Finding and Choosing a Sales Event That's Right For You

After decades of working Events I gladly succumbed to the prodding and urging of friends and family. I have written my first non-fiction book to pass on the wisdom I've gleaned over the years.
Here is an excerpt from Chapter One from Killer Sales Events.

Finding and Choosing an Event:

There are many places to find scheduled events:

-Social Media (chapter 4)

-Newspapers – online newspapers

-Ads

-Billboards

-Word of Mouth

My favorite is word of mouth. If someone you know does events, ask them which ones they attend. Though I trust people who have been there I still ask some key questions.

3 – What is the average traffic count, approximately?

                One person may consider 100 people through the building great and happy with that. Unfortunately, most people can’t achieve high sales from low numbers. Conversely, another person may consider anything under 30,000 a failure.

2 – How easy was it to work with the staff?

                Most event planners that do the same event year after year have a well trained staff and are quick to help you. If it’s a smaller event executed by a couple of people who have booths of their own to set up and man, they may not be able to be as quick to get to you. It doesn’t mean the event won’t be a success, but the knowledge will prepare your expectations.

                If this person says the staff was no help at all, and you know he or she isn’t a complainer, then you may not want to work this venue. If in doubt refer to question #1.

1 - *#1 Question* How were your sales?

                If the person you ask sells cemetery plots there may not have been any sales. They were probably there to get their name out to the public. In this case the amount of informational material handed out is almost equal to money in.

1a – The next question is attached to the previous one. “How did the sales compare to other events you’ve been to?”

If this person says it was his/her best one or it was on par with other good events, it’s time to get more information. Research the event’s website or Facebook page.

-Important- Check the local calendar of events for the area where the event will be held. Make sure there are no bigger events scheduled, such as university football games.

Last Fall my daughter, Sabrina and I worked a small craft fair in Grand Island, Nebraska. The event planner did a great job advertising and all the vendors were pumped for the large crowd our planner usually drew. We made the rookie mistake of not checking what time the University of Nebraska football game started and if it was being televised. Also being new to the Grand Island area we didn’t realize this city of 49,000 shrinks considerably on UNL home game Saturdays. Like ants charging after a dropped ice cream cone fans fled the area for Lincoln and the Husker’s stadium. This was also the same weekend of the Grand Island Harvest Parade. In the past when the parade ended at noon the crowds came in droves. This particular Saturday the parade was delayed almost an hour.  In that hour the temps dropped. By the time the last horse dropped its calling card, the parade goers were cold and worn down by the weather. They went home. 20 vendors were left staring at each other. Depressing, yes, but the silver lining was we met some great people and made contacts for other craft fairs. I did sell a book to a delightful 31 Bags sales rep. And like many of the vendors I walked out with more merchandise than I sold.

Summery

• Check Social media, newspapers, billboards, and word of mouth for good sales venues

• Ask questions

•   Research the events you find

• Check local event calendar

I hope this gives you a good start into the wonderful world of Sales Events.

Did I leave anything out or is there something you disagree on? Please give feedback. I value my readers' wisdom.

The book, Killer Sales Events, is in the last edit stage and is due out the end of June 2017.

Leave a Review, writing, reading, ebooks

Leave a Review

Many of us today read our books on eReaders. It' a great way to carry more than one book when we travel. It's also easy to find more books in the genres we enjoy.
Until I became an author I didn't know how important it was to leave a review. I figured no one cared what I thought. I was so wrong.

Authors can't get their books on most book sites until they have at least five reviews. The better sites insist on fifteen or more. Without this kind of promotion authors have trouble getting their names out there. It's becoming harder and harder to rise above the crowd of book in their genre.

Some people don't feel comfortable writing a review because they're not used to giving their opinion. Even if you simply say, "I liked this book and would recommend it to a friend." More is always welcome, but isn't necessary. The fact that you took your time to leave a review means a lot to an author. We appreciate you more that you'll ever know.

One thing to remember is every word you write becomes a permanent part of the author's record. If you didn't like the book don't just lambast it. Be kind and explain why you didn't like it. Authors also appreciate feedback.

There are some who use the review as an opportunity to rant. This kind of feedback isn't helpful for the author or other readers. It also makes that person look petty

Star ranking can be a god-send or it can be cruel. When you rank the story consider starting at three. Was the book easy to read, was it well edited? Add a star or subtract a star. Did you enjoy the story? Add or subtract. Please don't punish the author because you're in a bad mood or you're not into her genre. I had a review once who said she liked the story and it was well written, but wasn't her genre so she gave me a 2 star review.

Reviews are a wonderful opportunity to express what you liked and what you didn't. As an author  I have learned much from my wonderful readers. Some times I didn't want to hear it, but I'm a much better writer because someone took their time to let me know.

I hope to have encouraged you to speak up and leave a review, for you are needed!

Yard Sale Signs, Yard Sale, Signage, On the Hunt

It's garage sale season. Yeah!

For those of us who love the challenge of the hunt this is a great time of the year. For those who need to get rid of stuff this is the time and the way.

The usual way to bring these two groups together is the hand drawn sign staked into a patch of grass on the corner or tacked/taped to a utility pole.

With eagle eyes and not so eagle eyes we sale enthusiasts watch for the treasure maps. Unfortunately not all signs are created equally.

Signs on a main thoroughfare have three seconds to be seen and read, no matter what the size.

There are four things to remember when you're making a sign.

• Size
• Color
• Wordage
• Location

Size - The bigger the better. Where your sign is posted will determine how big you can go. Size won't make a difference if it isn't easily read it in three seconds.

Color - When choosing your poster-board, cardboard, board, etc., keep an eye for background color. Most people use a black magic marker to apply wordage. The ideal color combination is black lettering on neon yellow background. The neon yellow catches the eye while the black lettering is crisp and pops on the yellow.You want your contrast to be on either end of the color wheel spectrum. You're probably wondering why I didn't say white background with the black lettering. First, white doesn't catch the eye. Second, white in contrast to black is too much. Which is why more and more books are going to cream colored pages. It's more pleasing to the eye

Wordage - K.I.S.S (Keep It Simple Salesman) On the main road sign only put what is absolutely necessary.
Yard Sale
------->
I personally only put Garage Sale with an arrow. Then I place arrows along the route to my house.
What if you're more than a block from the main road and you feel a need to post your address and when you're open? A block from the main road is a good place to put a sign with this information. This location is a safe place for people to slow down or stop to read your sign. Add an arrow so they know they're going in the right direction.
On all your signs the words should be made from block letters.Cursive is pretty, but it's not as easy to read.The letters should be tall and thick enough to be read at least a half block away. Farther on the main street where cars will be going faster.
As a rule of thumb I make my letters a minimum of four inches. With signs on main roads I make it a minimum of six inches. Bigger is better.

Location - Your sign should be posted a half block from the turn to your sale. For added measure I put an arrow at the corner so they know they are in the right place. Make sure your town or city allows signs. In most towns and cities the piece of yard by the curb is public property even though the homeowner maintains it. As a courtesy be careful where you place the sign and do as little damage to the yard as possible. Also as a courtesy to other home owners, your neighborhood and treasure hunters, please take down your signs soon after your sale. There's nothing more disappointing than following all the signs only to find out it was the week before.

Right about now you're probably asking yourself, "why in the world would this lady blog about garage sale signs?"
I'm a huntress who hates to miss out on treasures hidden in your junk. And bad signage is a pet peeve of mine. Not just yard sale signs, all signs. I've passed some beautiful billboards, and to this day I have no idea what company was advertising. Which proves the point that bigger isn't better if you can't get the message in three seconds.

To all my garage sale friends out there, Happy Sale-ing!