When I posted my blog piece "Why aren't I selling?" I did not expect the response that I received. All I can say is WOW! I just finished reading each and everyone of them and appreciate the various comments, opinions and thoughtful insights that others have on the subject.
Michael R. made the remark "... sold to 4 out of every 10 that stopped by? Really?" To that I have to respond, "Yes, really," however, when I gave that figure, I did not say whether or not the individual had gone by my booth before without purchasing something. This in fact happened several times and a few of the "4 out of 10" came back either the same day or one of the following days of the show to purchase. When they returned they told me they just had to come back because of the amount of energy, the way they were made to feel important, especially when I would excuse myself to answer someone's question, tell that person I would be right with them as soon as I finished with the other person, and then return to talking with them, tell them to enjoy their day even when they didn't buy anything the first time around. I even joked with one person and told them I felt like a used car salesman when I explained about the festival and what we were striving for. The response I received was that I never made the person "feel like" they were being sold a bill of goods.
I have to agree with Michael that if my numbers matched and/or balanced out with the total number of attendees then it would have been a highly profitable venture to say the least. If I HAD sold according to the attendee numbers, I would have been out of stock the first day of the show. LOL. Believe me, I realize just like everyone that sales don't always go by the numbers and in a perfect world we would ALL realize the fruits of our labors. To me, however, building good customer, or potential customer, relationships is extremely important. I did have several people that were pleased that I was still doing the festival as they remembered me from last year (they did not purchase anything from me then), the referrals to other vendors I had given them when they were looking for something specific and directions to various places of interest within Alpena. They even brought others to the Festival this year to meet me and they all purchased something with a promise that they would return again next year.
Word of mouth on the positiveness and/or negativeness of an experience at a show can make or break a show or a vendor. For example, a vendor had a customer complain about a shirt they had purchased last year that was handpainted. The customer even brought the shirt in to show how badly the paint had come off. The vendor looked at the shirt and asked if they had "hand" washed it according to the instructions they received when they purchased the shirt. Even though the customer did not follow the insturctions, the vendor told them he felt bad about the results and gave them two different shirts at no cost to them. The customer was floored by this and even stated that a lot of BIG companies wouldn't do that. He ended up purchasing a stained class and hand carved mirror from this same vendor. When the customer left the show, he stopped at the ticket/information area to tell them that he would definitely be back and bringing others because of the way he was treated months after a prior shows sale by a vendor.
At Festival, even in these tough economic times, we've tried, for the most part, to be very upbeat and positive. We must be doing something right as we will be hosting our 17th year in 2012! The Festival goes out of its way to make sure that the vendors have what they need, when they need it and be as supportative as possible. However, there are a few that no matter what you do, that are not happy but that happens anywhere.
Thanks again for all the wonderful comments and for the food for thought. Mike R, just want you do know I appreciate YOUR comments as well as wasn't picking on you. The numbers and rationale were right on the money, just felt that your comment was a good one to use as an example of how numbers can be tweaked and not really give a good accurate result. May each and everyone of you have a successful show, meet wonderful people and enjoy all the best that life has to offer.
Comments
Warren, if I had something to sell with a $2000 price tag and someone came with cash, or credit card, in hand to purchase it, I would be in such a state of euphoria that I probably wouldn't remember them being in my booth either! LOL. The prices of goods at the Festival ranged anywhere from $30-$1200 or more. There were booths operated by children, our Next Generation of Lighthouse Keepers and the Boy Scouts, which had lower priced items geared toward the younger set and were all handmade by those individuals, such as friendship bracelets, necklaces, knitted, crocheted or woodworked items. The funds they raised went to help with educational needs/supplies and some went towards scholarships that will be offered at a later date.
Everything sold was created by the exhibitor and none was something bought on-line and sold as "handmade" to the public, nor was it mass produced using a manufacturer/factory, such as teddybears made in china, for example. I must say that even with our economic slump, there were some wonderful representations by artists of mediums ranging from stained glass to metal work to photographers to beaders to authors.
Mike I only hope that the "fun" I have while being an exhibitor/photographer at the Festival continues. If it begins to be like "work" (sorry for the diry word) and I begin to adopt a disinterested attitude in my customers, then it will be time for me to walk away and put my "toys" up on their respective shelves. I do owe a lot of what I do and how I do it, to wonderful people like you and the countless others who offer words of encouragement, tips of the trade and what seems to keep people coming back for more. For all of that I thank you from the bottom of my heart.