How to arrange a place for a handmade fair. Participation in hand made fairs. Practical advice. School Fair Ideas

Exhibition business in modern conditions seems interesting to many participants domestic market... For some, this is a way to acquaint the consumer with the assortment of products and to interest them in their subsequent purchase. For others, this is an opportunity to help out a certain amount of money for the made with my own hands design objects. For others, it is a real chance to meet serious partners and conclude interesting deals.

A separate place in this business is given to the organizer of exhibition events. To be guaranteed to make a profit in this business, you need to know how to organize an exhibition-sale, art exhibition or fair, and what is needed for this. How to open your own exhibition business will be discussed later in the article.

Features of exhibition activities

Every entrepreneur is concerned about creating a positive image for his company, attracting the attention of potential customers and buyers, and stimulating sales. From this point of view, the exhibition is an excellent marketing tool that allows you to contact directly with the target audience.

However, one should not forget that an exhibition is, first of all, a show, a demonstration of all possible achievements of mankind in certain areas of its activity, be it art, economics, production or something else.

Only a cursory examination may seem that it is not difficult to arrange an exhibition. In fact, such an event is an important event that requires serious all-round preparation. For example, before organizing an art exhibition, there are a number of things to do:

choose an interesting topic;
develop a program that can bring aesthetic pleasure to visitors;
find exhibitors;
to form an exposition;
make an attractive presentation, etc.

This is all that relates to the ideological side. exhibition activities... In addition, there are also a lot of organizational issues. Therefore, in order to create an effective exhibition business, it is recommended to initially draw up a detailed business plan.

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How to draw up a business plan for an exhibition center

A business plan is where any begins entrepreneurial activity... In the current conditions, one cannot do without it. To succeed in business, an entrepreneur needs to act according to a pre-planned scheme, having initially calculated each of his steps. In addition, a well-designed business plan will help attract investors, which will be very appropriate when opening an exhibition business due to the large initial costs.

Exhibition center and what should it include? These are the main sections of the business plan with brief description what needs to be reflected in them:

introduction - here you should briefly outline general information about the project, indicate its cost, the need for additional sources of funding and economic efficiency- is drawn up upon completion of work on the business plan and summarizes the conclusions in other sections;
market overview - in this part you need to provide information on the main competitors and the economic feasibility and relevance of your own project;
investment plan - describe in detail all possible one-time and current expenses for opening an exhibition center and withdraw the total amount;
production plan - to reflect the main business operations and business processes, the implementation of which is necessary for the implementation of the project;
the marketing part - should contain the principles of pricing, schemes for promoting the services of the exhibition center, advertising, etc .;
financial plan - to present a calculation of the projected profit, reflect all the financial data of the project and, as a result, an indicator of the estimated profitability of the business;
risks and guarantees - in this section it is necessary to analyze the existing risks and propose a scheme for their minimization.

This is an example for the opening of an exhibition center. You can use it when drawing up your own project or entrust the writing of a business plan to professionals.

What you need to open an exhibition center

The exhibition business, like any other entrepreneurial activity, for its legal existence must go through state registration... the organizer himself decides, there are no requirements in the law regarding the form of the enterprise.

Important! Despite the absence of legal restrictions when choosing the organizational and legal form, registration is recommended for the exhibition business legal entity, which has more capabilities than an individual entrepreneur. The advantage of an LLC in this case is the possibility of participation of several founders at once and the formation of a larger authorized capital.

In addition to registration in tax authority, the organizer of the exhibition center will have to go through an equally important and, perhaps, the most difficult stage of all - the preparation of the premises. The area of the complex in which the exhibitions will take place must be at least 2 thousand square meters. m. The premises should have high ceilings, spacious halls and pavilions and be very well lit. Needless to say that the external and interior decoration center must be flawless? After all, the number of visitors and the desire of exhibitors to take part in exhibitions depends on how beautiful, cozy and fashionable the premises will be.

