welovepamperedcheftoo

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I'm bringing this topic of discussion over here b/c I felt that it offered a LOT of fabulous tips on promoting our PC businesses within the FAIR SETTING. So here goes....

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Message 1 of 6 in Discussion

From:

jlm1970 (Original Message)

Sent: 8/23/2005 8:06 PM

This after having done over 20 fairs in the last year. This is what I do and I find it to be effective.

Find a TV/VCR combo -- If youdon't own one borrow one from either your director or a friend. Get the tape that shows Bill Mahoney(sp) doing a demo. This will attract the male population. We all know that woman do
this but not so many men think they could be making money at this--sorry
guys this is not to offend anyone.
Next, determine what you are looking for. bookings or recruits. Also,
Down here in Florida I am not allowed to give food samples--just as well as I do not want to go to any unnecessary troubles just to stand at a booth for several hours.
I set up only the super start kit. I put out the family skillet--if you don't have one go find one. I am sure there is a cluster sister/brother that would lend you one for a day. I have whatever catalogs I have in the house at the time for people to take--I do follow up all my leads with a letter.
I used to air-demo something and talk to noone but I missed so many leads
and people. Now, they stop and watch the vcr and I can ask questions of
them. I ask if they had ever heard of pc--pretty lame but it opens the
door. I tell them today I have displayed out SS kit and how you get all
these products and how fun pc is.
My door prize is a cooking show. I offer a Death by Chocolate Show. I find that this gets their attention and they want to know what that is. I tell
them. I bring the ingredients to their home and we make sinful desserts
then we all get to pig out! They are all really likeing that.

I feel that my leads are way more productive and I do not waste my time on
empty things and do not spend my hard earned dollar unnecessarily. Do not
be disappointed if you don't get the leads you are expecting. Even just one
show will help you grow your business. One recruit could turn out to be
Nancy Jo Ryan. The catalogs that you pass could get into the hands of
someone who is looking for us. You just never know where your business can
go!

Lastly, I have a post on my table that a winner will be drawn every 1/2
hour--this way if a friend comes and they both win the door prize they do
not feel wierd. I call each and every name in that basket who marked any
box that they won the Death by Chocolate show and see when they would like
to get that scheduled. It works for me and maybe it will for you as well.

When I started (May 98) I participated in at least one local craft fair a
month for the first 7 months of my business to get my name out to the public
that there was a new PC Lady in town and to find people who have been
looking for PC. The response was overwhelming!

I HIGHLY recommend to all consultants, old or new, who have started running dry with booking leads.

What I did to find the leads first of all, was to comb the newspapers and attend some other craft fairs in my general area. Those craft fairs usually have listings of upcoming fairs with dates and numbers to contact. We also have a small crafter type newspaper that has a jillion "Looking for Crafters" section with phone numbers to call for info. Some fairs only allow handmade items which that is something direct sales cannot participate in but there are many other fairs which are very happy for PC to be involved.

Around here the booth space is about $30-40 and I reserve a space and take a
few tables to set up my stuff. Usually a larger table across the back of the booth and a card table up front. If it's an outdoor fair I have a green and white canopy which is very easy to assemble and keeps me out of the sun (or rain!!) and people like to come in out of the elements. The canopy also works very well to attract people.

I use my wooden crates to display PC items at different heights and have a large variety of our products to show. The card table I put near the front of the booth with catalogs, flyers, business cards, etc. and PDS.

I usually have a sign that says "Enter the drawing for a FREE 2-qt Batter Bowl or Quick-Stir Pitcher." I have them use the PDS as the drawing entry and as
they are filling out the slip, I talk about all the items on the slip.

Focusing on Hostess benefits and recruiting. Then I tell them I will call them if they are chosen as the winner the next day.

The last couple of fairs I did I used the QSP as the prize and had it there
on the table filled with water and some metallic, confetti-type stars and
just stood there plunging away and talking to people as they walked by. The
stars swirling around brought in alot of curious types and almost all the
kids that walked by...and the parents follow the kids!! <grin>

I also have a sign that I am taking orders. Sometimes, depending on my sales
for that month or if there was a Consultant promotion I would have a sign
that said "10% off any orders placed today" and just use Special Shipping
forms for everyone so I didn't have to deal with any delivering.

This past Spring I did a craft show for the 2nd year and had a couple people
say "Oh, I was hoping you'd be here again...I have a friend who wants to
have a Home Show so I need another one of your cards." I gave her THREE of
my cards and said "I'm sure you have two other friends who need my cards
too" we laughed and her friend called me the very next day to book a show.

Craft shows are an investment of your whole day but pay you back with only 1
or 2 bookings. VERY WELL worth the investment. With the Holiday season
approaching, I have secured a craft show for each of my consultants to help
them as they start their businesses. I feel because I did so many craft
shows in the beginning of my business, that is why I am still very busy with
show leads. <Knock on wood>

Good luck and happy fairing,
Holly Crites
Future Director in Illinois

Booth Follow Up Letter

I enjoyed meeting you at the Dakota County Fair. Thank you for your interest
in the Pampered Chef(R)! Have fun browsing through our new catalog and new
Pampered Pantry brochure, which you requested.

