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
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.