The premises can be rented or built specifically for this purpose. The second option seems to be more expedient, since renting such a large area will be very expensive, and the recoupment of the project may take a long time. The construction of the exhibition center is associated with large one-time costs, but in the future it will significantly save on operating costs.

In addition to the premises for placing the center, you will need special equipment for organizing exhibitions: demonstration tables, racks, stands, showcases, podiums, stands, etc.

One of the components of success in the exhibition business is the high-quality work of the staff. If you intend to open a full-scale exhibition center, it makes sense to assemble a close-knit team of employees (organizers, designers, advertising specialists, etc.) working for the result.

Organization of exhibitions

When organizing an exhibition, the first thing to do is to choose a direction and determine the scale of the event.

Depending on the subject of the exhibition, there may be:

artistic;
scientific;
technical;
trade (this also includes trade shows and trade fairs), etc.

Trade fairs and trade fairs are of the greatest interest to the business community. Participants of such events within the framework of the exhibition demonstrate to consumers their best achievements, advanced developments, technological innovations, etc. What distinguishes them from a regular exhibition is that a visitor can purchase the products on display in order to try them out before they go into mass production.

How to organize a trade fair or trade show? To do this, you need to determine in advance the date of the event (preferably 2-3 months in advance), topics and criteria for selecting exhibitors.

The next stage is the dissemination of information about the upcoming exhibition among potential participants... For this, the media, advertising on local radio and television, Internet communications, etc. are used. When inviting organizations to take part in an exhibition-sale or fair, the date by which it is possible to apply for participation should be stipulated.

When all exhibitors of the sales exhibition have been identified, the following steps should be taken:

to develop a project of an exposition;
to draw up an interesting program of the exhibition-sale (to bring an element of the holiday, to include master classes);
interest the client audience (conduct an advertising campaign);
organize the work of the service personnel;
draw up a plan for expenses.

The costs of organizing an exhibition and ways of making a profit

How much it costs to organize an exhibition depends on what material and labor resources are necessary for its implementation. All costs can be conditionally divided into 4 groups:

for the operation of the exhibition-sale (rent of premises, if it is not owned, utility bills, organization of fire safety, etc.);
on the creative training(script development, decoration, etc.);
for technical equipment and implementation of the exhibition (preparation of equipment, purchase of necessary materials, transportation of exhibits, wage staff,);
for advertising.

The minimum cost of an exhibition event is approximately 300 thousand rubles. It is difficult to determine the maximum, since everything depends on the number of exhibitors, on the need to create additional conditions for the exhibits on display.

The organizer's income, which can be obtained from one exhibition-sale (exhibition-fair), exceeds the cost price several times. The price for participation of an organization in such an event varies from 120 to 500 thousand rubles. depending on the scale of the exhibition itself and the number and area of exhibition stands.

Important! An exhibition center can earn considerable income if additional services are provided on its basis, for example, the design of exclusive materials for demonstration stands or training seminars. In addition, on days free from exhibitions, part of the center's premises can be rented out for conferences, negotiations, etc.

Organization of a traveling exhibition

On the basis of the existing exhibition center, many interesting ideas... One of them is the organization of a traveling exhibition. Why is such an idea attractive? The fact that the organizer does not need to create a project, decorate exhibits, but rather simply rent a ready-made package of a traveling exhibition and place it on the territory of the center. You can exhibit antiques, decorative butterflies, photographic materials, elements of modern design.

How to organize a traveling exhibition? Everything is simple enough. It is necessary to find an interesting proposal. Many museums now rent ready-made exhibits. The details of the organization of the exhibition are coordinated directly with representatives of museums and foundations. Preliminary preparation includes:

selection of the period of the exhibition placement (duration is on average 7-10 days);
holding advertising campaign(it is advisable to start actively advertising the exposition in 1-1.5 months);
conclusion of an agreement on holding an exhibition;
insurance of exhibits (if necessary);
transportation of exhibition materials and their placement in the exhibition center.