All of our products are designed to make cooking more fun, to make your food
look and taste better, and to save you time in the kitchen. What more could
you ask for? You'll notice that our products are:

high quality, professional grade
guaranteed for at least one full year
affordable - most are priced under $10!
Our stoneware, which is the highest quality available anywhere, is now
guaranteed for three years!

If you decide to host a Pampered Chef Cooking Demonstration in your home or
at work, you'll be giving your family, friends and acquaintances the opportunity to eat great food, meet new people, and learn new ways to cook and entertain while saving time. What could be more fun? At my shows I don't play any games
I don't ask anyone to buy anything or have a show; It's just a FUN 1-hour cooking demo in the family room, at work, or anywhere!

I prepare two easy recipes, then everyone eats. On average, I have three people coming up to me after every Show asking me when I can come to their house, so you know your friends will love this!

Remember, for hosting a Pampered Chef Cooking Demonstration, most of my
hosts receive:

$50-$90 worth of free products of their choice, plus
2 or 3 items of their choice at 2 price (including our beautiful 10-piece cookware set!), plus
25% or 30% discount on everything else they order at their show (no
limits!), plus
10% off all their orders for an entire year! (This includes Pampered
Pantry orders!)

WOW! All this, just for letting me cook for and entertain your guests! You
get your first 1/2-price item with just a $300 show and most of my shows are
over $500!

Great products, a fun no-pressure show, delicious recipes, and fabulous
hosting benefits. With all this, it's no wonder we're the fastest-growing
direct sales company in America! (and now in Canada!)

I will call you in a few days to see if I can help you in any way -- whether
it's scheduling a show, placing an order (collect 6 orders and get a 10%+
discount on your order!), answering questions on our great business, or
giving you a new recipe idea. I look forward to talking with you soon!

******* in a box in the lower right corner, I put a "Call me before I call
you special"

~~Holly O'Keefe, Director in St. Paul, MN

Craft Fairs/ Fairs / Booths

Ideas to find fairs:

Give away free product as a draw to customers. Don't advertise this with
a sign or anything, but gain entries by personal invitation. If someone stops at the booth, I invite him or her to enter (and while they are writing, I ask if they're familiar with our products, if they have ever been a host. And if they have ever thought about selling Pampered Chef). Or for instance, if someone is walking slowly on the other side of the aisle and looking at our display the whole time, I may catch their eye and ask them if they'd like to enter our drawing for a free ____________. Make the giveaway item something desirable. Give a collection of smaller cookbooks, a Chillzanne Platter, an Ice Cream Dipper, and a 15" Round Baking stone.

Put out the four-color Super Starter sheets and Fundraiser flyers.

Always wear the PC apron and all your buttons. Like "Ask me about the
Pampered Chef?" buttons. Or a shirt with the logo on it.

If at all possible, get your spouse involved. This will show potential recruits that this is a family business. (I use this as part of my recruiting talk at shows as well. "This is a family business and we do it together. They are who I do it for, so if we couldn't do it together, we wouldn't do it at all!")

Have fun! This can be difficult during hot and humid weather, but if you look miserable or bored to tears, why would anyone be interested?

Keep paper towels and spray cleaner in the booth to keep your products looking nice and clean. A week, or even a day, of people handling them can make them look pretty dirty. Also keep hand sanitizer if you are demoing.

Unless you have a water source than use the suds pump.

Limit order taking at fairs. People may be from too far away to deliver product or it can just be too stressful to have to make a bunch of deliveries later. (Isn't that one thing we love about PC? NO DELIVERIES?) If anyone wants to place an order, I now require that they pay for direct shipping or collect five separate orders and give me a call. Then everything can ship directly to them as a show!

When you sign a contract to display at a fair or festival, make sure you have exclusivity. You don't want to show up and find out there are 3 more PC displays!

Make up a gingerbread house, mold chocolates in the heart mold, make a wreath out of apple slices (posted from someone on the loop), do up the kitchen craft brownies in a quart jar. Make up a pumpkin cake with the fluted pan.

Another idea is to take a Styrofoam wreath, completely cover it with parsley. Place a big red bow on it and cut up cheese in small blocks and garnish some veggies. Place them on toothpicks and stick into the wreath. This is a great decorating idea for the holidays.

Assure them you won't display any other products other than those you used to create your "crafts" and don't sell anything! If you want, raffle them off to the other crafters and customers.

Have something with recipes on it, so be it a flyer, business card, or catalog.

Hand out something like a flyer "Simple Favorites Recipes Leaflet" or the supply order work just stamp your name and phone number, but try to get names that is the key for bookings.

Let your customers know about the fair.

