Looking for trade show advice

[BoOTs]

My first trade show is coming up in 3 1/2 months (Glass Roots ATX) and I need all the advice I can get. What is the best way to be prepared?
Muchos Gracias
BoOTs!

[Wilbur]

Dont get shitty drunk behind your booth.

Shake peoples hands, the 'slap and pound' is far from professional, and can end up in a really weird interaction if someone thinks your going for a handshake.

eye contact.

Know your products, and be able to explain feature/benefit.

Dont let people low ball you.

Shower.

Have order forms, promotional material, stickers, pamphlet/catalogs. alot of time people dont reorder because they forget about you and your work. having something they can keep in store to remind them of you can really help.

Once yuou do have a customer base, direct mailers can help get alot of reorders.

Know your producton capabilities, and give people realistic time frames of when theyll get their shit. Orders arent orders till theyre made and received.

First impressions really do stick, alot of people get buck wild at shows, yeah its fun, but can be disadventageous when some big store owner meets you after hours and your zoomin around from the booger sugar, or shit house drunk screamin i love you man to people you dont even know. ive seen it happen

Dont be an arrogant prick.
(not suggesting you are or have been, but plentyof people are, and that seems to come out of alfot of people at a big show.)

good luck

[Firekist]

all great advice from wilbur.

don't be too hung over.. i've done it and it's not pretty.
be to your booth/room and ready to go before the show starts.

easy to see prices, easy to distinguish product lines. i like 5-10 examples of most products to show the quality and consistency.

write up orders as fast as you possibly can.. some owners are impatient, or really don't have much time.

if your receipt book is in triplicate, you keep a copy, they take a copy from the show, and then you have a 3rd to put in the box as a packing list.


booger sugar..heh
---seth

[bildo]

If I dont have a booth, will connections be possible? Are there a bunch of glass blowers with their cases walking around?

[Aymie]

Renegade vending is possible but will be frowned upon. Scamming a show is not a good way to get your foot in the door. Find someone willing to share booth space or go simply for connections. There will be plenty of after party time to make sales without stepping on any toes.

Boots-who are you getting a booth with? Have business cards and triple copy invoice. Have at least ten of everything you make, so you showcase your talent as well as your consistency. Do not be too uptight but don't let anyone talk you down on price. Be prepared to turn away jerks and do it with a firm hand. You do not want to step in to this business letting people know you can be pushed around.

Be prepared to go without sleep. This will be six fill days of networking, and a lot of important connections will be made at the after parties. Plan to attend everything you can.

Most importantly, have fun, it's going to be a great week.

[Aymie]

Renegade vending is possible but will be frowned upon. Scamming a show is not a good way to get your foot in the door. Find someone willing to share booth space or go simply for connections. There will be plenty of after party time to make sales without stepping on any toes.

Boots-who are you getting a booth with? Have business cards and triple copy invoice. Have at least ten of everything you make, so you showcase your talent as well as your consistency. Do not be too uptight but don't let anyone talk you down on price. Be prepared to turn away jerks and do it with a firm hand. You do not want to step in to this business letting people know you can be pushed around.

Be prepared to go without sleep. This will be six fill days of networking, and a lot of important connections will be made at the after parties. Plan to attend everything you can.

Most importantly, have fun, it's going to be a great week.

[bildo]

I dont want to be frowned upon. Anybody want to split some booth space? I have lots of prodo.

[BoOTs]

Wilbur, Firekist and Aymie thanks for the great advice.

As far as taking orders do you just trust that they are going to want the order when finished? Take 1/2 payment?

Aymie I am sharing a booth with Bri and Logan.

BoOTs!

[Wilbur]

I had someone ask me what i meant by being able to explain feature benefit.

thngs like:

" this snorkel carb not only looks good and makes a comfortable fit in your hand, but makes the piece more functional by clearing the entire chamber of smoke, rather then skimming off the top.

" HAving a small percuating piece, water splashing into your mouth can be a problem, but the way this donut is placed keeps that from happening. No one likes dirty water in their mouth.

" this marble acts asa kickstand for this dry sherlock, keepin the bowl up and helping to make the piece stand out in a case full of flat laying spoons

"these slump pieces realy fit in your hand great. (handing the piece to soemone..)

Interact, up sell, be confident.

Get that money.

[Logan]

Awesome info! Glad you started this thread, I've been thinking about this a lot.

[Aymie]

I get 50% from new customers. Full payment before I ship.

[Logan]

Is there a standard % discount for large volume orders at trade shows? Say at a 1000,2000 etc..

[Aymie]

I don't discount anything for anyone but my distributor.

One exception: I have sold the entire lot I had on display at the end of the show for a discounted rate.

Do not budge on price. I think we already said that.

That being said again, trade show prices have to be more competitive than say, local Austin prices. If any of y'all want to bring out cases anytime between now and the show I will gladly help you with pricing and picking what I think will sell best.

Bring your A game prodo. Unless you want to take rock bottom prices, you aren't likely to pick up orders for basic io or frit spoons. I don't think any of the three of y'all booth mates will have a problem. I like all y'all's stuff.

