Wholesale Customers and Where to Find Them
Altogether one of the best ways to get word out about your new product is to go to give shows. Gift shows are great place to find prospective buyers as well as distributors retailers and anybody else who is selling crafts. These gift shows are available in every area of the country now with the largest ones being in New York, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Chicago. The convention business is one of the largest businesses in the country and buyers fly in from all over the world to see your products. Many manufacturers from China now sell lines at these shows.
Getting a booth to display your products at the shows can be quite expensive and is most likely done by manufacturers who are mature in their industry. In many cases there is an application process that you have to go through to get into the shows so it might be an option for you down the road. It's something to look forward to as you grow. Also if you need ideas these are a great resource to attend and get ideas for your products and to see what your competition is up to. When you go to the shows you will probably have to show some type of qualification that you are in the trade so if you have your business license or something similar this is usually sufficient to allow the show to grant you tickets. If there is any type of association that is part of your industry it's probably a good idea to join the Association so that you will have documents needed in the future for any type of these events.
With all of the prohibitive expenses, the next question is should you attend the shows? The idea that the shows are in most areas and you can probably save a lot of money by making it a day trip and just driving in for the day. Be prepared for a long day and plenty of walking also be prepared for getting up extra early so that you can drive to one of the shows if you are not close by. One of the ways to make really really good contacts at the shows is when you are giving your badge with your name on it as most attendees are required to wear a sticker you can have something on your sticker that describes who you are. So for instance if your name is Mary Smith it might be Mary Smith fragrant bath bombs. If they won't put that on for you as you walk through the door you can actually add a sticker or have a bark button on your sweater or on your coat that actually says something like this. People will stop you and ask you about your business as you were walking around be visible and have plenty of business cards ready to hand out to people that you meet. Collect as many business cards as you can and keep these in your database and make sure that you contact the people that you have met within 36 hours to 48 hours so that they remember you and keep you fresh in mind for any needs that they may have.
If you're going to make it a two day trip and you have been fairly aggressive in introducing yourself people will recognize you the second day and they might have some questions that they thought of overnight serious buyers if they think that you have a great product they will definitely need some more information. You probably can't hand out flyers as you go so be sure to have a website that is easy to remember so that you can send your potential clients to that website. This will make it so they will never forget you. Also make sure you have a special offer for convention goers only a buy one get one free or free shipping or something to get people to make their initial order. Once you get that initial order you will have contact information so that you can stay in contact with people even those who did not give you a card or provide any extra information. They will still be interested in purchasing from you because of your special this is a great way to grow your business.
Getting a booth to display your products at the shows can be quite expensive and is most likely done by manufacturers who are mature in their industry. In many cases there is an application process that you have to go through to get into the shows so it might be an option for you down the road. It's something to look forward to as you grow. Also if you need ideas these are a great resource to attend and get ideas for your products and to see what your competition is up to. When you go to the shows you will probably have to show some type of qualification that you are in the trade so if you have your business license or something similar this is usually sufficient to allow the show to grant you tickets. If there is any type of association that is part of your industry it's probably a good idea to join the Association so that you will have documents needed in the future for any type of these events.
With all of the prohibitive expenses, the next question is should you attend the shows? The idea that the shows are in most areas and you can probably save a lot of money by making it a day trip and just driving in for the day. Be prepared for a long day and plenty of walking also be prepared for getting up extra early so that you can drive to one of the shows if you are not close by. One of the ways to make really really good contacts at the shows is when you are giving your badge with your name on it as most attendees are required to wear a sticker you can have something on your sticker that describes who you are. So for instance if your name is Mary Smith it might be Mary Smith fragrant bath bombs. If they won't put that on for you as you walk through the door you can actually add a sticker or have a bark button on your sweater or on your coat that actually says something like this. People will stop you and ask you about your business as you were walking around be visible and have plenty of business cards ready to hand out to people that you meet. Collect as many business cards as you can and keep these in your database and make sure that you contact the people that you have met within 36 hours to 48 hours so that they remember you and keep you fresh in mind for any needs that they may have.
If you're going to make it a two day trip and you have been fairly aggressive in introducing yourself people will recognize you the second day and they might have some questions that they thought of overnight serious buyers if they think that you have a great product they will definitely need some more information. You probably can't hand out flyers as you go so be sure to have a website that is easy to remember so that you can send your potential clients to that website. This will make it so they will never forget you. Also make sure you have a special offer for convention goers only a buy one get one free or free shipping or something to get people to make their initial order. Once you get that initial order you will have contact information so that you can stay in contact with people even those who did not give you a card or provide any extra information. They will still be interested in purchasing from you because of your special this is a great way to grow your business.
