How to be a successful Avon vendor at an event.

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How to be a successful Avon vendor at an event?

I Signed Up for an Event, What Do I Do Now?

Pre-Show Preparation

 Personal Invitations – Let your current and past customers know which events you will be exhibiting at by sending them a personal invitation. Email is an effective means of communicating, but if you have mailing addresses, postal mail is recommended for this step. You can cost effectively create post cards or flyer announcements using your own computer and printer, or by ordering them online. VistaPrint often has free offers in limited quantities and all you pay for is shipping. Always include a call to action with this mailing. For example, “Bring this post card (or flyer) to the event for a special gift or 10% off your purchase that day.” Or, “Be the first to try (insert newest product you’ll be featuring at the event) Follow up with an email reminder 2 weeks before the event.

 Advertising – If you have a web page or a consultant web site that you can add personal updates, let your site visitors know where you’ll be exhibiting and invite them to attend. You can also mention a call to action here, but it should be different than what you offer to your current and past customers.

 Other Web Presence – Take advantage of social media sites and free event advertising sites to promote your presence at these events. When you take an active role in promoting the event, you are helping to maximize the audience for the event. The more who know about it, the more who will attend, which means potential new customers for you!

 Sponsorship – Event promoters use sponsors to help defray event costs and offer prize drawings. Why not do the same? This is a great way to partner with another company to swap advertising. I’ll use a chiropractor as an example: Exhibitor Annie visits her chiropractor monthly. On one visit, she tells him that she will be exhibiting at xyz event and is looking for a sponsor. She asks him if he would be willing to offer a free service as a prize drawing at her booth. In return, she would promote his business in all her advertising efforts for the event. Of course, she would also ask if she could post a flyer at the chiropractor’s office to help promote the event. This is a great way to offer a prize drawing at your booth with a significant value. It’s a win-win for both. If you want to use this suggestion, be sure to talk to your event promoter and ask if this is allowed first.

Event Plan of Action

 Decide on what information you want attendees to go home with and then write it down and rehearse! If you were giving a speech, you would be prepared by knowing what you were going to say, right? Apply this same strategy for your exhibit.

 Select one or two products to highlight at the event and then have enough on hand to allow attendees to sample. Samples are a great way to draw people to your table. If your strategy is to feature all your products, that is the wrong strategy because you will be watering down the information by skimming through too many products. This becomes overwhelming for the attendee. Of course you will be prepared to talk about other products when attendees ask, but select one or two new products as your main focal point. I suggest you have plenty of Skin So Soft Bath Oil on hand to sell and highlight a fragrance.

 Listen to the attendees. For example, if you sell beauty products and while talking about your featured product, your guest tells you they have sensitive skin. Immediately switch your plan of action to focus on your sensitive skin products. Not listening to the attendee’s needs is one of the top complaints that trade show or vendor fair guests complain about!

 Have a variety of handouts available, including business cards, catalogs, brochures, etc. Make sure your name and contact information is on ALL your handouts.

 While handouts are a great tool, they don’t necessarily generate leads. It’s up to you to collect your visitors’ information as well. If you have an event helper, this is a great job for them. Have your helper focus on collecting leads while you talk about your products or services. (Would you like to sign up for our free newsletter? Would you like to sign up for our free drawing today?) They don’t even have to be well educated about your products or services! Having a few different options will work best because you never know what your visitor is most comfortable with. My #1 way to collect massive contacts is to have a FREE drawing. Avon Enter to win forms Everyone that stops by my table is asked if they would like to enter to win a FREE gift set. Here are a few other ideas:

 Newsletter Sign Up Form

 Host a Party Inquiry Form

 Free Drawings

 Other ideas? Be creative!

 If you are selling at the event, do not let a customer walk away without providing their name and email address. This is your opportunity to turn a onetime customer into a repeat customer. It may take a bit of time, but have 2 part receipts on hand for their record and yours. At a minimum, collect their first name and email address and write down the product they purchased. You can use the enter to win forms listed on our Facebook Group Page “Avons Team Prevail”.