The profitable part of such a project is formed through the sale of entrance tickets and the provision of additional services(sale of souvenirs and postcards, photography, etc.).

How to organize an exhibition - why you need it + 10 steps for organizing + 4 common mistakes.

There are many marketing tools to promote products and services.

It is quite difficult to take into account each, and even more so to use at one time, and it is not always necessary.

But there is one way of communication that combines several promotion tools at once.

And these are exhibitions that are familiar to many.

Despite the fact that many entrepreneurs have already managed to assess the effect of their holding, some are still afraid to participate in such events.

And first of all, this is due to ignorance and misunderstanding of the organization of the entire process.

If you want to know how to organize an exhibition and get the most out of it, then keep reading this article.

What is an exhibition and why is it needed?

The exhibition is one of the key marketing communications, which includes many ways of promotion, which are carried out at the same time:

presentation of a product or service;
tasting (if necessary);
sampling;
contests.

What an entrepreneur gets in the end by deciding to take part in the exhibition:

communication with potential buyers or clients;
studying competitors and comparing yourself with them;
forming a positive image of your company;
receiving new orders and negotiating future supply contracts.

Thus, by taking part in such events, the company gets a unique opportunity not only to study a possible sales market and to show itself in the best light, but also immediately following the results of the work to work on mistakes - to improve the quality of goods, to hire more qualified personnel, to do more active advertising.

Advantages and disadvantages of the exhibition

An exhibition is a rather specific marketing tool that has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Let's start with the pleasant moments:

organizers use only high-quality and large-scale advertising;
the exhibition is mostly attended by a really interested audience;
participation in such an event gives the entrepreneur an opportunity to establish new connections with local authorities authorities, other enterprises that may be suppliers of raw materials, advertising companies;
maintaining the image of your enterprise.

But along with the advantages, there are also disadvantages:

high cost of participation;
long preparation time;
expensive decoration of the exhibition stand;
the human factor (it is worth sending only verified and trained employees of the marketing department to the exhibition).

How to organize an exhibition: a step-by-step process

There is a lot of work to be done to organize an exhibition. Western analysts argue that it is worth spending about one year to prepare, our compatriots agree that six months will be quite enough.

The very process of participating in the exhibition will consist of several stages.

Here are the main ones:

Choosing a suitable exhibition
Drawing up an action plan
Selection and training of employees who will present the product
Budget planning
Sample selection
Development of handouts
Exhibition center decoration
Installation work
Direct participation
Summarizing

Let us dwell on each of the stages in more detail.

Selecting an exhibition and submitting an application for participation

The marketing department of the enterprise must constantly seek and study information about where, when and what exhibitions will be organized.

If you are new to such events, then, first of all, pay attention to the specialized exhibitions that are held in your region.

If in the next six months there is nothing suitable, then it is worth considering the option of expositions at which manufacturers can show themselves different groups goods.

What you need to pay attention to when choosing an exhibition:

subject;
number of participants;
the target audience;
ways to promote the exhibition;
requirements for exhibitors' exhibition stands;
Cost of participation.

Submission of an application and payment for participation depends on the scale of its implementation:

at the regional level - you must contact the organizer directly;
on the federal one - to find intermediaries.

Also prepare everything in advance Required documents, since some expo centers have strict requirements and conduct a careful selection of participating companies.

Exhibition planning

Organizing an exhibition will not work without careful planning.

First of all, you must compose calendar plan actions, calculate a budget in order to understand how much money you are willing to invest in this method of advertising, and prepare employees.

Also at this stage it is necessary to determine the main goals of participation in such an event and focus on them.

Strategic tasks will be:

increased sales;
attracting new buyers;
market research;
assessment of competitors' activities and study of them target audience;
search for new connections;
conducting preliminary negotiations with potential clients.