Take the Quick-Stir Pitcher and fill it with plain tap water. Add some multi-colored metallic star-shaped confetti and plunge away! It is really eye catching and gets the attention of all of the children. The children come and the parents FOLLOW them to your booth! I kept hearing "what are you making in there?" So finally I started saying... "I'm making a reason for you to come talk to me!" One drawback though...your arm will be really tired from plunging!

Have a sign that you are taking orders. Sometimes, depending on sales for that month or if there was a Consultant promotion have a sign that says "10% off any orders placed today" and just use Special Shipping forms for everyone so I didn't have to deal with any delivering.

Give away a recipe (chocolate chip mix in a jar) Printed on cards and have a sample to show as a gift item.

Crafts made with Pampered Chef Products: " create a flyer"

1.. free kitchen show (give away 2-4 shows depending on entries)

2.. $25 Gift Certificate(redeemable by you)

3.. The food chopper

4.. a FREE 2-qt Batter Bowl or Quick-Stir Pitcher

5.. Give a gift certificate & offering to double it if the winner has a party-Karen Bailey

Problems with serving food:

a.. time to talk to everyone if you are worrying about the food

c.. competition-there is usually food vendors at the fair

d.. it is usually messy

e.. Food is not permitted at some fairs as it is direct competition with the concessions

g.. Draws flies and insects

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Delete Message 3 of 6 in Discussion

From:

jlm1970

Sent: 8/24/2005 4:23 AM

MoreTips - Jenn

Top things to make a booth successful:

Make your booth an attractive place that people can come to and feel
comfortable in.
Make your booth so that potential customers can walk thru it, instead of
feeling trapped inside of it.
NEVER, EVER sit behind a table and wait on them to stop and talk to you.
Hide those sodas, purses, briefcases, etc. under the tables. A messy
display is one that gets passed by.
Have a goal to get bookings or recruit leads or both and stick to it. The sale of that Ice Cream Scoop (or whatever) is not what you're there for.
Talk them into a show. Ask questions that lead to the goal (i.e. Have you
been to a show or had a show? How long ago was that?, etc.) These kinds of questions lead you up to the big question, "Would you be open to having a show in the near future?" If yes, then 2 question them into a date (Would you be interested in something before Christmas or after? Is February or January better for you? Something toward the end of the month or more toward the beginning? Is Tuesday or Thursday better for you? Thursday the 11th or would the 4th work better for you?) Always say the thing you want them to pick, last. In the above scenario, I don't have any dates open before Christmas and would like to book a Thursday in early January.
DON'T BE A VULTURE! (Don't circle them and pounce on them when they look vulnerable).
Be courteous to others working with you. No matter how bad you might need a booking, don't try to take all the leads. If someone else starts talking to someone, don't try to barge in and take over the lead. In our booth, you would be asked to leave if you were to persist in this.
Be kind to the person who did all the work to get the booth in the 1st
place. They have spent a lot of time and usually money to procure the booth space and scheduling everyone in is no easy task. Show up on time for when your scheduled & pay for the hours that you signed up for in an expedite manner. Offer to come and help set up the booth. Offer to help pack up if you work the last hours of the show or offer to come back to help pack up. "Many hands make quick work."
Evaluate yourself and work on doing better next time. Was I professional?
Did I portray the company in a good light? How could I have gotten more
bookings? More recruits? etc.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT --- HAVE FUN!!!

Here's a couple of tips for when you set up a table at a bazaar, fair, etc. Try giving something away. We usually give the 13" stone and rack. This is fairly inexpensive, but people are interested in signing up for it. By using your drawing slips, you should end up with names and addresses for contacting later.

Bookings.... you can have a basket available with the Season's Best cookbooks, Twixit! Clips, Orange Peelers, etc. Then tell them that if they say yes to a party today they can choose something from the basket. You can tell them that you'll call them within a couple of days. I do it this way because very few people know what's on their calendar when they're out.

I have a sign made up that says something like: "Would you like to work 3 - 5 hours and make between $70 and $200?" Another great sign that gets attention is about the bridal shows? "Let me help you give an easy and fun Bridal Shower!"

Take a good variety of your tools with you, if not all of them. People like to see these things in person. Put a pan and stone close to the outside of your booth because these draw attention. Also, if you have the Bar-b-boss, that attracts men.

I never try to make anything at a booth. It's too messy and costly. You may want to take some walnuts and your food chopper though. You get your nuts chopped for the holidays and people get to try out your food chopper.

Take some replacement parts order forms with you. You'll have people telling
you that something broke.

The people who don't order or book a party, afterwards I send them a postcard thanking them for stopping by my booth. I also offer them a 10% discount on their next order. I've gotten a party or 2 this way.

The most important thing is to wear a smile!

