Taking Your Craft to Trade
by Sarah Franklin
Exhibiting at a trade fair for the first time can seem a little daunting, but with the right preparation and support, can be a positive experience. Sarah Franklin of Women in Rural Enterprise (WiRE) considers the experiences of six women she took to the British Craft Trade Fair (bctf) in April this year and uncovers the key to successful showcasing.
Barbara Poisson runs ‘Pennine Lavender’ selling handmade gifts from home grown lavender (www.penninelavender.co.uk). What began as a hobby with 200 plants in 1996 has now grown into a thriving family business, but despite her success Barbara was unsure whether she had the skills to exhibit at a trade fair. This is the same for many people faced with the prospect of direct selling, afraid that they’ll make mistakes and stand out as an amateur. My advice is to find an organisation to support you rather than trying to go it alone. Barbara found that exhibiting at a trade show with WiRE gave her the confidence and skills to get the most out of her first trade fair, and she valued the reassurance that the backing of a national organisation gave her. Many first-time exhibitors find that a useful way of experiencing a trade fair is to share a stand with other makers, thus relieving the financial burden and gaining encouragement from people in the same position. Being part of a networking organisation that shares your values and understands your craft will enable you to be put in touch with likeminded people. Frequently WiRE members comment on the value of the support they receive from other members, who are happy to share their experiences and learn from one another. Having decided on the size and location of your stand, it is essential that you carefully plan your display. In the months leading up to the show I worked with Barbara and the other exhibitors on the style and content of their display, sticking to the rule that ‘less is more’. Find a friend, adviser or colleague that you trust and ask for their opinion; work on first impressions and eliminate any dead space. Trade buyers want to get a feel for the style of your products, but do not need to see every variant in the range. It is important to keep your display simple and optimise the space you have. Sarah Hill of Sarah Hill Jewellery (www.sarahhilljewellery.com) designed and produced a bespoke display for her products so that they wouldn’t get lost amongst the work of other exhibitors. With only four pedestals to showcase her pieces she found that it was useful to produce item sheets for each range of jewellery and then have several leading examples on show. As well as making her products stand out, Sarah found that the item sheets were also useful to hand out to potential buyers, who in a competitive market such as jewellery, rarely make an impulse purchase but prefer to take information away to consider for the next season. Trade fairs can attract several thousand buyers. The prospect of meeting this volume of customers and subsequently negotiating with them is a large concern of many first-time exhibitors. The way to overcome this is to be prepared. I always advise our members to have answers ready to the common questions such as, “What is your minimum order size?” and “Can you give me discounts for bulk orders?”. Being able to provide facts and figures immediately strikes a professional, confident image in the mind of the buyer and shows that you are prepared to sell your products through the trade. As Kirstin Hodgson of Angel Linens (www.angel-linens.co.uk) identified, the majority of buyers are actually very approachable and have a simple strategy in mind. She found that her potential buyers actually tended to visit on all three days, taking the first day to view, second day to prioritize and third day to purchase. Kirstin designs accessories and gifts using vintage French linens and she discovered that contacting existing and prospective buyers before the fair was a very effective means of driving traffic to her stand, and gave her an advantage over competitors. Pre-event promotion is a wise strategy, particularly if your product demands specialist buyers who may not otherwise attend. It is also a good idea to have press packs ready to distribute during the event itself. Many craft trade fairs have press officers who would be willing to pass on your literature and act as the main point of contact for any journalists attending the event. I was delighted with the success of WiRE members exhibiting at the fair and am pleased that many now have the confidence and experience to go on to do further fairs this year. With the right preparation, advice and support, all craft makers should feel confident in exhibiting at a trade fair, and as Barbara says, “Take the step and go for it!”
10 Top Tips for successful exhibiting
- Give it a go! Don’t be afraid to try a trade fair, it’s not as scary as you think!
- Preparation. Read through the trade fair pack in plenty of time, this will give you a fighting chance to get everything in place. It’s never too early to start!
- Promotion. Prior to the event you should promote your presence at the fair. This can be via press releases to the media or postcards/emails to existing and prospective buyers. It is also wise to prepare press packs to distribute via the press office at the fair itself.
- Visualise your display. Find out the dimensions of your display and then set it up in a corner of your room. Visualise any problem areas and think about the flow of people around your stand.
- Keep it Simple. For a trade fair less is definitely more. There is so much visual information to take in, you don’t want to overload your display and ultimately confuse the buyers.
- Be professional. Buyers will only buy if they trust that you can deliver and that you will be around long enough to build a relationship. Remember that however friendly buyers are, they will be paying you good money for your products/ services and will expect a business-like approach.
- Attention to detail. It is worth putting as much work into the presentation of your paperwork (e.g. press-packs) as you do to your products.
- Be ready with the marketing patter. You may be lucky enough to sell on the strength of your products alone but don’t depend on it - there is always somebody else doing something similar. You have to be able to ‘talk the talk and walk the walk’.
- Collect contacts. Even if you don’t manage to sell at the fair you should come away with a list of contact details for everyone you’ve met. This will enable you to begin building a relationship with potential buyers; many sales are made after the event.
- Join WiRE!
For more information go to:
www.wireuk.org
or call 01952 815338
