$850 booth fee

[rachelb5499]

Okay, so I've gotten a couple of phone calls from this lady asking me to participate in this Women's Expo in San Francisco. (I live about 5 hours away, but am very familiar with traveling to SF so that's not an issue.)

www.sfwomensexpo.com

But the fee for that weekend is $850..they provide a table and a sign on the back of the "booth" area. Everything else would be up to me and on me. It's retail selling. Here's a bit of what she emailed me:

"The Ultimate Women's Expo is presented by NBC-TV, The San Francisco Chronicle and sfgate.com, Northern California 's largest newspaper and website, reaching 1.5 million viewers per week. In addition, 75,000 tickets are distributed through our retail ticket sponsors, providing unprecedented exposure.

Attendees at The Ultimate Women's Expo are the most coveted demographic available. They're highly educated, 77% are homeowners, 62% earn over $70,000 and they are ultimately responsible for making the decisions for their household, providing an outstanding opportunity to meet with thousands of eager interested women with the buying power to make decisions on the spot.

All booths are 10' x 10' and include a six foot draped and skirted table, two chairs, and corporate signage with your company name. Standard inline booths are $850.00. and premier corner locations are $1,000. and offer access on two sides.

I've attached additional information on the benefits of exhibiting and look forward to hearing from you soon, and assisting you in selecting a great booth location. "

Now, this lady seems nice and she found me, but I also feel like she's just really good at "selling" vendors on renting booth spaces. Heh Heh. It looks like a FUN expo to ATTEND. Tickets to attendees are $10 and $2 goes towards the Susan G Komen "the cure" which I think is neat so it's an event that I could "get behind," BUT $850 for 14 hours when I, must add, have NEVER done a SINGLE show, farmer's market, etc. seems a bit much to "start out with."

So I'd LOVE advice from the rest of you who are more experienced. What do YOU think?

The show isn't until October so I have time to "prepare," but I have to sign up in the next two weeks or there won't be a booth left from what I've been told.

What kind of questions should I ask? SHOULD I even attempt something like this when I've never even done something so much smaller? With no "show history," I also don't know what scents I should choose to make up product, etc. which has me nervous too, BUT I'd have to sell, sell, sell to make up that booth fee so I'd HAVE to be prepared and have a lot of product.

HELP! What are you are your thoughts, opinions, and advice???[/url]

 

[Tabitha]

Women's Expos draw huge crowds. I have never done one so I don't know how sales are.

Figure out how much money you would need to make in 2 days to make this worth your while.

If you say $2,000, add the $850.00 booth fee to that= $2,850.00

25% of what you pocket was the cost of your supplies.

$2,850 x 25% = $712.00

Add your ost in supplies to the $2,850 + $712= $3562

Divide $3562 by the retail cost of a bar of your soap.

$3562 divided by $5 = 712 bars of soap you would need to sell to make your $2,000.

Multiple 712 bars by 2 and this = 1,424 is how much inventory you should take with you.

That is how I figure shows out anyway.

You can break it down farther and divide the number of bar you need to sell by the number of hours the event is open to see how many bars an hour you will need to sell- 30-40ish.

hat does not take into account the contacts you will make either. Sometimes contacts are worth more in the long run that instant sales the day of.

 

[rachelb5499]

Thanks for the GREAT formula, Tabitha! I'm just "scared" about getting prepared with product (lip balms, scrubs, soap, etc), displays, transporting it to the site, and starting out with such a big show, but kind of exciting too. I keep wondering if I should just "attend" this year before exhibiting there.

How do YOU transport your displays, boxes, product, etc. from the "parking lot" to the booth/event?

Would YOU attempt something this big for your first show?

 

[Tabitha]

1st show? I guess I missed that part. I wouldn't.

I am most comfortable with 1 day shows that cost 125-250 dollars. That is a good size hsow for me.

My personal experience is that shows that cost under 100 dollars do not raise enough funds to advertise properly and foot traffic is too low.

I kinda dream about the giant shows but am not up to the pressure, the massive crowds, the trying to out do your neigbor, the heavy selling, the suits, the shmoozing... it's not me. You also have to think about how you will off load your left overs. If you have 1000 bars of soap left after a show how will you move the stock so it does not become a loss?

 

[rachelb5499]

Yeah, those are CERTAINLY some of my fears too! I am NOT a "shmoozer." heh heh

 

[Tabitha]

Someone on this board just did a really big show, can't remember who it was, but they loved it & did very well. You might look around for the thread.

 

[opalgirl]

If it were me, I would get my feet wet with a smaller show first. That way you can learn what works and doesn't work with how you want to run your booth, display, products to take etc... I get soooo much feeback from customers and learn a lot from them - mostly if they gravitate toward one thing I can pick additional items that they might like.

Plus with a show like that you might need additional help in the booth. (maybe those who've done the big shows can talk about manning the booth)

Just my 2 cents

 

[Deb]

I'd go for smaller first. and bear in mind, decision making power is great, but lets face it, most women have decision making power over their own soap.

yes our stuff is brilliant, but doesn't take a 70.000 salary to decide over. Work your way up to it ;-) As for that kind of size s how you might well want/need a helper you'll have to pay too.

 

[rachelb5499]

Thanks, everyone! It actually sounds like a fun thing to ATTEND, but it seemed too "big" and too much when I haven't ever done any kind of show before from the exhibitor angle. I also did some reading on this and a few other forums and my general perspective after reading was:"big shows/not great sales" so thanks for your advice and support!

 

[madpiano]

For a first show - WAY too scary. Brilliant though that you were offered it, but that also leaves me to wonder. Usually these kind of shows (I am assuming they are the same as the Health& Beauty and the Cosmopolitan shows in London, UK) are booked out way in advance, mostly by the time the doors close on the last one. Why would she invite a small soap maker ? (small in a scheme of things). You will be competing there with the likes of L'Oreal and Origins. Are you ready for that ? I am gearing myself up for it, but it takes time to get a table display that appeals to professional buyers, without losing the Handmade touch. I have learned lots by doing the smaller markets first. I might not have had many sales there (some of them are just a bit too small), but the experience has been invaluable. I have attended events like that as a consumer before, and I am definitely not ready yet to attend these as a seller.

Stall fee seems normal and reasonable. About the same as they are here, maybe a touch cheaper.

Don't forget, you will need help, if you are doing this event. There is no chance you will be able to keep an eye on your stock, sell and smile without a break all day. It will be packed and people are getting freebies everywhere, it seems to take the moral guidelines down a bit and stock can go walkabouts. Also you might have to think about promotions, raffles and that kind of stuff, as the other booths will be offering it. Make-overs, mini-spas, give-aways etc. All eating into your costs, but pulling the crowds away from the other stalls.

You need brochures and something for the goodie-bags that will be handed out to all buyers at the entrance. Something to remember you by when the leave the show, as they will have seen way too many booths to re-call your company name and what you sold. Last time I went to the Cosmopolitan show, I barely remembered my name...

Also think about how much this show would benefit you, considering your are 5hrs drive away and I assume your products are not available locally to the show? Most visitors will be local. Will they be the kind that will order over the net, or are they the kind that wants to shop at a department store or Mall ? You wont sell THAT much on the day, but if you can get orders in afterwards, it would be a massive boost to your company. Can you cope with it, should it happen ? These are the kind of women who want everything "right now" (hence the fact that they have massive credit card balances). They wont wait for a 6-week-cure of their favourite soap. They will start shopping elsewhere.

 

[Domino]

$850 for a show is very high to me. I've heard of some expos that are 2k or more. I just can't get behind one at that price level with handcrafted items. You'd have to sell like crazy to come close to breaking even.