Woohoo! You’ve agreed to hold a stall at an event now to plan what your booth will look like on the day.
Smaller events such as local fayres, the stalls don’t need to be as fancy as those with stands rather than tables.
Regardless of whether you want to stand out and look professional, remember you are offering a premium service, and people wish for the overall premium experience.
Make your Stand, STAND out from the crowd.
If you have exhibition stands, you want to make them look friendly and appealing for people to come over and take a look. Keep it with your brand!!
Ikea lights make excellent spotlights on your stand from up above looking down; make sure you have electricity available if doing this.
You won’t be allowed to put permanent fixtures on the stand; I found strong Velcro strips helped attach to the stand walls. For one event I did, I used rolls of wallpaper to decorate the walls, and this looked great to make me stand out.
If a table isn’t available, wallpaper pasting tables are great.
Make sure you have table clothes with you; even if they supply the tables, they sometimes look grubby.
Battery operated Fairy Lights; Letter Lights can be great on stalls too.
Ikea was my friend when designing my stalls.
I also had a pop-up banner with precise contact info on it. A QR code to your social media link is a great way to connect.
Most importantly, stick with your brand! If your brand is minimal, don’t have a cluttered stall. Use your brand colours and make your stall as visual as possible for people to come over and see what you have to offer.
Payment Methods
Most venues won’t have a cash machine on site, and clients probably won’t have ready cash on them, especially for more expensive purchases. Having a card reader will help you secure the sale there and then, without the faffing.
I use iZettle, it connects to my phone, and you can pre-programme your packages on it, so it’s a case of pressing a couple of buttons on the day. You can also send receipts straight away to the customer.
It looks professional and gives your customers peace of mind that they have the transaction on their card.
There are many card machines out there; look at what suits you. I did find iZettle the cheapest and best rate for me.
Collect leads
You will not physically be able to speak to everyone who passes your stall. Creating a mailing list from the event is a great way to generate contacts and share your business after the show.
Ensure that your method is GDPR compliant, especially keeping the information securely. This means no paper collecting details. It can be so easy to leave for the loo and leave them sitting that isn’t compliant.
I used a tablet to collect the details; there are many ways you can create forms to capture information. Play around with this beforehand. Some limit the number of people you can capture, retrieve the data, and add your branding to it.
Some venues may not have Wifi, so check this before. One venue I went to had Wifi, but it was abysmal, so I had to connect to my phone data. Keep this in mind.
I was a bit worried about leaving my iPad lying around, so I found a great stand on amazon for approximately £60; you put your iPad into the frame, it locks AND looks professional too.
My stand had a flyer holder, so I would put my flyer on this for people to take away.
Make sure your prize isn’t going to be putting you too much out of pocket, but enough for people to want to enter. I would offer an engagement shoot to the winner. Use the prize as a way to upsell your primary products/services then.
Network
Use this as an opportunity to talk to other vendors. It helps if you need to go to the loo throughout the day, as you can ask them to keep an eye on your stall, but it’s a great way to build professional connections too.
You have similar ideal clients as you are at the same event; use this as an opportunity to collaborate; you never know when you could recommend each other’s services too.
Bring an Assistant
Having an assistant with you can make a big difference. You are only one person, and there will only be so many people you can talk to on the day. An assistant can answer questions, direct people to your lead magnet and help process sales.
The company also keeps you excited when you have downtimes in people coming through. These downtimes tend to be when there is runway shows or presentations.
Ditch the business cards
Let’s be honest, how many times do you look at the business cards you’ve been given? Business cards aren’t very environmentally friendly either; if this is one of your business values, you need to consider this a factor. Also, it’s one less thing to pass around in pandemic times.
I try and get people connected on social media straight away. If you have a Facebook group, explain that you don’t use business cards due to the environmental aspect, and you can add them straight into your group. Have them jump on FB as you are talking and add them in. Straight away, you have the connections there.
I then do a welcome post to all new group members and send a message later, saying it was lovely to meet them today. If they have tried on a product/colour/scent/flavour, mention what they tried on the day.
(I would keep a little list behind the stall and, in conversation, always ask their name, I would jot down their name and what we spoke about and use this in the following discussion. For example, “Hi Claire, it was lovely to meet you today at the XXXXX. For your reference, the colour you tried on today was XXXX. It looked beautiful on you. Have a wonderful evening, Zaria.”)
If your ideal client isn’t on social media, this method won’t work for you. I have personally found it effective.
The most important thing for your stall is to have fun!
Don’t worry if you don’t get lots of sales on the day. People can be overwhelmed with many things, especially significant life events like weddings and baby shows.
Collect the leads, nurture the leads, and the sales will come!
Enjoy your event, and let me know how you get on.
Zaria x
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