This guide looks at what you need to consider before attending a trade

event, including;

Explain what you do

Your market

Your products

Money, risk and planning

For further information on this topic, read Planning to Sell at Trade

Events

1/11

Know how to describe the products you produce, who for, and why in

about 50 words. This will ensure focus on your part, and guarantee

that you will explain it clearly to others (customers, peers, editors etc)

whether face to face, on the phone, in print or email.

Prepare this first, so that you can be sure of what products you’ll

have at the fair, and who needs to buy them.

Explain what you do

2/11

3/11

• Who is the end user of your products?

• Who is your customer (if different)? Know their current products if

a retailer. What are they currently buying? What are the prices

they pay?

Your market

4/11

• Know why yours’ are good products for the proposed customers

and users. Look at the products your customers are buying and

form a picture of their priorities:- ask them! Ask the shop

assistants who sell to them… Send questionnaires to the buyers

in shops… Loiter around shops etc with a clipboard if necessary.

• Be confident that your products are a good ‘match’ for them price,

quality and style wise (without compromising yourself)

5/11

• Have 1 sample of each, or if they look better in multiples, up to 10

of each (or more.)

• Plan an exhibition with your market in mind

• Draw up a price list: include Recommended Retail Price

(normally, double your costs to find the trade price, and then

double that price and add VAT for the RRP). If this RRP doesn’t

suit your customers during market research time, see if you can

alter the product / manufacturing technique / materials in order to

find a better price-customer balance

Your products

6/11

• Images: Good quality ones with blank background, plus in context

• Brochure: Good clear images, list benefits of each product, show

measurements.

• Manufacturing: Know how long it takes to produce stock (if you don’t

have stock already). Think about this in relation to small orders and

large orders. Find out the size and lead in time of a ‘normal’ sample

order and a ‘normal’ stock order. This may be different for

independent stores and multiples. (Ask others selling similar sorts of

products or potential customers if your not sure.)

7/11

• Start (way before the trade fair… At least 3 months…) by offering

your products for sale by calling, meeting and showing potential

customers samples (or even sketches and 3D CAD models if

relevant). This costs much less than a trade fair, and after seeing

the 10th potential customer you’ll get to know which products

would sell most and which least

• Then you can take the plunge (if you conclude that some are

popular and will sell)

• Choose your fair with care (one which is visited by your proposed

customers!)

Money, risk and planning

8/11

• Print brochures which would persuade you to buy. Have enough

information in them and photos which show enough context and

detail to help buyers make decisions.

• Add up the cost of travel, stock, brochures, trade fair…the sum is

what you will need in sales to cover your costs (before you’re

paying yourself any wage from it)

9/11

Now that you have done some market research, you know your

costs and the amount of sales you need in order to pay for them,

you can decide whether to take the gamble of a trade fair…

…the likelihood is that if you can cover your costs, and will follow

up enquiries with interested answers and persistent contact (e.g.

every 2 months for the whole following year!) it’ll be financially

worthwhile

10/11

Next steps

1. For further information on this subject, please refer to the

following resources:

Costing & Pricing Work

An Introduction to Retail

Planning to Sell at Trade Events

11/11

Disclaimer: Cultural Enterprise Office is not responsible for any advice or information provided by any external

organisation referenced in this document.