Just as a website has to keep the attention of it’s web user, so does a trade show booth have to keep the attention of the people passing by before they, well..pass by! Your goal is to entice them over with a message that doesn’t tell them how great your product is, but how much it will help them. People are generally quite selfish, and when they’re looking at most anything in their day to day life, they are constantly asking themselves “How will this help me” or, “How will this make my life better or easier?”  So while your product may contain all natural ingredients, and it may be fair trade compliant, your best bet is to stress how it helps them. All of the other attributes are really secondary. This one fact will literally decipher whether someone will stop at your booth and look around, or simply walk on by in search of the next thing that will help them or “change their lives”.

I called upon our Twitter friends to see what their advice was to first-time craft and trade show sellers, and I got some amazing and invaluable tips! Remember, these tips are from people who have been out there on the front lines of selling soap and crafts at markets, and they’ve seen it all! Thanks to all of the following people for their advice! This truly is priceless information if you’re looking to sell your soap or craft at a show!

Janice Summers (Twitter ID TresSpa) of Tres Spa offers some great advice to new craft show sellers: “Booth design – Use a thematic color palet that matches your company colors.

Keep in mind Line of Site when setting up your display. You want people to be able to see what you have to sell.

Clearly post the prices on the products.

Colors- I cannot stress enough the importance of thematic colors and I know it may seem silly, but your clothing should also match or compliment the colors you choose. If you have a dark product, display it on a light color surface and if your product is light colored, display it on a dark surface.

Try not to overpower the viewer with either to many colors or to much of one color. Use a color wheel to find compliments for your main color.

Give Away’s- I like giveaway’s freebies and incentives. It’s also a good way to let someone try before they buy. I have converted several lookers into buyers solely because I gave them a free trial to take with them. I have also found that creating special incentives for purchasing multiple items has been effective. Or, a free gift with a purchase of some dollar amount.

Give away your business card as if it were candy! Even if someone just passes through and doesn’t buy a thing, don’t let them leave without a card that has a way of reaching you on it.”

Alana Rivera (Twitter ID AlanaRivera) creator of www.ettaandbillie.etsy.com offers another great bit of advice that many often overlook: “Make your display interesting with varying heights and keep with your brand; take lots of ones ”

Jessica Morelli (Twitter ID diPalermoBody) owner of diPalermoBody.com advises new trade show users to “Have sample items for $5 and under. My sample soaps for a $1, and sample scrubs for $4.50 sell like crazy at shows.”

Other Posts You May Find Helpful:

• We’re Going to HSMG 2010!
• Amazingly Cute Soaps that Inspire
• Winter 2011-2012 Soap Making Showcase Series
• Gorgeous Summer Soap Making to Inspire!

With so much going on, it’s easy to get overwhelmed or even feel discouraged at the thought of sky high unemployment rates and a still sub-par economy.

We’ve developed some awesome tips to help our Soap Maker friends survive the Holidays in one piece! Without further ado, here they are!

- Get Organized:  If you’re not naturally an organized person, try to resolve to get organized before the New year arrives. Organize everything. Ingredients, recipes, Fragrances, packaging, labels… all of it! If you’re currently organized, take a good look at your ‘system’. Is it working for you? Can it be improved? Utilize online note-taking and organization tools such as Evernote, Google Calendar, and your Outlook Calendar.

-Take Notes: Are you getting various requests for certain soaps at Fairs or trade shows? Are friends or friends of friends asking about certain types of soaps and scents? Take notes, and keep track of what you’re being asked for and what’s selling for your retailers or customers! Keeping mental notes easily makes way for details to slip through the cracks. There’s something about seeing raw numbers in front of you that helps you decide what to make, what will sell, and where to allocate your ingredient budget. Think numbers and pie charts.

- Watch Your Competition: Some of your competitors may be pros at preparing for the Holidays. Keep an eye on what they’re doing! Do they change their packaging for the Holidays? Do they modify their website? Do they send out special newsletters or conduct contests? If they’ve been in the game a long time, chances are they know exactly what will work and what will waste effort. Be sure to document your findings in a special place like a dedicated notebook, excel file, or PDA note-taking app.
- Preparation is Key: Try to plan out your stock a few months in advance, and get all of your regular holiday soap making done as early a you can. On-the-fly orders are sure to come, and you won’t want to have to turn down additional business because you weren’t prepared. Take notes of what you’ve done this year, and see how it all works out. When the next holiday season rolls around, you’ll be able to take a look back, and fine-tune your Holiday practices.

- Learn Where Your time Is Going: Have you ever gone through a day and noticed that you didn’t get done nearly as much as you wanted to? We’ve all wished we could learn to better manage our time. Learning to prioritize is somewhat of an art form that everyone struggles with. We highly recommend reading “Getting Things Done” By David Allen. This book is an amazing guide to help you get things done in an organized, and pain-free fashion!

What kind of strategies have YOU and your business implemented to prepare for the Holidays?

Other Posts You May Find Helpful:

• Gorgeous Summer Soap Making to Inspire!
• The 2010 Soap Maker’s Marketing Guide
• A Basic Soap Making Recipe
• We’re Going to HSMG 2010!