Allison Cafe

Girls Day In San Diego

This past weekend I attended the inaugural Girl’s Day In San Diego event at the Lafayette Hotel in North Park. The event appeared to be a great success. There were about 4o vendors there and an estimated 300-350 attendees, a great turnout for a first time, local event.

The Girl’s Day In is an independently created Women’s Expo and Lifestyle Show created and hosted by Synecdoche Communications. The show was among the first local independent business-promoting women’s expos and lifestyle shows held in San Diego and served as an “indie shopping mall” for the day. The event also featured a fashion show with the inspired works of local designers, as well as raffle drawings throughout the day for prizes donated by participating vendors. The first 25 attendees also received an unbelievably cool “goodie” bag filled with swag from some of the exhibitors. The bags themselves were handmade by a talented local artist and exhibitor at the event, Happy Find.

The Happy Find bags, made from pillow cases!

I found so many unique and handmade gifts from creative artists such as Happy Find, Made With Luv, Domestic Nest, Jen’s Designs, So Fun Fabrics and Bibiquity. I started making a mental wish list for myself while I was there, but also more importantly got some great gift ideas for friends and family.

I think the event was a mixed success for the vendors, most seemed thrilled with the event and the traffic it brought to their tables but a few others seemed less than happy with their sales for the day. I think a lot of it probably had to do with it being a first time event. I’m sure as the event grows there will be more vendors added and maybe even further entertainment. A special thanks to the Domestic Nest for inviting me to the show and a big thank you to the event’s organizers for creating a fantastic and unique event.

Here are a few things I noted about successfully exhibiting at trade-shows:

• Location, location, location. Just like with a storefront business, your location at an expo counts, no matter how large or small the event. Try to work with the event planner before the event to get visual of how guests will enter the event and what direction the traffic will most likely flow in. Each event is laid out so differently, it’s hard to give a universal recommendation for your location, but basically you want to avoid being stuck in the corner or in an area with poor lighting, or next to a vendor that either doesn’t compliment your business or worse is selling the same things you are.
• Keep your display simple and true to your brand. Your guests should be able to walk up and easily interpret your display. Make yourself available for any questions they may have. If you are trying to encourage custom orders, create a simple sign that advertises that offering. Sometimes seeing the words can plant ideas in your guests head that they had not thought of yet.
• Have plenty of business cards on hand with your contact information on them. Many visitors these days may not make a purchase while at your booth.
• Create a simple sign-up sheet at your booth to collect email addresses or even simply product suggestions.
• Consider having a product giveaway during the event by allowing visitors to your booth to drop a business card into a fish bowl for a prize drawing at a designated time during the event. This can encourage people to come back to the booth if they need to be present to win.
• Consider having a show promotion to encourage visitors to buy today. For example, offer a discount or added bonus item if they purchase at the show. This will encourage sales at the show versus having them leave and possibly remember to buy from your website later. (By the way, this also brings up the sometimes uncomfortable issue of “haggling”, if you have visitors ask for bigger discounts, find your stopping point for negotiations and politely stick your guns. You will only be frustrated with yourself later if you give in to every low ball offer. Of course modest discounts that still allow you to make a profit could be ok, and could allow your guests to feel as though they got a great deal, that’s a win-win!)
• Be approachable. Try to get plenty of sleep the night before an event and drink plenty of water during the event to stay hydrated. The better mood you are in, the more approachable you will be. Greet every visitor to your booth with a smile and a welcome message. You want visitors to feel “at home” in your booth.
• If you can, try to have a man and a woman working in your booth. Some visitors like to approach one sex versus the other. It also helps to have more than one person working so that you each can take breaks when you need to. This also helps you to avoid eating at your booth, which can make you less desirable to visit for your guests stopping by your booth.
• Leave the money on the table while making change. This is a great tip I learned at the show last weekend (thanks Summer!). When accepting cash from a customer, leave the bills on the table in front of you while you make change from the cash box. That way if you are ever questioned by the customer, you can easily show them what bill they handed you.
• Say Thank You. This applies not only at the event, but after as well. Take the time to say “thank you” to everyone who stops by your booth. And after the event, email everyone who signed up for email updates at your booth a simple thank you for stopping by message the day following the event.

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