Craft Fairs, Bazaars, Flea Markets and Swap Meets let you meet new and interesting people (hopefully customers), spend quality time with your family and make some extra cash. Before you debut your first stall at one of these events, get yourself prepared.
1. Find the event : First of course you’ll want to find events that are held in your area. This is about the easiest task of all. You’re sure to find them everywhere. Check local newspapers, browse bulletin boards, and watch for fliers.
2. Attend a couple of events : Next, go to a few local events yourself. Take a look around and view things from a customer’s point of view. Which tables caught your eye first and why? What sort of products/merchandise is being carried? Most importantly, what’s isn’t there? Try to visualize how you’d like your table to look.
3. Your stall : Once you’ve found the event you’d like to attend, reserve your table. Most events have an event manager. Find out who’s in charge and contact them. Pricing will vary from one event to the next. Be sure to find out the average attendance to make sure it’s worth the money. Don’t forget to ask questions such as the availability of electricity (if needed), the size of your “booth”, anything forbidden?
4. Inventory : Make sure you have enough inventory. Stock up on catalogues, brochures and business cards. Make a list of all the supplies you’ll need. Are you going to have samples available?
5. Taking payments : Decide what types of payments are going to be accepted. Are you only accepting cash? Do you have the ability to accept credit cards? Are you going to take checks? Does your bank accept check from customers out of the area?
6. Make a lead box. Lead boxes can be a great way to gain a mailing list, future or even repeat customers. One thing you can do with your lead box is hold a contest. An easy way to make a lead box is to take an ordinary cardboard box, cover it in decorative contact paper and cut a slit in the top. Print out entry forms with blanks for name, address, phone number and email address.
7. Rehearsal : Set up your display at home to get a feel of how it will look at the event. By doing this you can take your time in arranging and re-arranging your display so you’ll be ready for the event. The look and feel of your display has a large impact on your sales.
8. Recruit family members. You can make your events more family-friendly by assigning everyone a job such as unloading and loading your merchandise, setting up and tearing down your display, watching your table if you need to step away. Smaller children can help bag/box up products that are sold, hand out business cards and catalogues or even meet and greet customers.
9. Put on a smile. Don’t just sit behind your table looking bored. Smile and greet visitors as they walk by or more importantly “stop in”. Ask them if they’re enjoying the event, how they’re doing. Be friendly.
10. Have fun!