One of the most frequent questions I get from makers and designs is “how do I know if it’s time to do a trade show?”
At trade shows, sometimes referred to as wholesale shows, you bring examples of your work so that buyers from retail stores and websites can see the work directly and write orders. Trade shows are a great way to grow your business and increase your exposure, but they also represent a serious financial investment.
Here are some criteria to use when determining if your business is ready to tackle a trade show:
- Do you have a cohesive product line?
It’s important to take an honest look at your product line before diving into wholesale. Do the objects you sell fit into distinctive product categories – jewelry, home goods, or stationary for example – or do you have a little bit of everything? Do you have a unifying style? If you can’t describe your line’s aesthetic in three words or less, you probably need to be more cohesive. If you’ve got a lot of different styles or types of items in your line, you may want to choose one style or type of item to focus on for trade shows.
Inventory isn’t an issue when you’re doing a trade show. You only need one example of each item in your line – buyers will place orders that you’ll fill after the show. But you should have enough items in your product line to fill at least a small booth. The number of items could vary greatly – jewelers will need more pieces to fill a booth than furniture designers.
- Can you sustain wholesale pricing?
Wholesale price = half of retail. Which means if you’ve been selling online and at craft shows, your wholesale price is half of that. Take a hard look at those numbers. Can you make a profit selling at half of what you’re selling now? (If you can’t, chances are your prices are too low, but that’s a topic for another post.)
- Can you meet production needs?
Is your process so laborious that you can only make one item a day? Or a week? If you aren’t capable of producing the same design (or similar designs) in multiple quantities, then you probably aren’t ready for wholesale.
- Do you have a line sheet, catalog, and other wholesale materials?
Wholesale buyers will want a line sheet (a listing of your products and prices) at the minimum. A catalog or something with visual representations of your products is even better. If you don’t already have these made, are you in a position to make them? Do you have fixed prices you’re willing to commit to print? Do you have strong product photography, or a clever way of visually representing your products?
- Is it in the budget?
When you create your trade show budget, you need to include costs beyond the booth fee. Include the cost of travel, food, and lodging. Most trade shows are in large convention centers that require you to pay additional fees for things like electricity and drayage. Plus, there is the cost of producing all your print materials, pre-show promotion, your booth display, and the cost of producing the items you’ll be showing. You need to include all these things in your budget.
So, should you do a trade show in the next year?
If you answered yes to all those questions, except for the one about your budget, it means you’re ready to dive into wholesale, but can’t afford the financial risk of a trade show. Luckily there are plenty of other ways to target retailers. I recommend you check out my class on Creative Live, Sell Your Products to Retailers, for some great ideas on how to reach out to stores.
If you answered yes to all the questions, and you’ve already got a few wholesale accounts, it could be time to jump into a trade show. But don’t jump in blind! I recommend walking a show before exhibiting (check out a few upcoming shows), as well as talking to others who exhibit in that show to get their feedback.
If you aren’t quite ready for wholesale, don’t worry. Trade shows aren’t going anywhere. Build doing a show into your long range goals, and work on preparing your line, looking at your prices, and preparing your wholesale materials.
And don’t worry if you don’t think trade shows are for you. I know designers and makers who have built successful businesses without doing trade shows.
When deciding to do a trade show, the most important question you can ask yourself is, “does it fit into the overall vision and goals for my business?”
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Want help growing your wholesale business, whether you’re ready to dive into a trade show or reach out to buyers on your own? Check out my best selling class on Creative Live, Sell Your Products to Retailers.
Good post! We are starting to move into the direction of doing more wholesale, but boy, is it a different beast from doing craft shows and selling on-line. It really takes a lot of planning and re-evaluating. We get asked to wholesale all the time, so 2010 is the year to really get our line sheets and pricing in order.
Thanks, Megan for your time and info.
Great post, this is really wonderful information to share with those in the industry! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing this info! I’ve been thinking about doing trade shows in the near future. Now you’ve given me some goals to work on to make sure I’m ready. I have a few wholesale shops working with me already but I’d love to build on that. Thanks for giving me that push to get my catalog designed. Keep up the posts!
You’re welcome! Are there any other trade show related topics you’d love to hear about? I’d love to plan more posts.
Thank you so much for the website! I actually had the opportunity to ‘walk’ the Magic Show last year. It was mind blowing!
Often my hang-up is in knowing the ‘lingo’ of the show and being prepared for the buyers questions and responces. This unknown scares me to death. You know.. terms such as ‘Net 30’ and so on.
So it would be nice to perhaps ‘role play’ the seasoned buyer against the first time exhibitor. To know the right forms to bring along (besides a business card and line sheet), would be a plus as well.
Thanks in advance!
I have a few questions about trade shows:
1. My products are pretty small (place cards). Do you have any suggestions on filling up the booth space? I could decorate the booth but I don’t want the buyers confusing my props with my products.
2. I’ve heard mentions of booth salespeople who I can pay to sell products for me. Do you recommend/discourage this idea? Maybe they would get a better booth placement than I would?
3. Do wholesale buyers ever ask for samples of your work to take home with them from a show? Do I need to have samples available?
4. What approximate quantity of catalogs should I have available at a trade show?
Thanks for your time and answers.
Emily – great questions. I started to answer them here, but then decided to hold off for more questions and do a post with them all at the end of the week!
So guys, keep ’em coming!
I’ve read Craft, Inc. and did not find it all that helpful after reading a couple of other craft/business books. I guess you can only say the same thing so many ways. I’m going to look into that other book you mentioned. There is a trade show in April, and while I’d love to get my foot in the door and set up a booth there right away, I am going to see if I can walk it in preparation for their following show. I have a feeling I won’t be able to afford a booth for a while, but I’d like to see what these shows are all about.
What a timely read! I was just thinking about signing up for a trade show but I’m not so sure it works into my budget at this time. I think I’ll be glad for the extra time to re-evaluate. Thanks for the info.!
Oh wow. I found you via Etsy and I love the way you write! I love what you write about AND the way you say it. I think you are my new blog crush!
Thanks for the post. I have done trade shows for several years but I jumped in without walking a show first. That is probably the best advice. It really helps to know how to set up your booth. Most trade shows expect a lot of creativity and professionalism in the booth display ESPECIALLY from handmade! I find that to be challenging and I am always trying to improve on that. That brings me to a question I am trying to tackle. What is the best way to ship your booth setup? I don’t know if I need to buy a crate or if I can just ship separate boxes. And then each show seems to charge differently for getting your shipment to your booth. It is a lot of research for a one person show.
Great info! Thanks for sharing.