Reply

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Delete Message 4 of 6 in Discussion

From:

jlm1970

Sent: 8/24/2005 4:26 AM

Tips for fair booths (Joyfully, Julie, Director in PA)

I just completed a three day community fair where I set up a Pampered Chef stand. Here are a few tips which I found useful. Use the Pampered Chef paperwork box as a part of the display. The colorful pictures on the side drew people into the booth - just to ask "What's in the box?" I had this sitting next to the SS crate of products layed out just like the SS photo on our catalog. Very eye-catching.

* Use the New Stoneware Gift Set box garnished with a colorful ribbons
(taped to the top only~ to allow opening of the box) and a small sign "Look
What's NEW" on top.

* Add plastic confetti to water in one of the quick stir pitchers -- very
eye-catching and entertained the children while I talked with their parents.
(idea gleaned from a previous posting ~Thanks!)

* Offer FREE Catalogs - I used all the old catalogs in my office (SS '99 ,
FW '99 and SS '00); I would simply said "they are old, but still good!" ...
most people wanted the recipes and ideas anyway. I also shared that more
than 90% of our current product line is represented in the catalog and then handed them the current Kitchen to Kitchen newsletter highlighting our new products.

* Add boiling hot water to the carafe in the morning (our fair was open
10am-10pm) and then serve yourself to some hot tea or coffee or hot choc in
the evening when it gets colder. (We were NOT allowed to offer any food to
the fair-goers). This worked great as I only served myself when someone was
watching ! :-) I am now VERY impressed with the carafe !

BTW - I offered the new cookie press as our prize... I not only got more
than 70 booking leads; a dozen recruiting leads; over $400 in orders (very
small sign offering FREE s/h... we didn't really push for sales); and
several definite cookie shows scheduled ... good thing I kept November open
for shows from the Fair!

Blessings!

Btw, thanks a mill, Jenn, for sharing these fantabulous tips with all of us, as well as all these other fantabulous Success Tips!! You be dah bomb!!

Making calls from fairs

Hi Everyone, Several of you are doing fairs, I wanted to share this with
you, I hope it helps.

Hi, this ,______________ with The Pampered Chef. We met at_______�?. pause�?
At the time we met you expressed an interest in a kitchen show ( products,
catalog show�?.

Our "New Line" is here and I have an Incredible Special to you! For the
month on January my hosts have an opportunity to pick up a bonus package
worth over $100 dollars, and that's in addition to our regular host plan. It
is such a great promotion, probably the best I've seen. I was calling to see
if we could get our calendars together and choose a date that would be good
for you. (wait for their answer, If the answer is yes or okay.. ‘hooray!�?
other responses) "No, I don’t think I am interested", "well, I’m not really
sure I want to do a show", "I
don’t know", "now is not a good time" (I will ask), Are you familiar with
our host plan? (the standard answer is "a little") Have you ever been a host
with us?………�?We have the best plan! My hosts average $100 in savings when
they do a kitchen show, and it's really easy, you invite the guests, supply
a few ingredients and I do all the rest. Your guests will have some great
recipes to sample and a lot of fun. (Again, I wait for them to comment. If
it's still "No, I don’t think so" ) I understand, would you like for me to
contact you again in the future? (my goal is to get permission to call them
back) When would be a good time for me to call you? Great!... I will be in
touch then. In the
mean-time would you like to be on my e-mail list? Each month you will
receive a recipe and the monthly specials.

( I may also offer a catalog show )

(If I was successful, I continue with)

Wonderful, do you have a particular day of the week that is better for you
then others? Tuesdays, okay…�? Boy, I don’t have to many left to offer you,
what about Tuesday the 12th or Tuesday the 5th of September. Would either
one of those days work for you? ( I only give two choices of dates to start
and I pick the closest ones I have available) The 5th? That’s perfect why
don’t I pencil you in. Is 7:00 or 7:30 a better time for you? 7:00? okay! (
letting them have choices in the dates and time lets them have some control
over the conversation and take a little of the pressure off them) Let me
just verify your address so
that I can send you a hostess packet... I will be sending you a folder with
some information about doing a show, in it will be our catalogs, invitations
and other information for you. Once you receive it I will give you a few
days to look at it, then I will give you a call to go over it with you and
answer any questions you may have. When is a good time of day to reach
you?... Can I call you at work?

Be sure to start telling your friends and family about your show, it will be
a lot of fun. I really looking forward to working with you. I’ll call you
soon.

(I don’t offer to much inf. About the hostess packet during this call, that
will come in the next call to her. This whole conversation should be less
than 5 minutes)

I hope this is helpful to you. Keep in mind... Smile, be up beat and
excited. The more your excited the more she’ll be.

Linda Swidrak

Ways I find fairs - local newspaper - date book or calendar of events,
ptas, churches, firehouses, first aid squad. If I see a sign while
driving, I try to jot down the phone number. I ask others what fairs
they might be attending. When I attend a fair, after I set up, I walk
around and promote my business to other vendors, find out what fairs
they are doing, sometimes they have a list you can have. Look
everywhere, they're there.

