Attending Gift Shows

Twice a year in our large regional markets there are enormous gift shows that draw thousands and thousands of prospective buyers, retailers, distributors,and wholesalers to these convention. They are seeking new handmade crafts to purchase for their gift stores and other retail outlets.. In Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Las Vegas, huge convention centers fill. The cost of getting a booth at one of these shows can run into the tens of thousands. Even small booths can be prohibitively expensive for the handmade soap maker.

To be able to attend you must show proper qualifications. Join an association of gift store retailers, or importers. Members can be exhibitors, independent or associated with sponsored vendors. Some dealers associations also have open membership, check around and see which is easiest to join.

Should you attend these shows anyway? Yes. There are many activities seminars and meetings that you can attend that are sponsored by the conventions. Make sure to wear your name badge at all times. When you sign up for the event and they ask for your company name make sure to tell them it is "Wholesale Soap Company." If you get your badge at the entrance of the show tell the person making out badges the same thing. You want everyone at this show to understand what your business does. Bring good walking shoes and get ready for a long day.

Be as visisble as you can. You will get people stopping and asking where your booth is. Have business cards and info ready to hand out. Take business cards and get them organized right away. This is the whole reason you are there. Some super aggressive sales people have a before dinner cocktail hour in their hotel room for all the potential customers they have met. This is a lot cheaper than renting a booth and would just cost you the price of a few bottles of booze. Keep some samples to give away at the cocktail hour. After all this is where you shine. This is your booth and you have a captive audience that is not distracted by other wholesale vendors.

By the second day people will begin to recognise you because you were everywhere the day before. You will get even more contacts this day. These are serious buyers who have spent a lot of money to travel to these cities in search of new products. You will make great contacts here. Introduce yourself to as many people as you can. If you see people with the name of their business on their name tag, and it sounds like a cute little store, make an excuse to talk to them. Small talk about their home town is always a great icebreaker.

Going into this convention with a plan of attack is important. You will be competing with many other wholesalers, distributors and manufactures. Have a promotional offer ready to go. For this month only, buy two lots and get one free. Something to get the prospective buyer to take action. This is a great opportunity for the serious handmade crafter who wants to grow their business.

Article provided by Jeffrey Dorrian