[ScaredPanda]

Hey everyone,

This weekend is our first street festival where we will be selling t-shirts. It's the first time we have been selling from a physical location as in the past everything was sold online. The festival is a good opportunity to get our shirts out in front of the public and I wanted to get some advice from some "veteran" street vendors out there. So, if you have experience working a festival/art fair, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts on what worked for you in the past, what hasn't and any other words of wisdom you might have.

Thanks!

 

[bornover]

We do art festivals and special events every week just about, and have been doing them for three years.

Number one, you need your premier stuff at eye level and unobstructed to view when people are walking by.

Number two, do you best to make your booth aesthetically pleasing and an inviting space to spend time in. That means it is good looking, uncluttered and unconfining. Your items must be easily viewed and inspected, and easy to put back.

Number three, never ever be grumpy or snap at anyone. Doesn't matter that it is a million degrees outside and you have had no food or drink that day and your spouse or significant other does something stupid. If people see you grump at your partner they will leave. Goes without saying about grumping at customers.

Number four, don't let people keep you super focused on them, your stuff will disappear when you aren't watching. You need a minimum of two people working your booth so one can keep an eye on things while the other offers personal service.

 

[binki]

Number four, don't let people keep you super focused on them, your stuff will disappear when you aren't watching. You need a minimum of two people working your booth so one can keep an eye on things while the other offers personal service.

+1 on that. We had a friend that does these things loose 2 cases of product right out the back of his booth one night.

 

[ScaredPanda]

Great, just what I was looking for!

#4 is essential, will keep my eyes wide open.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

Number one in my opinion is sell your product. You cant just stand there as an order taker.

 

[bornover]

Number one in my opinion is sell your product. You cant just stand there as an order taker.

My crew is too busy taking money and making change to "sell" our product. When my wife got home last night, she said she could feel the stares burning into the back of her head from the other vendors that were ticked off because our booth was packed and busy while their booths were empty.

I think the absolute number one thing for selling product outdoors at festivals and special events is how you display your product. It is the same thing at the mall. You are window shopping and you don't care what stores are in the mall, but when you walk by a place and they have a display that catches your eye, you go in and check the stuff out. If you see something you like and quality and price are good, you leave with it in your bag and you still might not know the name of the store you were just in!

People are window shopping at these types of events. They are not there to buy anything in particular, they are just enjoying the day and looking at all the stuff. Obviously having products people desire to own is paramount, but then after that, how you display all the products in your booth gets people to stop and check things out. Especially if you are not the only vendor with a certain type of product. If other people have very similar items, the vendor with the best display setup will get more traffic.

 

[TeesForChange]

Congratulations on doing the event! One thing that has worked really well for me was to make sure that people can easily touch and feel my t-shirts without making them come into the booth. In other words, place your shirts so that they are front and center at the booth, rather than in the back. Also, make sure to have marketing materials with you like postcards to hand out to people who are not ready to purchase at the event. They often do come back later and shop online!

And be friendly, outgoing and when people approach your table/booth, greet them with Are you familiar with our brand rather than Hi, how are you? This will get a conversation going and it's a great invite to talk about your brand.

Good luck!

 

[Nancy G]

maybe you could hang some bells on the boxes so you'd hear it if someone was snagging it?! I was in retail for 15 yrs, let's just say there's alot of opportunists out there!

 

[monajoy]

Just started thinking about doing the fairs/shows. Are you taking your press with you or are you just taking completed projects?

 

[chobay]

Bring business cards or flyers with your web address, in case you run out of sizes or someone won't buy from you right then and there.

Consider being able to take credit cards. Laptop with wifi or broadband card, or if you have a ipad, or smartphone with credit card app. I took $1000 in credit card transactions 2 weekends ago, lifesaver for sure..

Get a banner, it looks a lot more professional than joe blow a couple of booths down. Don't be pushy. Be funny and laid back. Make jokes to get people to stop. Have a clearly displayed price list. Get some bulk bags.

 

[Solmu]

greet them with Are you familiar with our brand rather than Hi, how are you?

As a customer, I absolutely detest it when people do this. My instant reaction? "You are creeping me out, and I am leaving at the first available opportunity."

Nothing puts me off looking at your product more than trying to distract me from looking at your product.

I'm not there to engage with you, I'm there to engage with your product. Those kind of conversations that engage a person, make them like you, bring in the sales pitch, etc. should be coming after a customer has found an interest on their own - not at the pleasantries stage of a "Hi, how are you?".

Just like dating, salesmen who come on too strong don't score very much. They just think they do, because occasionally it works on the easily influenced.

A hands-off approach isn't the best idea either, but you've got to be careful to find a balance and not pounce on people. To those on the other side it feels desperate and intrusive (even if it is meant to be nice and well-meaning).

 

[bornover]

I can't stress enough that festivals and special events are "Window Shopping" situations when it comes to selling stuff. You don't give a sales pitch. A good product sells its self when displayed nicely. You are there to answer questions, help find the perfect item, help find the right size, things like that. As soon as you start "selling" you have gotten pushy and destroyed the enjoyment of being out on a nice day wandering around the event for your potential customer.

 

[MotoskinGraphix]

I completely disagree with the above statement. You arent out there so folks can walk around enjoying a nice day in the sun. The 300 other booths arent out there for the same reasons and for sure arent waiting for window shoppers.

 

[dgroves108]

one more thing...don't make your prices lower than those online...keep it consistent.

also, use the fair as way to get feedback on which designs the public really likes and which ones don't do it for them.
market research.....

 

[bornover]

I completely disagree with the above statement. You arent out there so folks can walk around enjoying a nice day in the sun. The 300 other booths arent out there for the same reasons and for sure arent waiting for window shoppers.

I guess then, it is whatever works for an individual/company. We don't "sell" (meaning we don't sales pitch our stuff), and we are consistently one of the busiest booths at the festivals and events we attend weekly, large or small. What works very well for us are the things I have shared.

Tim, you are correct that we are out there to sell, but we certainly are not out there take away any enjoyment from folks day out. We can enhance their enjoyment by providing a nice treat (in the way that they leave with an item they like and will enjoy owning), or we can make the experience at our booth annoying if we are strictly about getting our hands in their pockets. While in a way that is exactly what we are trying to do, we don't need to be pushy or aggressive about it. That will just turn a potential customer off and make their day less enjoyable. My opinion is when people are widow shopping, stay laid back and let the product sell its self.