If it is a fair that is homemade crafts only and they tell me
absolutely not, I call back a couple of days before the fair to see if
they have open spaces, if they do and they want to rent them, I let
them know that I am not in competition with the crafters, I am basically
looking for bookings and people that are interested in being
consultants. Most of the time, you can get in. Juried fairs I haven't
been able to get in on. Rules are stricter, I find.

The basics I always have at my fairs are:
1. PC banner hung behind me.

2. Prize drawing box covered with seasonal paper and a flyer on front
about drawing.

3. Crates for height variation. especially at craft fairs if your
tables are close.

4. Theme or seasonal tablecloth.

5. Small item on top of crate for season ie, turkey, pumpkin,
gingerbread house, cored apple sitting on greenery with candle in it.

6. Small clipboards with prize drawing slips so people don't need to
crowd over table.

7. Clipboard with notepad for my notes.

8. Supplies.

9. I never sit, I always stand alongside table.

The way I set up my table is on the side facing the oncoming traffic, I
stack my crates on an angle, I hang my oven mitt filled with BBboss,
tongs, pastry brush, I hang garnisher. Inside and on top of crates are
always different. I am finding that the colander set on top with bowls
tilting out is an eyecatcher. On the opposite side of the table is the
prize drawing box, catalogs on table in front of it a(outside order
form, gift flyer and Jan. special inside every catalog).

Next to prize drawing box along back of table I have a plastic brochure
holder 3 high (Walmart, Staples, etc.) for my SS info. and show benefits
flyer. I also have another flyer I made up with recipes inside and PC
info on the outside in a holder. In front of this I have a cutting board
and on it is the food chopper (carrots chopped), cheese grater and store
(with walnuts and/or choc. grated) and a knife. Somewhere on the table
I also put the eggslicer plus with either a mushroom or strawberry in it
sliced.

Group products together.
Sometimes I hang the gift flyer off the crates.

I always stand alongside table. Everyone that passes me gets some type
of info to take home. I am also very free with my catalogs because they
have come back with orders and shows.

If someone is not going to stop, I'll strike a conversation. If they
say they don't want a show, I let them know it is ok and they can still
enter the drawing, be sure to let me know if you want to know about
particular products that go on sale. If they say no, I always thank
them for stopping - sometimes they come back later and place orders. If
they don't want a show I always offer the catalog show. You would be
surprised at how many people don't know they can have catalog shows. By
offering it this past fair, I have a possible recruit.

Don't be afraid to ask everyone if they want to be a consulant or host
a show. The worst they can say is no. If you don't ask, you won't
know.

These are things I do that work for me. If I see something doesn't
work, I change it. Be a little creative, remember you don't have to
bring all your products if you don't want to.

If it is an outside fair, I always set up two tables and I have a
canopy that shades me.

Sometimes you have to step out of your comfort zone to see what's out
there.

The results from fairs are not always the same, sometimes I get a
recruit, or orders or bookings or all. You never know if you don't try.

Lots of luck.
Dore:O}

organizing/working large fairs

Hello everyone!! I am just recovering from setting up a PC booth at a
very large fair this weekend and I thought I would post while the info is
still fresh in my mind!

I decided in the spring that I would set up/run a PC booth at some large
fairs this summer/fall because some of my recruits desperately needed
bookings.

Then I set out to learn as much as I could about doing this. After that
I compiled everything together and then put together a newsletter for my
downline (this will follow) and sent this out about 3 weeks before the
fair.

Then about 1 1/2 weeks before the fair I sent out another newsletter to
the consultants who chose to work the fair. (this will follow).

If you can, get someone to help you set up! I had 3 tables and I set
them up like a horseshoe, I used plastic tablecloths (the ones at the
party store that come in a roll), with plastic skirting. I put the banner
behind us. Problem with this is the table cloths were cheaply made and they
tore if a crate or product hit it just right. And the self stick skirting
wouldn't self stick to save my life. I will
make some cloth ones before the next fair!! It took me longer to set up
than I thought (I was by myself), I was there about 3 hours.

I decided to run a tape of a kitchen show live in the tent continuously
so that when people come in and have never heard of PC, I can show them how
a live kitchen show works. This worked great and I will do it again. I
brought 4 of them with me but found I usually ran the Bill Maloney tape
because it is long and also then I could show the men that not only do guys
like to purchase these products, they like to sell them too.

The other thing I did for this display was to put water and red, white
and blue star 'glitter' in my quick stir pitcher. This occupied the kids
while the mom's were filling out a DPS and showed people how they work.
Thanks whoever posted this idea first.

I bought clipboards and we each had copies of the kitchen to kitchen
flier to hand out. (found in our changeover kits each season) I taped a pen
to the clipboards on a string and I had a clipboard for each person, they
had a few catalogs on the bottom, a kitchen to kitchen on top of that, then
the prize drawing slip on top of that.

We did offer a door prize of $20 in free products. I did this because I
figured it would be easier for them to talk to people that way.

