December was a busy month of attending local shows and selling fine art prints from Show & Tell Designs. The first month in business has been a small victory with 50+ sales! As a novice, here are a few lessons I have learned in the early days.
Don’t let sales be your main focus
When I focused only on sales dollars it made me nervous and uptight. Counting every penny of investment versus return in the first few months was really intimidating. When I looked at it from a different perspective, that it was good practice for me to learn how to talk about my product and my personal story, it helped keep me relaxed (especially since I don’t have sales or marketing background). Not only did I gain confidence through repetition, but I found that I made more sales when I connected to the customers on a personal level, so it benefited both parties.
Customer Service
Engage your customer by telling them your story, your technique, and your process. People enjoy buying unique and handmade objects, and to buy from an actual person or the original artist rather than a megastore shelf emphasizes that human connection and genuine feel. For the customer, it makes their purchase feel like a one-of-a-kind gift that you could not find anywhere else. It brings intrinsic value to an object if it has a personal connection.
Listen to Your Customers for Feedback
The only way to learn how to improve as a designer is to listen to others and to critique your own work. Several customers expressed interest variety packs of cards instead of single styles. I listened to them, and for the following show I offered variety packs and encountered a big boost in card set sales!
Technology
For 2012 shows I will now be able to accept credit card transactions for direct sales. Since people rarely have cash or a checkbook on them, I lost a few big sales because I couldn’t accept credit cards. Being observant to how other merchants avoided losing sales, it became a no-brainer to use this amazingly new iPhone app called Square
Organization
Have a checklist of all things needed for the event from big to small (product, cash box, business cards, calculator, pricetags, tax rates, tables, cloths, lunch, etc.). Even with a concise checklist, I often bring <30 items to each event. Another organizational tip that makes transactions convenient for both the buyer and seller is to include sales tax in the list price of your item to keep it at a whole number. For example, if you were going to list your item at $20 and then needed to add $1.94 for sales tax, it is more inconvenient for the seller and buyer to find loose change to complete a cash transaction for $21.94. In contrast, you could list/sell your item at $22 even (tax included) and when the show is over you subtract out $1.94 for tax in your own personal bookkeeping. This eliminates the hassle of fine details from a busy show environment and makes sales more convenient for your customer, especially if they buy multiple items.
Types of Shows
I had such great feedback, sales and success from my first 2 shows that I immediately signed up for 2 more shows the next week expecting the same results. Instead, I had a huge disappointment when I found out that not all shows are not created equal! The third show I attended was the inaugural year of the event, so it did not have a good turnout because nobody in town knew about it. After speaking with seasoned veterans, the best shows are the ones that are well established and have many years of customer loyalty. It is worth your time and money to research the show ahead of time and know if your product niche is a good fit. This was the biggest determining factor in my success. Trying to sell the right product in the wrong market can lead to a long, disappointing day. Ask yourself basic questions like who is my target audience, what type of retail category does it fit in, and is the product appropriate for the time of year (i.e. prints of winter scenes may not sell in the summer) will help you determine what shows are most appropriate for you and your business.
Vendors/Artisans
The last part is to have fun and to learn from other talented vendors. I had the privilege of meeting other interesting and talented artisans (Biscuit Bags, Chained Maiden, Pin and Scroll, Ugly Duckling Soap) and have made some great contacts. These people are passionate about what they do and can be a wealth of information. I enjoyed hearing their stories and occasionally exchanging products.
Necklace created by Paula, Chained Maiden
