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Preparations For Your First Gift Tradeshow as Producer/Artisan
Compiled and edited by Nadia Korths, ANCA Crafts Program Coordinator,
May 2008
(Please cite or acknowledge when using this material.)
You, with your first order from a store buyer, can replace interactions with 10 to 40 customers (and that only includes those that you sell to!) with interacting with only one customer, the store buyer. And the buyer is motivated to provide you with front line feedback because they wish to make money on your product.
Start With Smaller Shows: |
Printed Materials: |
A Review of Credit Terms: |
Other Terms: |
Sample Terms from Four Producers: |
Buyers May Ask: |
Producers May Ask: |
How to Manage the Booth: |
Goal of Booth Exhibit: |
How to Wholesale: Another Viewpoint:
Start With Smaller Shows:
Begin by exhibiting in regional or state trade shows where attending buyers are more likely to work with new producers who are inexperienced. Remember that your product is of interest because buyers are always looking for new product lines as a means to increase sales. Select your show carefully because it can take up three years of attending the same show before the buyers "see” your booth.
Smaller shows cost less and are less time consuming than larger shows. Show fees ($160 to 600) are much less at regional shows than national shows, show venues are probably not unionized and because they are not typically in major cities, show expenses are less. Smaller shows are typically more open to shared booth options though national shows are now starting to offer the option.
At smaller shows order obligations will most likely be within your production capacity. It is also acceptable policy at a show to refuse orders when they are beyond your production capacity. It is much better in the long run to place buyers on a waiting list rather than not fulfill their order on a timely basis.
Remember, you are one of many exhibitors. The buyers are overwhelmed by information and with decisions to make, at national shows because of the sheer numbers, and at smaller shows, because they think they have the time to fully learn the story of the producers. Keep it simple!
The Adirondack North Country Association lists regional and national wholesale shows at Show Listings and has sponsored the Buyer Days Handmade Gift Tradeshow at Saratoga Springs since 1987 in the early spring.
Tips From a Craftsperson:
Tips From a Retailer:
Printed Materials:
For those of you using software to generate the following printed materials, only make enough copies for the show. Typically during your first show, you will see need for modifications to your printed materials. Hand written forms, when legible and well laid out, are acceptable. What cannot be changed, of course, are your order and term obligations, once a buyer has ordered from you!
Business card:
business name, name, address including zip code, telephone number(s) including area code, website address, email address and/or fax number.
Sell sheets/catalogs/brochure/postcard of your product:
Do not include prices, especially if being printed by a commercial printer. Listing prices reduces the shelf life of the piece which should be your product showcase.
The marketing piece targets half (industry average) of the buyers attending trade shows who do not order at the show. They review all the product options, their budget, trends, seasonal sales expectations, etc., and then order. Include all contact info as on business card. You may want to include product codes which buyers can use on order form.
Sample sell sheet:
Pottery By Ashley. The main page of the online catalog could be used as a mock-up for a sell sheet. Sell sheets are more typically used at larger trade shows. Exhibitors at regional trade shows provide interested buyers more often with the standard three-fold brochure.
Price sheet:
Use a grid sheet to list your product lines along the side and across the top list the variations, ie., bowl, plate, mug along the side and across the top; small, medium, large, color options, etc. If you have many product lines, code your products and variations to minimize misunderstandings. You can use numbers for product listings and letters for variations. Exact dimensions can be included here or on order form. Include all contact info as on business card. Include terms here and/or on order form.
Sample price sheet:
Shard’s Pottery, though not in grid format, does provide the buyer with a easy-on-the-eye layout.
Order forms:
Duplicates are necessary, one for you to fulfill order and one for buyer. Include all contact info as on business card.
On top include buyer’s business name, buyer’s name, address including zip code, shipping address, (and if different, billing address) and order and shipping dates.
Include grid sheet for order writing in center. Include a column for price per piece, quantity of piece ordered and total ordered. Include shipping rate or policy. Include terms (more below) at bottom.
Sample order form:
Liquid-Glass provides their wholesale customers with a simple order form with all terms and policies well outlined.
Feeling overwhelmed? The show is next week! Here’s some options for first-timers:
Buy blank duplicate order forms at your nearest office supply store. Number and staple your contact info to the order forms. Your terms can be attached as well.
Create a price sheet with at least two photos or illustrations of your main product categories or best sellers on top. There, you have just combined the price sheet and brochure into one piece!
Make copies. How many copies? Find out how many buyers come to the show and assume, that at the most, one out of ten buyers will come into your booth.