I had a tri-fold board in my display also. Someone told me when you are
putting one of these together to make sure that it tells a story. So I told
the story of how easy it was to have a kitchen show with the Pampered Chef,
since they needed bookings. In the middle, on the top I put "It's easy to
have a Pampered Chef Kitchen show" and then put
1. choose your date and mail your invitations, and then glued 2 invitations,
one front and one back.
2. Choose your recipes and buy the ingredients, then glued lots of pictures
of hard to resist recipes.
3. Choose your FREE products, then had lots of pictures of our products,
cut out of an older catalog. At the bottom I put something like, it's easy
and fun, book your date today! On the left side of the board I put info on
PBride and Fundraiser, on the right, info on the
opportunity.

Open for business!!

I found one of the best ways to use a survey slip is to not hand it to them
until after you have talked about PC. Find out what they already know. If
they have not heard of PC, then tell them about us!! (think of something to
say ahead of time), if they have heard of PC, then ask them if they have
seen a current catalog, when was the last time you attended a show, have you
heard about our great August specials, etc. Then you can approach them
with the slip.

I did follow some of Holly's advice and decided to demo while talking
about PC to reel the people in! My first plan was the apple stir fry, but
then decided against that because it was hot, hot, hot out! So I then
decided to do the Apple Berry Salsa with the cinnamon graham crackers
(thanks to whoever posted this!). I brought all of the stuff to do this and
didn't end up making as much as I thought because it wasn't as busy as I
thought.
But it was nice to be able to grab an apple and peel/core and slice it and
use the chopper when the time came! I did hand it out to some people
(mostly my neighboring vendors who really liked me after that!).

Newsletter 1
If you are working with another person, remember that you are a team and
not in competition with each other!! Work together to represent the company
and you will get more leads this way.

Some questions?

Should I give people catalogs or flyers?

If you stand behind the booth and just hand out catalogs or business
cards then ask them to fill out a prize drawing slip, you are giving them
permission to walk away! Chances are good you will not hear from them.
Old outdated catalogs are great to hand out. I think the kitchen to kitchen
flyer that we get from HO every season will be perfect for this event! I
think that our catalog is the best business card we have and I am not
against handing some out, I just want you to beware of the fact that you
could go through lots of them if you hand one to every person!

What about a prize drawing?

We will have a prize drawing at the fair. This will give you an
opportunity to talk with people when you explain what the slip is for. You
also need to remember that the slip is for you to get information, so it is
best to talk to them about the business before hand so they know what the
questions are when they see them.

Do you do a demo or hand out food?

It is best to not hand out samples of food because that can attract
people who will hang around just because of the free food! I plan on having
a VCR and TV there with a few tapes of consultants doing their kitchen shows
so it is easy to show people what a kitchen show is about. It is up to you
weather you want to play these or not for your shift.

How to attract people?

In a study of factors influencing an attendee's decision to visit a
booth, 23% of that decision is based on location, 13% on exhibit
presentation and 28% on having an interesting product demonstration.

Product Demonstration:

This is the key to your success. For a 10' booth, you only have 2-3
seconds to attract their attention! Attendees walking down booth aisles walk
in "the comfort zone" - down the middle, with their eyes about two booths
ahead.
They are afraid of being pounced on, so they don't look left or right!
Booth workers are afraid of looking too pushy or assertive! So, what
happens?
Not much! As a booth worker, your most important job is to make an attendee
feel comfortable and welcome into your booth without feeling pounced on.

There are 3 booth worker 'styles':

Style 1: It does not work to stand (or worse, sit) and wait for people to
come up and talk to you.

Style 2: It works moderately well to ask people engaging questions as
they walk by (Have you ever been to one of our cooking demonstrations? Look
at what's new with PC! Or Have you ever heard of The Pampered Chef?). Even
though these are good questions, the attendee is still being singled out and
may feel "pounced on".

