Trade Show Tips 2

Here's a growing collection of trade show tips on nearly every aspect of exhibiting. Ideas and solutions for everything from product packaging to encouraging orders, sales reps, scam alerts, product pricing, product samples, shipping charges, following up after a trade show, product positioning, delivery dates, and more.

Your product packaging is an important selling point for your items that will be retailed in stores. Since retailers sell several different companies' products, they aren't as familiar with your product as you are. And their sales staff are likely to be even less educated on your product's features and benefits. So your packaging must be able to answer the end users' questions about the product as well as promote the features and benefits that will kindle the end customer's desire to purchase it.

Consider having a "show special" to encourage orders at the show. If you let potential customers wait till they get home to order, far fewer of them will follow through with placing the order they promised. The incentive of receiving a special deal only if they order at the trade show can significantly boost your sales.

If your business is new and you can't afford to exhibit in a trade show, consider reaching this market via a sales representative who exhibits in trade shows or gift marts in your industry. A sales rep can give your products a presence at shows without the cost of a full-fledged booth.

Although receiving an extremely large order at a trade show can be exciting, you may want to check with other wholesalers to see whether the company that placed the order has a history of paying promptly and in full.

Unfortunately, new exhibitors at trade shows are a frequent target for scammers who place a large order and disappear after receiving it, never paying the big bill they owe the supplier. Of course, large orders can also be perfectly legitimate; so protect your business by exercising caution and checking the company's references carefully.

Offer retailers suggestions on the best ways to display and market your products. You may even consider selling them displays that are just right for retailing your goods. If you do everything you can to ensure their success in selling your items, they'll be back to purchase more.

A tried and true trade show promotion strategy is to set your product pricing so that you can afford to offer volume discounts, to encourage larger orders.

The product samples in your trade show booth display should be tagged with your code or item number, the available options (such as color and size), wholesale price, and minimum quantity. A nearby photo display, poster, or literature showing the product in its other colors, sizes, or options can help increase sales.

Your trade show booth may be approached by independent sales reps looking for lines to represent. If you're interested in selling your products through a sales rep, consider ahead of time what commission you would be able to pay a rep and still be able to meet your expenses and turn a profit. With that information in mind, you'll be prepared to have a productive meeting with a sales rep at or after the trade show.

If you're wholesaling your products to retail stores, you will be selling items that the shops will retail six months later. Your January and February trade show orders will be for products the stores will retail in the summer, while your June and July show orders will be for Halloween through Christmas. So plan your trade show exhibit accordingly to offer what the shops want to sell half a year later. You might also consider decorating your booth for the season your products are targeted for.

Don't forget to include shipping charges on orders you write up at a trade show. Buyers are usually expected to pay shipping and handling charges, so take the time to find out what it would cost you to ship your products via various carriers. Be sure to include costs of packaging, overhead, and the time it takes your staff to pick, fill, and pack orders.

To rescue sales you weren't able to close at the trade show, consider sending a follow-up offer after the show. Examples of offers you might make are a free gift that would be of value to the customer if they order within 30 days; a special package of your product at a special price; or a one-month free trial if you're selling a service.

Be sure to consider all possibilities for related products you can market to accompany your best selling items. This will increase your profits from both add-on sales at the time the original item is purchased, and back-end sales later to the same customer.

Develop a concise, detailed production plan so you'll know how long it takes you or your supplier to produce certain quantities of your products. Then pad your estimate time slightly. That way you have a high likelihood of meeting your quoted delivery deadlines, and may be able to pleasantly surprise your customer by delivering early. You should know your production time before you go to the show so you can give your customers accurate delivery dates.

You can use trade shows to test and refine your new product concepts without spending any money on fully producing them in quantity. Bring a sample or two of the new product to a show and get customers' feedback on it.

If it's a hit, go ahead and take orders for the item and schedule delivery dates that will allow for your production time. If the item needs to be reworked to incorporate customers' suggestions - or if it doesn't generate the interest you hoped - it's easy to scrap the idea without losing money on production.

For your next trade show, sharply define the most profitable aspect of your niche, identify its prospective customers, and intensify your marketing efforts in that area.

Size up your trade show competitors. What are their weak points in marketing, displays, and customer service? Find ways to strengthen your own business in the areas of your competitors' weaknesses, and promote these new strengths to your customers and prospects.

Keep looking for new ways to position and sell your products, and more effective ideas for your booth design. Examining the marketing methods and displays of businesses outside your own industry can yield some fresh ideas for marketing your own line.

Offer realistic delivery dates on your trade show orders to accommodate production time of your product. You can offer to split the delivery on large orders, such as one-third by a certain date, one-third a month later, and one-third a month after that.

Make a simple but professional looking order form and have it made up into carbonless duplicates to save time on taking orders at a trade show. Your order form should include your prices and quantity price breaks, plus product names, descriptions, and options (such as color, size, etc.). State your terms of sale, return policy, guarantee, and other transaction information. Keep one copy for your records and give the other copy to your customer.

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