empty 10 gallon joint compound bucket filled with water and a bungee attached makes a great tie down for windy days. The top snaps on so the water won't leak out on the way to the show, and at the end of the show you can dump the water out before loading up.
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Freeze water bottles for those hot summer days. Cabelas.com has battery powered fans!
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If you had a good show thank the promoter for having you. It is a simple gesture and most promoters put a lot of time and energy into their show.
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Instead of handing out small business cards at shows, consider a large format postcard. Small cards will most likely get lost while a large postcard is very eye catching, dramatic and extremely professional looking. A good source for postcards is ModernPostcard.com.
A less expensive source is VistaPrint.com- the quality is not as good a Modern Postcard but their prices are!
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Office Max sells thin double sided glossy paper made by Hammermill that prints extremely well and is great for creating a sell sheet for you to hand out at shows. Print up about 30 for each show highlighting some of your best selling items and only give out to serious customers. A show schedule on the back would be an added plus.
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Don't sit and read at a show. Look alert. When customers are around limit chatting with friends. Customers don't like to interrupt, you might lose a possible sale.
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BJ's wholesale club and Costco carry lightweight EZUP tents for around $180.00 These tents come with sides and have a white top. They are seasonal so you have to get them quick before they are gone.
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We see lots of different type of tie downs for wind. We have seen PVC pipe filled with cement hanging from tent sides, sandbags on every corner and corkscrews drilled into the dirt on each corner. We have also seen hula hoops inside the tops of the tent corners for rain drain off. Remember if you have a flat top tent and you leave it up for the night you must lower one side so the tent is at an angle. If you don't and it rains your tent will be a pretzel in the morning. A twisted tent can not be fixed- we know from experience on this one!
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Stand up at a show. We know it gets tiring, but if customers see you sitting relaxed in a chair they won't want to bother you. Stand, smile and look like you are ready to help. If you must sit use a tall chair so you are at the same eye level as the customer. Really, it helps!
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When applying to a show ask the promoter how many of one particular item they are allowing. There should be no more than 10% in any given category. Why not ask about imports too?
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Every craftsperson should have a customer data base. Have a small book at each show and ask customers to write down their information. When a customers gives you a check write down their contact information and enter it your database when you get home. Have all of your customers organized by area on your computer and mail out postcards announcing the dates of shows in their area. When we do this we also include a 15% off coupon on the card for one item. You should expect a 2% return on direct mail.
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We recently saw small anchors (yes boat anchors) holding down each corner of a tent in Maine. Maybe it is because anchors are easy to find in Maine, or maybe because it works well on breezy days.
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What is your sales style? Hard sell, soft sell?
Try matching your customer style. Greet each customer with a simple "Hello, how are you today?" Then wait. Waiting tells you if the customer wants more information from you about your product or if they simply are looking.
Usually if they are interested they may make another comment, like "Nice work". You can then match your customer's style by telling them a bit about your work and what you do. This is where you either get them or they walk away. Customers interested in your work will usually stay and start to chat with you.
You may not always get a sale but if you match your customers' style or "feel them out" you may have a better chance of a sale rather than using the hard sell approach. Each customer is unique and each customer needs to be handled differently. Try matching your customers' style and let us know how it works.
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If you're frustrated with some of the large craft shows you have been doing, you feel that the quality is just not there anymore, or you don't like the travel/expensive booth fees/poor attendance, etc. try something different. I participated in a wonderful small show last weekend that was more than a "Home Show" but much smaller than the usual craft show. A "craft show friend" put together a group of 18 artists, found a venue just large enough with adequate parking, and did a tremendous job of promoting the date, theme of the show (folk art) and place. We all helped by sending out postcards, passing out postcards at all the usual places, and in every way possible letting people know about the show. Sales were good to GREAT for everyone involved and we were all happy with the look and feel of the show. After many, many years of DOING shows, most of us know what we like and what we don't like. This might be a way for groups of us to have more input and control over where and how we sell our artwork.
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Here's something I think is a good idea but I haven't tried it yet. Michael Carroll of www.merchantcafe.com
has sent information about gift cards. (Disclaimer: Michael is one of our advertisers.) This is something you see all the time at the big retailers, but now you can try it for yourself. Several years ago, I did often get requests for gift certificates and I used my computer to print some up, but I never used it as a marketing tool. Gift cards seem like an ideal solution, both for you and your customers.
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