That is why I’m very excited to be here today. I want to share with you something I recently discovered: Trade shows are a sourcing gold mine! We all know there are many ways to source products for your business: the internet, magazines, store aisles and HGTV to name a few. But Trade Shows are efficient and in order to remain competitive in the eBay marketplace, we have to be efficient business owners.

This last January, I attended my first trade show in Las Vegas: CHA, the worlds largest Craft and Hobby Trade Show. It was HUGE! Over 1,000 vendors and exhibits were spread over 320,000 sq. feet of space. I’m glad I wore my tennis shoes because I covered a lot of ground, saw the coolest stuff and met the neatest folks. I can’t believe that, up until this point, I have sourced my products over the web. I sourced more product in the 5 days I was there than ever before!

Here are some tips to help your first trade show be a success:

pigandpanda

2. When you enter a trade show it can be overwhelming. I found it helpful to:

• Arrive the day before the show starts. I could figure out how to get to the show, where to find my meals and look through the orientation materials which was mailed to me prior to the show. This also gave me a chance to be rested before the show opened. I wouldn’t have enjoyed flying in, checking into my hotel and getting to the show all in the same day.

• Use the first couple days to check in at show registration and orient yourself with the show floor. You’ll find which areas and booths to focus on.

• Take the “raspberry picking approach”. If you’ve ever picked raspberries, you know you take a bucket and pick berries as you walk down the row of plants. You get to the end and you’re positive you’ve picked every berry. BUT, turn around and there’s a whole new bucket of juicy berries waiting to be picked. The same is true at a trade show. Be sure to walk the aisles multiple times and in different directions. You’ll see something new each and every time.

• Be patient and polite. There are loads of folks walking around and tons of booths to see. If an area is too crowded or you can’t talk to a vendor, take your floor map (you usually get one in your registration packet and when you arrive to the show) and highlight the booth. It will help you remember to return later.

• Plan to stay through the end of the show or even until the next day. You’ve already spent money and time getting there so don’t cut your opportunity short. Vendors are very willing to negotiate on the last day. You can get some good deals that wouldn’t have been available during the first days of the show. And many vendors sell their floor samples on the last day. Floor samples are extremely helpful references, especially after the show is over and you’re at home. Be sure to have cash to pay for the samples.

4. Be prepared to promote and build your business!

• Bring a box of business cards, magnets, brochures or fliers. I passed out over 200 business cards and I still ran out! You never know what opportunity will present itself for you to network and promote your business. I even found a networking opportunity at the airport security gate when I was leaving town. Granted, searching for a business card while tying your shoes is a bit awkward, but it turned out to be an important contact. Fortunately, I had one business card left! It’s always wise to have your contact information handy.

• Attend some workshops. This is a great opportunity to network with other attendees and make contacts with workshop instructors who can help your business. Workshop instructors usually reserve a Q&A time at the end of class where you can get helpful information. Also, those contacts may help you in your business sometime in the future. Collect business cards and write notes on the back so you remember who they are and what they can do for you. There are also a lot of neat things to learn about in the workshops, just don’t over commit yourself. There is normally a charge for each workshop and they are usually non-refundable. I signed up for more workshops than I had time to attend, missing about $75 in workshops. That was money I could have spent on floor samples or an opening order!

• Be creative about incorporating products you normally wouldn’t consider. Before the show I definitely wasn’t interested in Scrapbooking products or machinery. When I got there, over half the show floor was dedicated to Scrapbooking. That was a very clear sign that I would be foolish not to incorporate Scrapbooking into my business plan!

• Remember how I suggested earlier highlighting the crowded booths on your floor map? Look out for crowded booths because they’re HOT and a good clue that their products are probably good sellers.

pigandpanda

5. Learn the lingo continued...

• Listen to folks walking the floor. Even though they’re business owners, they’re also buyers. Find out what they’re buying. If you hear it enough times, you’ll know it’s something you need to pay attention to.

• Listen to what other folks are asking the vendors. That’s how I learned to phrase the “What are your opening order requirements?” question. Just make sure you don’t appear too much like you’re eavesdropping! You don’t want to make people uncomfortable.

• Better yet, introduce yourself to other buyers and find out why they’re there. Ask them about their stores. You might even divulge that this is your first time. When I finally found the courage to confess I was a newbie, I found many people were happy to share tips. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

• Practice your pitch. It’s sometimes referred to as the elevator pitch. You have one elevator ride’s chance to tell someone about you. That’s about 30 seconds to capture someone’s interest. If you want to sell an idea or negotiate, practice on vendors you don’t really care about. Then, when you really want to negotiate with a vendor, you’re warmed up and you know what to say. It took me two days of practicing before I felt completely confident. Remember how I mentioned earlier to use the first couple of days to orient yourself? This is when you practice your pitch. By the third day, I marched up to vendors, stuck out my hand and said “Hi! My name is Rebecca Shapiro and I own an online store, Pig and Panda. Let me tell you about my shop…” Turn it into a friendly, entertaining opportunity to show off your business and educate and you’ll have your audience hooked! Now folks will be listening and learning from YOU.

• Be prepared for the occasional shut-down and use it to your advantage. Some vendors don’t understand online businesses and argue that the online community is unfair competition to their brick and mortar customers. Use this as an opportunity to teach them about your business and what you are doing online (another excellent reason to practice your pitch!). Keep in mind, you won’t be able to educate everyone so don’t take it personally if they are rude and offensive. Remind yourself that it’s their problem and politely move on.

• A good place to find very amenable vendors is in the new vendor area. These vendors are trying to break into the market and are open to all kinds of negotiations. They’re good to practice your pitch on as well because they’re newbies just like yourself.

pigandpanda

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Cheers,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Hi all

There's some great content here. We'd love to hear your questions or comments.

Thanks,

Deirdre
eBay Community Development

Hello trententerprisesinc! So glad you can join us. Feel free to jump in even if you are new. Questions are a great place to start.

pigandpanda