A Review of Credit Terms:
Include the terms you select on your order form and/or price list. Google Checkout is a new online payment option which may substitute for a merchant credit card service initially.
Credit Terms For New Accounts:
Mastercard/Visa charge (from Norm Bacon, Sweetwater Gallery, Woodstock, NY):
- collect credit card information from buyer at show.
- the order form could state the following:
- first time customer: Mastercard/Visa charge:
- credit card charged 30 days after order delivered
Advantages:
- better cash flow
- buyer automatically gets net 30 without references
- buyer collect points towards travel and other show expenses
C.O.D (cash on delivery):
- the buyer pays for the shipment upon delivery.
- usually UPS will accept a check unless specified "c.o.d. , cash only."
- UPS adds a small charge for this service.
- will not work with PO Boxes.
Partial payment/Pre paid:
- usually requested by large item producers such as chandelier or furniture makers.
- producer will often pay shipping if an order is prepaid.
Credit Terms for Established Accounts:
Congratulations – a reorder confirms that you have established an account. This is the beginning of a long term business relationship. The buyer has sold the product she originally ordered from you and has placed her second order. With the terms already on the order form, the procedure is clear.
Some buyers, such as museums or larger shops, may have a net 60 to 120 day payment policy. Inform yourself. Or one of your established accounts, with an excellent credit rating, may wish to order your new product line. Because their cash flow is already allocated elsewhere, you may need to consider a net 90 payment date.
Net 30:
- most common industry practice
- buyer provides 3 credit references
- the payment is due in full within 30 days after receipt of merchandise
interest can be charged on late payment
Pro Forma:
- the producer bills the buyer for the order amount plus shipping charges
- the buyer sends a check or pays by credit card
- then the producer ships the order
Held 30 (Norm Bacon):
- buyer provides undated check for order which is held for 30 days
- Shipment goes out similar to C.O.D but without a C.O.D. charge
- Producer is paid for order within 30 days of shipping
Sample Terms from Four Producers:
Review of minimum order terms, a shipping option and terms for minimum order, payment, shipping, packing and handling charge, and claims by four producers.
Review of Minimum Order Terms:
$100 to $250 is average range for minimum order. Many long time exhibitors at the Adirondack North Country Association’s Buyer Days Gift Trade Show do not require minimums. They have observed that buyers typically feel less restricted and will often order more.
Minimum orders are of value. Shop customers are more likely to buy from a wide selection of product displayed representing one producer than one or two items only. Some producers will request that the minimum order be their standard shipping container such as a box, crate, etc., a certain number of pieces or a certain mix of product.
Shipping option:
A shipping option is to deliver your product as part of a regularly scheduled route timed to be most useful for regional buyers. In the Adirondack North Country region where most shops are seasonal, the crucial delivery time is from late May to late June with another possible run in early to mid August. Producer typically requests payment upon delivery.
Producer #1 terms:
- Minimum order: $200
- 7% charge for packing and handling, and buyer pays UPS Ground shipping
- First order COD or prepaid. Subsequent orders net 30 with approved credit.
<- >Reorders for non-current customers shipped COD.
- Minimum shipping time is 4-6 weeks from receipt of order, unless otherwise specified by (name of producer).
Producer #2 terms:
- Minimum order: $150.00
- Minimum reorder: $50.00
- Shipping: All orders F.O.B., (community, state) via UPS or USPS. Customer pays actual cost of shipping. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
- Terms: Pro Forma
- Net 30/Open Account*
- Prices: 50% retail
- Subject to change without notice
- Visa/Mastercard accepted
- Past due Accounts: 2% per month service charge
- Claims: Damages and other claims must be made within 5 days
- *Please forward name/dba, address, banking institution, and four trade references. Allow 30 days for processing.
Producer #3 terms:
- Minimum order 150.00
- First order COD or prepaid
- net 30 with reference.
- NY wholesale customers include tax (resale) number and form ST-120.
- Shipping: $3.50 First item, $1.50 each additional. Add 8.50 for each larger item.
Producer #4 terms:
- First orders must be prepaid (consult table for shipping charges).
- All orders FOB (community, state)
- Additional $5.00 handling charge for orders less than $50.
- Prices subject to change without notice.
- Damages must be reported within 10 days.
- A service charge of @% per month, corresponding to a 24% annum, will be charged on balances 30 days past due.