Style 3: This style works best! You could get 3 times as many leads with
this method! It may feel uncomfortable at first, but it will work! One
person (the cooker) starts demonstrating to 'air'. Meaning there is no
one standing there at the time. You start the demo, talking to no one in
particular. It feels strange, but within seconds, people will come up to
listen to what you are saying. They don't feel singled out, because you
aren 't talking to them, you are talking to everyone. You are making them
feel comfortable and welcome! The other person (the hooker) talks
individually to people and invites them to fill out a slip.Example for
Cooker: (in a loud voice) This is our Apple Peeler Corer Slicer! Look how
fast and easy this is! With this product and a little bit of help from
Pillsbury, you can make two home-made apple pies in less than 15 minutes!
And that's faster than you can drive to the grocery store and back! (people
are walking up now) You can also use this with potatoes for home-made mashed
potatoes as fast as instant! Just put your potato coil (hold up coil), milk
and butter in a microwavable bowl and nuke it for 7 minutes! I can just cut
this in half and these apple slices are ready for that pie! Fast and easy!
I'm going to use our Food Chopper to chop these apples up. With this tool
you have complete control over how coarsely (show) or how finely you want
your food chopped!
You can keep chopping and make those vegetables or onions so small your
kids can't pick them out! (put in skillet) I'll make a simple Apple Stir Fry
today that you can serve over ice cream, pancakes, or pound cake. You've
just seen a short example of our fun one-hour cooking demo that we can do
for you and your friends in your family room or at work! We don't play
games, we don't ask for sales, and we don't ask for bookings. No pressure!
That's ONE reason why I LOVE this business! Just a fun, one-hour live
cooking demo full of hints to get you out of the kitchen fast! Most of my
hosts or hostesses earn $40 - $60 worth of free products of their choice
like the products I've just shown, two items at half price (yes, that does
include our beautiful 10-piece cookware set), 25% off everything else they
order at their show, and 10% off all their orders for an entire year! If you
like a sale, you won't be able to resist this! If you'd like more info, just
put your name down and whatever you ask for, that's what we'll give you -
nothing else!

You can see how this would be effective! More people will stop by to see
what you are doing. You are spending the time there and you want to make
the most of your time. If 2 of you are working as a team, one person could
be doing a demo and the other could be handing out slips and talking with
people. At the end of the shift you can just split the leads evenly. When it
gets closer to the date of the fair, I will be mailing out another small
newsletter which will detail the schedule of who will be at the fair at what
times and other information you might need. If you are working with someone,
contact each other and talk about if you would like to do this type of demo
at the fair! I will supply a small plug in burner, all you will have to do
is supply the apples and spices, and you will definitely get more leads this
way, with just a couple of bags of apples!! The smell alone should make
people come closer to see what is going on in your booth. Work as a team
to get the most leads you can by making our shows look fun!

Hints:

APCS 1/2 an apple at a time - you will demo to more people and won't go
through your apples as fast.
Don't talk with each other when there is a prospect within 5 booths of
you.
Don't eat or drink at the booth, or chew gum.
Arrive at the booth at least 20 minutes before your shift begins.
Keep the booth neat and clean - think of the neatest, pickiest person you
know and imagine them walking up to the booth. Would they be impressed?
Or
would they smile politely and walk away?
All garbage and extra food should be hidden at all times. Only the apple
you are currently peeling should be seen - they brown fast!
What do you cook?

Simple Stir Fry Apples -- APCS, cut and chop an apple. Cook till starts
to get warm. Add cinnamon sugar. Cook till smells good! Toss and start over!
Hint: Use the real small apples and only APCS half an apple at a time -
the apples go further and you demo to more people! Products: APCS, Food
Chopper, Cutting Board, Knife, cookware, Super Scraper, Kitchen Scraper, F/S
Shaker.

What do I do with these leads?

Set aside time for your follow-up! Follow up with a phone call within 48
hours to everyone who expressed even the slightest interest in having a
show, etc. Those who want to place orders can wait until you've tried
called everyone else.

Recruit leads?

There are people out there that may want information on what you do! If
you are not comfortable talking with them, just take their name and # and I
will call them for you. The important thing is to notice when someone is
asking lots of questions about your job. Tell them you will send them some
information and have your Director call them if you don't feel comfortable
with it.

Incentives for booking shows?

You may want to consider offering incentives to people who schedule a
show on your calendar that day. Then if you have someone who has told you
they want to have a show you could tell them "I am giving everyone who puts
a date in my calendar today a free mini serving spatula when they hold their
show", etc. This is entirely up to you, it may work! Remember then when you
put their show in the calendar to make a note by their name of what you
offered so you don't forget to give it to them (or add it to their show)
when they hold their show. You can also give them a coupon detailing the
incentive when they book the show. The coupon could say "This coupon
entitles you to a FREE mini serving spatula when you hold your show with me,
scheduled for ______" Then you would fill in the blank with their show date
and hand them the coupon.

Remember that you will be there for a relatively short period of time,
make the best of it, have fun and promote your business!!! You will reap the
rewards in your late summer and fall paychecks and beyond!!

*Information from the above newsletter came from my own experience and
also directly from the tip sheet that Holly O'Keefe, Director, MN, posted on
the cheflist website under Consultant helps.

Newsletter #2:

Schedule for Fair: (here I put a chart with the names and phone #'s of
consultants who were working the fair, and the times they were scheduled
to work)

What should I bring?

Door prize slips with your name stamped or written on the back - Lots of
these, it is possible for you to go through 100 per shift!!
Apron and or nametag Kitchen to kitchen flyer
Order Forms
Calendar to book shows
Hostess kits in case someone books a show on the spot (this does happen!)
*Once again, remember that the paperwork changes as of September 1st. If
someone definitely wants to book a show but they are not sure when, don't
give them a packet until they are on the calendar. If you hand them a packet
ahead of time and when you call them they decide they want to have a show in
September, the paperwork in that hostess kit will no longer be good.

