How Booth Attendants Can Get Customers

On April 12, 2008, Chicago Artists Resource (CAR) organized an event called Creative Chicago Expo. It featured booths, seminars, and information from businesses that specialize in art, education, rental space, artist housing, real estate, mortgages, finance, starting a business, legal help, and so forth. Artists of all sorts (authors, musicians, entrepreneurs, and your everyday corporate worker) were in attendance for this event in the Chicago Cultural Center at 77 East Randolph. And with such an astounding event, one would think that the booth presenters would take this opportunity to garner more business and be on their Ps and Qs, right? For the most part, they were. However, there was one booth that I went to who did just about everything wrong and made me almost turn around and leave.

Generally, I was met at booths by wide smiles, bright teeth, friendly conversation, and educational information at CAR's event besides at the booth of Lawyers for the Creative Arts. The booth attendant glanced at me as I walked over asking about his company. I picked up a flyer, flipped it back and forth, and asked what the difference was between the two pages. He said, "Different information on each page." I handed it to him, and he saw that duplicate pages had been stapled together. He grumbled about running out of flyers, thanked me for pointing out the error, and before I could ask him more than a couple questions about Lawyers for the Creative Arts' services, he got up and walked away. Just that quickly, this company lost a potential customer, and as a freelance writer and author, I am in constant need of legal advice. If you rent a booth to the public, please make sure you do not turn out to be this lawyer. Here are five tips on how to effectively bring business by renting a booth.

I. Consider everyone a potential customer.

I'll hand over the keys to my Suzuki before I'd believe someone would walk past me and automatically think, "She looks like she hates litter! I bet you she loves to recycle! And she probably writes books too!" Without knowing this information, when I walked to Consolidated Printing Company's booth, they would not know that I am presently reading Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual and actively seeking a new printer. They don't know that I cringe at the thought of flinging a cigarette into the street and pick up litter when I walk into a public park or by the lakefront. However, the two representatives I met introduced themselves, offered to show me samples, asked for my contact information, provided information for me to take, and there's no question that I will receive a follow-up call from Consolidated Printing Company soon about estimates. Every question I asked them about recycling, they had an answer for. Not only did the provide contact information, they had no problem with being confident in talking about their printing products.

You never know who the person is who walks to your table. When I participated in a book signing at a church event, one of the ladies who was helping serve food stopped by my table after seeing my interaction with some of the youth members, and she invited me to her church twice to do book events for youth speaking events there. Not only was I able to speak to the youth, something I have great passion for, but I also made more book sales. Assume that everyone you make eye contact with is an opportunity of getting more business.

II. Always have free takeaways.

I spent my entire childhood tagging along with my mother to huge conferences. You would think a child would grow bored listening to corporate people talk about their companies, investments, and trying to get my mother, a credit union manager, to do business with them. Not this child! I sucked in all of that information because it gave me tips on how to sell girl scout cookies, how to be a better sales employee for Olympia Sales Club (a company that would allow people under the age of 16 to sell their product for $2 per item [$3 per item nowadays], and I made quite the profit), and to collect free stuff. I came home with more hats, buttons, pens, markers, books, shirts, frisbees, t-shirts, envelopes, and candy than any kid I knew. People love free stuff. And why not promote your material and let people leave with it still on their minds? While you may not get an immediate customer shelling out dollars at a conference or expo because they have hundreds of people trying to make them new customers, when that person gets home, empties out those bags, and sorts through their free material, he/she will check out your product again. When I was little, there weren't websites to look at, but there were phone numbers and mailing lists. Business owners and artists really lucked out with the rise of Internet interest. Professionals can continue to promote their products without leaving the house. With a press kit, a website, and other material that customers can print out from the contact information on your free products that they've taken home, they not only have a second opportunity to look at your products, they can also pass information along to their friends, family, and co-workers who couldn't make it to the conference or expo.

III. Check and recheck your takeaways before you present them to the public.

As you may recall, the lawyer booth that I was in front of had 2-page flyers with duplicate pages. The lawyer I talked to said that nobody had pointed out the attachment mistake. Instead of checking the flyer to see what I was talking about when I asked, "What are the differences between the two pages?", he barely looked up and said, "Different information on each page." I had to show him why I asked it before he finally paid attention to me. Always check your material for typos. First impressions only come once. If you blow the initial impression, chances are that customer will not be likely to give you the same unbiased attention that she/he did before.

Printer errors, less eye-catching material, and even stale candy are simple tasks that can be corrected. Don't be too cheap to put your best foot forward. Discuss getting printing errors corrected for a discount price. Instead of complaining about how you don't have more copies, leave your table for a minute and find a copier. If you find out your candy is stale or your pens don't write, always have a back-up package.

IV. Do not sit at the table and wait for customers to come to you.

While this story may be embarrassing to some authors, I'm telling you this story in hopes that you don't make the same mistake I did. My alma mater, Lincoln University, treated me very well during several book events and speaking engagements at their college. Other alumni, professors, and students came out to support me because I was an LU graduate, they were interested in my work, and we had great conversation before I revisited Jefferson City, Missouri. I assumed that when I got to Tennessee State University, the same success story would happen. While there were people who would look at the signs on my table that caught their attention and come over, that worked far less than at Lincoln University. In three hours, I sold two books. At Lincoln University, I sold 20 books the first hour, and that was just at the first of five events that were for several hours in two days. Humble pie was shoved down my throat quickly by TSU. While the female representative of the TSU bookstore was very friendly and encouraging, she couldn't make people come to my table. That was my job. And I did it poorly thinking that I could use the same tactics of being an HBCU graduate at one university that I could at another. However, I was far more enthusiastic to talk to Lincoln University Homecoming visitors not only because I love my alma mater but because I was very nervous about the book doing well. This helped me push my product harder.

When I was a part of the National Association of Women Business owners (NAWBO)'s Christmas event later that same year, my sales tactics were far more improved. Although I still practiced the same friendly demeanor and had signs to get a person's attention, I made a point to engage customers in potential conversation, talk to them about their interests, walk around to other booths (don't think booth attendants aren't potential customers too), see if customers were interested in books like mine, urged them to take my free postcards with them, and several of them left my table, came back, and bought my books. Treat every marketing event like it's your first one. Never get too cocky. Where there may be 5 people there who know you and will rush to your table, there are 20 more who will go "Who's she?" when they see you wagging your feet. Stand up. Talk. Promote. Leave the bashful behavior in libraries.

V. Leave your attitude at home.

Everybody is not an expert at customer service or sales. It happens, especially to writers who are usually labeled as introverts. Everybody has bad days, and no matter where you go, there will always be that one person who may try to spoil your shining moment. Shake it off. Once again, first impressions can make or break future business. "Thank you," "Please," "Excuse me," and "How are you?" go a long way. Even simply saying "hello" is better than just staring mindlessly at someone at your table waiting for them to reach into their purse or wallet. If someone comes to your table and rubs you the wrong way, please do not take this conduct out on the next person. That next customer is not responsible for the actions of any previous visitors, and you never know whether the next customer will be put off by coming to your table after watching your demeanor with a previous visitor. You must always act like each customer is your first customer, and put your best foot forward.

Best of luck in your professional endeavors!