How to Manage the Booth:
(From Charlene Dunham and Exhibit Marketing Trade Magazine):
Smile
When the buyers are walking the show aisles, watch your body language – ie., do not look like a guard with your arms crossed, do not spend time talking with other exhibitors, do not make calls or eat in front of buyers, and do not hurry to pack up and leave (it"s amazing how many sales happen in that final half hour), do not read a book, do not sit.
Design the booth layout to make it easy for the customer to enter the booth. Once out of the aisle and into your booth, they are much more likely to look at your product.
Do not say "May I help you?" Try something like "I see you looking at (whatever product buyer first glanced at). That is one of my bestsellers."
Take business cards from everyone to add to your database. After the show, compare your contact info with the list of buyers who attended and/or preregistered for the show typically provided to exhibitors by the show promoter. Making contact by following up on leads during the show may result in orders. Remember that the buyer has, as any small business-owner, many hats to wear. A call or email from you, at the earliest, two weeks after the show, may be all that is needed. Be direct. Time is valuable.
Buyers May Ask:
Buyers come to trade shows in part to meet the artisan – to absorb some of the story – to see/experience/sample the product. At the show buyers may ask the following:
- which lines are your bestsellers,
- how long have you been making the product line,
- how long have you been selling wholesale,
- how many wholesale accounts have you had and for how long,
- where do you sell your product; locally, regionally, in the northeast, across the nation.
Can you:
- supply individual cards or tags for each piece,
- supply your story in the format most suitable for their display areas,
- supply private labeling (if so, cost should be on your price list and/or order form),
- do one-of-kind commission work,
- exhibit in a show in the buyer"s gallery.
Within the industry, the following is expected from you, the producer:
If you do a retail show in their area, you will charge a similar amount for the products they are selling on your behalf.
What type of exclusivity are you, the producer, willing to offer:
- an exclusive in your zip code, town, hamlet (For Buyer Days exhibitors, town or hamlet exclusivity is the suggested norm),
- you are not willing to give an exclusive,
- an exclusion with an annual minimum purchase of (to be determined by you)
- an exclusive on a certain item or items in your line.
Producers May Ask:
Their answers help to identify whether the shop is suitable to sell your product:
- Where is your shop located?
- What type of shop do you have (Adirondack, contemporary, country, Victorian, wholistic, handmade in America only, etc.)?
- Are you open seasonal or year round?
- What are your hours?
- How long has the shop been open?
- What percentage of your product is American made?
- What percentage of your product is Adirondack North Country made?
- What is your price point range?
- What are your best selling price points?
- How are your displays grouped? By theme, by room theme, by artisan, by media, mixed, etc.
- Is the bulk of your display in multiples or limited or one of each?
- How do you attract customers?
- Where do you advertise?
- How do you regularly contact your customers:
- direct mail, how many times a year?
- email, how many times a year?
- printed catalog, how many times a year?
- online catalog, how many times a year?
- You, the buyer, will agree to notify me if there is a delay in payment.
Booth Exhibit:
The goal is to give the buyer a clear understanding of the breadth of your product lines by displaying, when possible, one of each variation.
Make it as easy as possible for the buyer to visually grasp your product lines. Signage, lighting, a non-distracting background, prices and best seller tags on pieces, a visual organization of product to help the buyer connect easily to the variations available within the product lines, and posters easily readable from a distance listing publicity and awards are components of a booth welcoming to buyers.
Even at a cash and carry trade show where buyers will pay for and take product at the show, inventory should be stored under the table displays, along a free wall, or in your trailer. Cash and carry shows provide buyers with substantial savings due to the savings on shipping costs. Typically vendors without inventory do not have to participate in the cash and carry component of the show - verify with each show.
How to Wholesale: Another Viewpoint
How to Half Wholesale #1
How to Half Wholesale #2
Luann Udell, a well-established craftsperson who has been selling at national levels shows for many years, writes about preparing for wholesale shows in May 2008. The first article includes links to all of her articles on wholesale and related topics and the second talks about the how-to prepare for the show and minimize expenses.
1. Norm Bacon, Bacon Studios, Bearsville, and Sweetwater Gallery, Woodstock, NY since 1982. Excerpts from co-presenting How to Establish and Maintain Wholesale Accounts Workshop.
2. Charlene Dunham, Adirondack North Country Product Booth Staff at New York Gift Show in late 90s. Excerpts from co-presenting How to Establish and Maintain Wholesale Accounts Workshop.
3. Excerpts from Exhibit Marketing Trade Magazine, 2000
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