How To Have A Successful Vendor Booth

Learning How To Have A Successful Vendor Booth is important for success with your direct sales business. Local Expos and Fairs are a great way to get your business known and bring in a huge amount of leads. Done right, and with the right follow-up, one single Expo can send your business soaring!!

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How To Find Vendor Events

First Things First – Where to find them! There are Expos for almost any reason – Bridal Expos, Business Expos, Women’s’ Expos, Holiday Expos – you name it! And the great thing – they can all be incorporated into your direct sales business!

Finding out who the person-in-charge is can be a difficult task. Many large Bridal Shops put on annual expos themselves. The Chamber of Commerce is another excellent source for information on all of the local Fairs or Expos.

Many cities have that information on an online calendar (Google Your City and Chamber of Commerce for more). Also, Civic Centers and Convention Centers can send you an annual list of events with contacts on request. A little research is all it takes.

Once You Find Who To Speak With – The next obstacle is the price. Events like these can range from $50 to upwards of $750. Where most can afford the $50, $750 is a little steep for a single consultant.

Three to four consultants is the perfect number for most Expos- even the large ones! Most Expos require a deposit, and then the rest is paid before the event.

If splitting the cost with other consultants, make sure to work out all the details before the event.

Expo Preparation – Depending on the size of your city, an Expo can bring in from 500 to 5,000 people. Ideally, you want to send everyone home with something.

VistaPrint.com is a great place to make and purchase Expo Literature. Cards, postcards, magnets, etc are great to hand out to people, but you want to get their information as well.

A drawing is the perfect way to get the lead information without being pushy. Have the prize displayed nicely in front of a box to put the slips in, and make sure you have plenty of lead slips.

On the lead slip you need to have a place for their Name, Address, Phone, Wedding Date (if Bridal Expo) and then if they are interested in being on the mailing list, hostessing a party, or becoming a consultant.

If working with several consultants, you can have each consultant make copies of the slips on different colored paper – to know whose lead is whose!

Successful Vendor Booth Ideas

Having a “theme” to your display is a great way to show off your fun and creativity, but also to leave a lasting impression with those who see your booth. Some Vendor Booth Themes can be:

Tropical Vacation – Decorate your booth with fun tropical decor such as palm trees, coconuts, and little drink umbrellas. Wear brightly colored shirts and funny hats. If possible, have tropical music playing. When someone books a party from your booth, give them a bright floral lei to wear!

Spa Delight – Bring the relaxing ambiance of the spa to your vendor booth! Use fresh flower clippings and smooth stones to decorate your booth. If possible have gentle music playing and maybe even a small bubbling fountain.

Booking Parties At The Expo

A version of the “Book To Look” is a great way to book parties – have little gift boxes done up pretty in a big basket, and if they book a date at the Expo, they can choose a box for a goodie the night of their party.

Make sure you have enough hostess packets with you, so you can hand it right to them. You may want to do a “round robin” with the consultants to keep it fair.

Another great idea is to have a “Booking Prize Wheel” where when they book the party, they spin the wheel to see what prize they will win the night of their party. Post pictures of the prizes on the wheel, in case people do not know the names of your products.

Related Article: DIY Booking Prize Wheel

Vendor Event Follow Up

At the end of the Expo, you can divvy the lead slips however you have agreed to. I get plastic cups and just divvy them evenly.

Call these leads within 48 hours of the event – this is crucial to follow up. A sample phone call might go like this:

“Hi, Ann, this is Lynsey, we met at the Pensacola Bridal Fair on Sunday. I am one of the (Your Company) consultants that was there, and we had so much fun, we decided to offer everyone a free *something* for hostessing a party between now and the end of *month* I wanted to call you first, since you marked that you were interested in having a party – would a weekend or weekday be better for you?”

And continue with your normal party booking script. Your free something can be anything you choose – keep it nice, but inexpensive – you are going to get a lot of “Yes’s!”

No matter how much effort you put into the Expo, without proper follow up, you are missing out on a HUGE avenue for income! Pick up that 600-pound phone!

These are not “cold calls” because you have met these ladies, and they have willingly given you their info.

Done right, you are going to see some amazing results from each Expo!