[Kevin Bumble]

remember to say "yes sir", "yes mam", and "thank yall" when in TX.

[Aymie]

When have you ever heard me say sir or ma'am?

[Emmett's Glass]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BgTadHUfhA
E

[notsure]

Just wondering about seller's experiences that don't take credit cards? Are there many situations where store owners/buyers walk away if you do not accept them?

[Aymie]

Most will work with you, but I suggest signing up for square. It's free and can be done from any computer or smart phone.

[AlexSchmalex]

Most will work with you, but I suggest signing up for square. It's free and can be done from any computer or smart phone.

but not windows phones :(

[BoOTs]

Sounds good Aymie, thanks.
:blowkiss:

[rockstar glassworks]

Square all the way.

Even if you don't do shows, get square. With no monthly fee the ability to take a credit card at any time....it's stupid not to have it.

At a fest, a bar, someone comes to meet you to pickup at your shop..... square.

[Kevin Bumble]

the down fall i have heard (from banks) is that square is no secure, whatever that means...

[daveabr]

yea, banks hate square. they are losing a lot of fees to it. we've used square for a while now, and have no issues. it's the easiest damn thing ever. don't have to lug and plug in a console. instant approval, no paper receipts.... lots of benefits

[Loki Glass]

the down fall i have heard (from banks) is that square is no secure, whatever that means...

Here's a link to their security info- Looks pretty secure from what I can tell.

https://squareup.com/help/en-us/article/3797-secure-data-encryption

[daveabr]

something that's helpful, if you don't have electric at your booth, is to buy one of those extra battery chargers. i just got one for my new phone. basically, you charge it ahead of time. then, it holds a full battery charge. when your phone dies, just plug your phone into it, and you're charging. it's half the size of my phone, and just plugs right in. gives you a full charge, even when you don't have access to an outlet. square sends a lot of info too. so, watch your data plan if you don't have a big threshold

[H1JACK3R]

I use the Paypal version, it's pretty sweet. Same fees as a standard PP transaction.

[themoch]

I'm going to throw this out there because i love you all.

I made this to work on mobile devices. it calculates your fees if, like me, you don't like getting screwed on the fee end and want to know what to charge people for "processing"

just visit it on your phone and copy a link to it to your phone's home screen.

http://www.andrewmoch.com/fees.html

[2wheeler]

That's pretty cool Andrew. I have a shop who wants me to get square instead of check. But I don't think she intends to pay the fees. Very cool to see what they add up to so easy. Rep deserved for sure.

[DuncanCO]

but not windows phones :(

Dont do it! Just DONT DO IT!! seriously, I hate mine.

[themoch]

You could use dwolla. It only costs you $0.25 per transaction and it goes immediately into your bank account.

[H1JACK3R]

Yeah, repped.

[Emmett's Glass]

Make sure your booth stands out, look at this pic and get some ideas...45000
E

[hilljackglass]

the glassroots ATX will be my first as well.. Im considering investing in a card reading device . my buddy Im sharing the both with has one. my question would be.. does there tend to be a lot of card based orders? I dont want to constantly be using his device when he himself my be dealing with a buyer..

[themoch]

Don't be a jabroni!

www.square.com

It's free. And yes there is a lot of credit card traffic.

[Simian]

Don't be a jabroni!

www.square.com

It's free. And yes there is a lot of credit card traffic.

It is not free. It is 2.75% of every transaction.

[Shattered Dreams]

but the device is free and no monthly fees.
2.75% is lower than traditional credit card processors offer.
my girl has been using square for over a year on her iphone and just before summer got the square register for her ipad.
she seems to like it more than the cash register she was using before.

[Action Glass]

Look for headypay.com I sell a lot of glass to the east coast I can't use anything else but what supports my art. We need some think more centralized for our industry. I wish I had like this where donating kept it goin. I hate PayPal and square.....I'm cod for now. Its nice when accounts can pay upfront if your short on something they want. They understand if I need inter pound of color.

[glasspyromania]

headypay.com=server not found?

[mer]

i like square as it is easy to use but i would have to say that it went down for over an hour three times while we were in madison.

other tips i've heard, don't sit (some people don't want to ask you to get up). if possible have 1-2 people inside and one outside. the outside guy can steer idle conversations away from the table front so new customers can see your product. cute girls are worth their weight in gold. talk to the booths around you, good relations make everything less stressful. have fun, it's contagious.

[istandalone24/7]

people really get shitty drunk and/or geeked up from the beak dip at trade shows? sounds like a great way to show potential customers your substance abuse issues lol.

[Aymie]

Geeked up from the beak tip?

[istandalone24/7]

this is what i was responding to, copy and paste from post #2.
booger sugar/beak dip/yayo


"alot of people get buck wild at shows, yeah its fun, but can be disadventageous when some big store owner meets you after hours and your zoomin around from the booger sugar, or shit house drunk screamin i love you man to people you dont even know. ive seen it happen"


herbal intoxicants are one thing, coke is another.