Business Cards
Food if you are demoing, like apples for the A/P/C/S, onions or potatoes
for the food chopper, etc., you could bake cookies or biscuits ahead of
time, some on a metal pan and some on your baking stone and show them the
difference!

Bring a stamp with your name & phone # on it if you have one, or bring
labels with the same info on them. I will have some extra paperwork there to
hand out in case it is so busy that you run out, so you want to make sure
you have a quick way to put your name and # on it before you hand it out!

I will have a small kit there including things like scissors, tape, wet
wipes, Band-Aids, clipboards, extra paperwork (door prize slips,etc.) in
case you run out, garbage bags, etc. I will also provide a portable
cooktop in case you decide to do a small demo.

Separate notes for me, this did not go to them:

Bring:
Fantastic
Paper Towels
5 Clipboards
first aid kit
extra money
bottled water
cooler w/ ice
garbage pail
garbage bags
dish soap
Tape, masking and scotch
Scissors
Pins
Extra DPS
My calendar
Hostess Kits
Tapes for VCR
Aprons
My brown table cloth
Blank Paper
Markers
Calculator
Pens
Consultants phone #'s
Small table
phone list for another cluster in case I need help
Cell Phone charger
Twine
Hammer
Box, can for slips
Tri-fold board
Tables
Borrow another crate for display
Table cloths, skirting, push pins
Banner
Camera
TV
VCR
Tarps for cover in case of rain
Extension cords
Hand Towels
Bagged Ice
Decorative Napkins
Extra Paperwork-Catalogs, DPS, Order Forms
Schedule
Antibacterial Wipes
Help Wanted Sign
Chairs
Lights
tent

Also remember when you are doing this that the public is not your only
source for leads. I think I may have a fundraiser from a church group
that was set up next to me because I made sure they knew we did fundraisers!

I am happy to take the time to type this all out and hope that it answers
all of your questions and encourages you to do something like this if you
would like to expand your business. We are setting up to do a slightly
smaller one starting next Thursday.

If you are thinking of expanding your business, remember that in order to
have more you have to do more! Step out of your comfort zone and do things
that you might not have considered before.

Many names are associated with events such as these. Craft Fairs, Bazaars, Flea Markets and Swap Meets are a few names you can find. Whatever the name…they all mean the same thing. They allow you to meet new and interesting people (hopefully customers), spend quality time with your family and more of course most importantly make some extra cash. But, before you debut your first table at one of these events, getting yourself prepared is the first step. The following is a guideline you can follow to help make sure you're ready.

1. First of course you'll want to find events that are held in your area. This is about the easiest task of all. You're sure to find them everywhere. Check you local newspaper, browse bulletin boards, and watch for fliers.

2. Next, attend a few local events yourself. Take a look around and view things from a customer's point of view. Which tables caught your eye first and why? What sort of products/merchandise is being carried? Most importantly, what's isn't there? Try to visualize how you'd like your table to look.

3. Once you've found the event you'd like to attend, reserve your table. Most events have an event manager. Find out who's in charge and contact them. Pricing will vary from one event to the next. Be sure to find out the average attendance to make sure it's worth the money. Don't forget to ask questions such as the availability of electricity (if needed), the size of your "booth", anything forbidden?

4. Make sure you have enough inventory. Stock up on catalogs, brochures and business cards. Make a list of all the supplies you'll need. Are you going to have samples available?

5. Decide what types of payments are going to be accepted. Are you only accepting cash? Do you have the ability to accept credit cards? Are you going to take checks? Does your bank accept check from customers out of the area?

6. Make a lead box. Lead boxes can be a great way to gain a mailing list, future or even repeat customers. One thing you can do with you lead box is hold a contest. An easy way to make a lead box is to take an ordinary cardboard box, cover it in decorative contact paper and cut a slit in the top. Print out entry forms with blanks for name, address, phone number and email address. Of course if you offer catalog parties or home parties, be sure to have a place asking if they're interested in holding one.

7. Set up your display at home to get a feel of how it will look at the event. By doing this you can take your time in arranging and re-arranging your display so you'll be ready for the event. The look and feel of your display has a large impact on your sales.

8. Recruit family members. You can make your events more family-friendly by assigning everyone a job. Spouses are great for helping un-loading and loading your merchandise, setting up and tearing down your display. Spouse also come in handy to "watch your table" if you need to step away. Smaller children can help bag/box up products that are sold, hand out business cards and catalogs or even meet and greet customers. Don't forget to bring along some fun things for children incase of the dreaded boredom.

9. Put on a smile. Don't just sit behind your table looking bored. Smile and greet visitors as they walk by or more importantly "stop in". Ask them if they're enjoying the event, how they're doing. Be friendly.

10. Have fun!

Author:Anita DeFrank

Doin' dah bUmP for Jane!!

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Craft Fairs, Bazaars & Flea Markets…Oh, My!