Selling at Craft Fairs: Profitable Craftsmanship

Selling at craft fairs is a great way to get more attention for your handicrafts. But, if you want to get it right and get the most out of the experience, here are some tips from experienced crafters on how to sell at handmade shows.

Before you decide to participate in the fair, you must make sure that you know how to price your products and how to calculate their cost accordingly. For some, this question can become a stumbling block. After all, the sale of your products should bring you a profit, taking into account all the upfront costs.

So, for an example, what you can spend money on while participating in the fair:
- payment for a place, table, stand, etc.
- the cost of producing your products
- car parking
- fees for credit card transactions
- packaging and marketing materials
- daily expenses for coffee, lunch, etc.

To get started, make sure you have enough items to sell so that when choosing a booth or kiosk, you can use all the usable space to present your products.

It is also advisable to have on hand a photo album on a tablet or in paper form to demonstrate the options for work that you can make to order, if such work is no longer for sale at the stand. Accordingly, there should be a notebook in which you will enter the wishes of the client, his data and the amount of the accepted deposit. Such nuances will surely add trust and respect for you as a professional in your field on the part of the client.

Exhibitors often spend a lot of effort to create original design of their stand. This, of course, is important for attracting the attention of customers, however, the experience of many exhibitions shows that it is much more efficient to place the maximum of your products so that they fall into the field of view of visitors for their subsequent sale. This is also facilitated by the indication of the price on each product or price range for a group of goods, so that the client does not hesitate to ask or leave without waiting for you to be free and give him your attention. Keep track of what prices other fair participants set for similar products of your subject.

The way your booth space is organized is important not only for maximum display of your products, but also for maximum customer service. If you accept payment by bank card, take care of the place where the payment terminal or smartphone with the software installed for this will be located. It should be at hand, but in relative safety with a large flow of visitors to the craft fair.

To work with cash, you most likely will not have enough of a regular wallet. Even worse, if you look for change in all your pockets. For a professional who, while participating in fairs, turns from a creative person into a commercial person, we recommend choosing and buying a suitable money box in advance, in other words, a portable cash box or cash box. It will allow you to distribute paper bills and coins, keep them neat, and use the key to close the drawer. Additional convenience of a cashbox if you work at the booth not alone, but with a partner who also has a key to the cash register.
Naturally, the cashbox itself should not be in sight and unattended, so as not to become an easy prey for scammers while you are distracted by customer service. Take care of it.

Whatever your temperament, to work at the booth you will have to be as friendly and sociable as possible, selling not so much your products as the image of yourself along with them. Do not react emotionally to a small number of people, let's say, with oddities that I attend any mass events. There are few of them, focus on an adequate majority. Interest, communicate, take customer contacts.

While business cards are cool and important, how many of you have a stack of business cards at home that you received from people? Selling your product should be your #1 goal, but if you just can't make that sale today, make sure you give yourself the opportunity to make that sale tomorrow! However, keep in mind that just asking for someone's email address or social media nickname doesn't mean you'll get it. You have to interest potential customers! Make sure they understand that if they give you their contact, they will receive special benefits in return.

Potential benefits for your customers may include (but are not limited to):
- New or updated products
- What events (fairs) are you going to visit in the future, where you can be found
- Special sales / promotions from your store (online store)!

Maintain pages or groups on social networks, talk about your products, participate in events, have fun and enjoy the whole process from the idea and creation of your product, its presentation, its sale and, finally, finding regular and satisfied customers, your development and prosperity .