 Practice setting up your display in advance. By knowing exactly how to set up your table, you will be able to set up for the event much faster. If you are bringing a helper, include them when you are planning your set up at home. This way, they will know exactly where you want items placed and on event day, setup will be a breeze! More information about setting up your display follows this section.

Post-Event Follow Up

 If you followed the recommendations above, you went home with a sizable list of leads via your sales receipts, newsletter sign ups, etc. Within 2 weeks, contact each and every one of them individually via email. The goal here is to establish a post-show relationship that may lead to future business:

 Thank them for visiting your booth

 If they made a purchase, thank them for their purchase and specifically mention the product they bought. Invite them to call or email you if they have any questions about their purchase

 Include another call to action. Offer them a post-show discount or gift if they book a party or make a purchase. Many times people aren’t prepared or are still undecided about what to buy at the event. When you send them a personalized follow up, your thoughtfulness may encourage their post show buying decision.

 If you have a Facebook fan page, invite them and give them a reason to “like” it. Perhaps you have exclusive drawings only for your fans or let them know they can learn about future events from your Facebook page. This of course applies to other social media sites as well.

Your Event Display

Here are some suggestions to make your tabletop display “pop” and attract attention from both far and near:

 If a table covering is not included with your registration, consider purchasing your own, including a table cloth and skirting in the same color. Some exhibitors have table coverings with their company logo on them. If these coverings are not floor length, it is strongly suggested that you purchase table skirting that closely matches the color of your table covering. This serves 2 purposes. It creates an illusion of length that makes your display look larger and it hides your show supplies, purse, jacket, etc. Plastic table skirting can be purchased at most party supply stores for around $6.

 Be prepared by bringing along tape, scissors, extra pens, paper for taking notes.

 Build your display upward by using self-standing signage or shelving to display your products. If shelving is not available, try stacking some products to create height and a 3D visual effect.

 Helium balloons are often not allowed at venues because they are tedious to remove if they float up to the ceiling. However if you are using signage, consider fastening some non-helium balloons to a top corner of your sign. The balloons will create added height, making your display stand out from farther away. You can also purchase balloon cups and sticks online at a very reasonable price. These make your balloons “stand up” and can be reused, so they are good investment.

 Use lighting to brighten up your display. If electricity is available, use desk-type lamps to highlight feature products. Or use battery operated led lights to make your booth “shine”.

 Cut the clutter. Too much product on your table can be distracting. Feature your best items with a balance of your marketing materials. Have more product on hand to replace any that is sold, but it is not necessary to cover every inch of your table with product. You will want to at least have some space for visitors to fill out forms. If there is none available, they may pass on signing up for your drawing, newsletter or request more info forms.

 If blank name tags are provided, write your name, company name and booth or table number on them. This way, if you stroll around the event you can catch the eye of others and they will know where to find you! Be prepared with your own name tag in case they are not provided!

 Tradeshow giveaways with your logo and contact information not only attract people to your table, they are a great way to build brand recognition. These can be expensive, but if you do several shows a year, purchasing in bulk can save you money.

 If you can’t afford giveaways, have a dish of wrapped candy at your table. You can even be creative by attaching the candy to your business card, or creating paper wraps for miniature candy bars with your contact info on them. (Simply tape them over the original wrapper. Don’t use glue!)

More Tips

 Smile

 Stand in front or to the side of your table and greet attendees

 Sit when you need a break, but unless you are doing a book signing, don’t sit behind your table the entire event. It makes you look unapproachable. If you are sitting to rest, grab your notebook and take some notes, make your grocery list, sort through products or catalogs, etc. – do something so you look like you are sitting for a purpose. Then stand if someone approaches. It makes people feel important if you immediately drop what you are doing for them. Sitting and doing nothing also gives the impression you are bored.

 Dress comfortable, but maintain the level of professionalism your company requires. If no company guidelines are suggested, a good rule of thumb is to dress business casual.

 Don’t cross your arms. It makes you look grumpy, even if you’re not!

 Wear comfortable shoes. This is not a good time to try out those new shoes you’ve never worn, no matter how great they look!

 Walk around and check out the other exhibitors. This is a great opportunity to network!

 If you see a display getting lots of attention, wander over and find out why! Get ideas for your future displays!

I hope this helps you. Contact me if you need more help 🙂

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