Retailer Tools and Tips for Attending Trade Shows

This is one of my favorite times of year. It’s warm, beautiful and green outside and instead of going Back-to-School, I start Part II of my bi-annual trade show circuit. Current count: 2 down, 6 to go.

Trade show season is in my top 3 “Things I Love about my Job.” It starts with unpacking box after box of Spring 2010 samples and continues with meeting new clients, networking with colleagues and visiting beautiful cities all over the US. It’s crazy, it’s busy and I occasionally feel like I’ll never “get it all done” by October 31st but… I’m happily addicted to this time of year. We can always sleep in November, right?

If you don’t love this time of year as much as I do, check out these trade show tips and tools:

The Advance Planning Stage

• Set aside time to read Earnshaw’s, Hudson’s, James Girone and The Giggle Guide. Regional and national markets and trade shows are published in every issue. Check out gift, toy and shoe trade pubs too. If you want new, amazing, special and different products in your shop—that can’t be found down the street as well—it’s up to you to sleuth out the smaller shows.

• Plan your trade show schedule 8-12 weeks in advance. You’ll get better air fare and hotel rates, plus you’ll feel less pressured about everything that has to be done.

• Alert key staff members in your shop about what trade shows you plan to attend. Some of my most successful retailers empower their staff to schedule market appointments when sales reps call. This strategy saves you countless calls, messages and emails and helps your sales rep block plenty of time to work one-on-one with you at the show.

• Request that your sales reps email/mail you line sheets, catalogs and pricing so that you can preview what brands you want to add in, which ones you can take a pass on and which ones you need to continue to buy.

• Review your category sales in conjunction with those line sheets. Do you need to add a second baby bottle line? Add organic muslin swaddling blankets? Buy more 00 and 0 crib shoes? Start buying up to size 8 girls’ apparel?

• Ask everyone you know—from key staff to reps to Grandma Jo to the UPS guy—to help you sleuth out the newest, coolest, hottest stuff. Collect all the ideas and have a staff meeting. Brainstorming about new products, combined with pastries, lattes and fruit, will go a long way towards boosting employee investment/commitment and you’ll get the opportunity to share your vision—and eventually increase the bottom line by adding products you didn’t know were out there.

• Use trade show resources to plan your show. MCAG publishes and mails a show book in advance of every regional market, with a page by page listing of each sales rep’s product lines, an alphabetical listing of lines and buyer-friendly events like a pizza party, breakfast and cocktail hours. They also have a website. ABC Kids Expo—a huge show—has an interactive map online. You can schedule your entire show in advance—preventing wasted time heading upstairs, downstairs, upstairs again and then back down…

What to Bring with You

• I’m addicted to high heels—and I do wear them to trade shows (until my feet pretty much start barking) but I do suggest carrying a pair of light-weight Fitflops or another comfy/supportive sandal or walking shoe.

• I’m going to sound like your mother here but I want you to bring a sweater or wrap too. In Vegas it’s 110 outside and 65 inside. If you’re tired and cold, you won’t make good buying decisions.

• Skip carrying the bottled water or anything heavy. Every booth will have water or snacks for you. At ABC this September, Itzy Ritzy (booth 3020) is giving away their new “Snack Happened Snack Bags” and will have a yummy candy bar. Get your free snack bag and fill it with energy-boosting snacks as needed.

• Buy a wheeled carrier to haul around your lap top, catalogs, brochures, orders and freebies but make sure the handle extends high enough that you can walk fully upright when you pull it. The cheap ones have handles tall enough for an 8-year-old. Invest in a good one before attending the show and your back and shoulders will thank you.

• Bring your digital camera but always ask before you snap—some vendors are proprietary. Snapping photos will help you remember what you ordered, and what you are “thinking about,” and will give you great merchandising ideas when your order arrives, too.

More Stuff to Bring with You

• Bring plenty of business cards! Request a lanyard-style holder for your show badge and put your cards behind the badge. You can clip a pen to the lanyard too. While this might not be the chicest look, it’s easier than digging through your bags or pockets to find your cards and a pen.

• Invest in business stickers and a stamp. Over a 3-day show, you can waste several hours waiting for sales reps to add your contact info to each order. Business stamps and stickers save you that step. They should list the following:
Business name and DBA (if not the same), Shipping and Billing address (if not the same), Telephone, Fax, Email and Website, Federal Tax ID number, and your Cell Phone Number if you can’t be reached easily at the store.

• Bring copies of your credit sheet, even if you’re not requesting net terms. Most of the vendors I work for (about 18 of them), have New Account Forms. Every time a new store wants to place an order, this sheet needs to be filled out. Since at a trade show, much of what you are looking for is from new vendors, you might be filling out this New Account Form for quite a few of them. Save yourself time by creating and copying a credit sheet that includes the necessary info. Include all of the info noted above, plus: Number of years in business, Other locations, Bank account number/name of your bank and banker, Three credit references, Owner, Buyer and Manager names and their Contact Info.

A Few Last Words

• Re-think bringing your mom, your sister or your best-friend to the show unless they’ve sunk as significant of a financial and time investment into your business as you have. Friends and family have strong opinions too but they might not be as experienced about what products and price points sell in your store. Get their opinions ahead of time and then leave them home—or set up an enjoyable day for them at the hotel pool so that you can power shop the show.

• Ditto above for kids. We love kids but they don’t love noisy, crowded, “boring trade shows.” If your kids start to get tired or crabby while you’re working, you’re instinctively going to take care of them…instead of taking advantage of the buying opportunities at the trade show.

• Do consider bringing your manager or someone who works in your shop daily (if you don’t). Their insights come directly from your shoppers and can help you buy appropriately and increase your bottom line.

• Do attend the trend and buying seminars—often free—presented by the show. Also accept dinner and party invitations from sales reps, vendors and other retailers. First off, that stuff is just plain fun and secondly, networking at a trade show in a social setting adds a slew of valuable go-to resources and phone numbers to your Blackberry.

You can capitalize on the opportunities at this season’s trade shows, eliminate buying mistakes and save time by creating a plan, staying focused and creating strong relationships in the industry. We’ve listed some of our favorite tips for doing just that.

What successful trade show and buying tips do you implement? Comment here.

Lara owns and is the primary sales rep for LJBryn&Co., a Midwest-based, independent rep group specializing in children’s gift, toys, gear and apparel. www.LJBrynAndCo.com