The tactical tasks are as follows:

determination of the dimensions of the stand;
selection of samples;
exhibition stand design;
search for a suitable place for the installation of a stand in the expo center.

Selection of employees who will work at the exhibition

If the director or business owner is interested in its development, then his presence at the exhibition is mandatory.

Firstly, you can personally see a potential sales market, and secondly, make business acquaintances.

As for the personnel who should be directly responsible for organizing the exhibition, they will belong to the sales or marketing department.

It is worth sending specialists in their field to the exhibition, who:

"From" and "to" know the selected goods,
have good communication skills;
will be able to sell the product and describe its positive characteristics.

Also, the stand should have a production manager, a marketing or sales manager.

Budget planning

The budget for organizing an exhibition should include the following items of expenses:

payment for participation and rent of a place in the expo center;
the cost of the exhibition stand (design, transportation, installation);
cost of samples;
preparation of handouts;
travel and accommodation expenses of employees;
costs of force majeure.

Selection of product samples

It is necessary to use the same goods that go on sale as samples.

Anyone who comes up to the company's stand should have the opportunity to taste the product.

Also prepare some units that you can give to potential clients.

Be sure to leave on the avenue full information about the product and contact information of the company.

Preparing handouts

Handouts should be presented in the form:

leaflets with information about the company and its products;
price list;
full catalog.

It is worth noting that the costs will be quite large, so do not rush to easily say goodbye to the handouts.

Place a stack of leaflets near the stand, but the price list and catalog should be reserved for those who are really interested in the company's products.

Exhibition stand design

The most important stage in organizing an exhibition is decorating an exhibition stand.

The success and effect of participating in such an event depends on how the product will be presented.

To convey to visitors all the necessary information, use recommendations for the design of the stand for the exhibition, concerning the following points:

Name and logo.

They should be visible and immediately conspicuous.

Therefore, be sure to place them on the stand.

There is no need to make people wonder what this enterprise is in the right corner.

You can also develop some kind of customer-oriented slogan that immediately grabs the attention of visitors.

He needs to be the center of attention.

Therefore, avoid a bright stand design, where the product can get lost.

It should also be placed in such a way that anyone can approach it from any side.

Place in the hall.

The earlier you apply for participation in the exhibition, the higher your chances of renting a good place.

The most successful is the placement of the stand:

to the right of the entrance;
in the middle of Hall;
in the corners of the hall.

Stand size.
The stand should occupy a third of the rented space, the rest of the space belongs to the employees at the rate of 1.5-2 sq. m. for one person.
As a rule, 5 seconds are enough for a person to catch a glance at a certain stand and decide to approach it.
You need to know a few "tricks" that will help in this matter.

So, how to design an exhibition stand so that it will surely attract attention:

the stand can be of an unusual shape with a bright, but at the same time unobtrusive design;
you can add a scrolling line, play a video on the screen with a demonstration of the product in action, put moving objects that are indirectly related to the activities of the company;

be sure to provide text information on the stand itself and make sure that the rack with handouts was not empty.

But it is important that visitors still have questions that company representatives can answer;

if the conditions of the organizers of the exhibition provide for the lease of large areas, then do not stint and organize an "island" with a table and chairs.

Try to give your stand a certain style, let it be laconic and not overloaded with a lot of items and unnecessary text.

Anyone would rather try a product in real conditions than just see it in the photo or read a lot of information about it.

Installation work for the installation of the stand in the exhibition hall

It is necessary to prepare in advance about the delivery of the exhibition stand: choose and conduct full briefing workers.

To carry out installation and dismantling, you need to set clear terms: one day at a time.

Allowing the employee to relax can increase costs.

On the days of the event, it is necessary to monitor the cleanliness of the stand and its filling.

Participation in the exhibition and summing up

Well, all the stages of how to organize the exhibition have been passed, it remains only to participate in it.

And here it all depends on the employees who will conduct the presentation.

The stand should always have people to whom visitors can turn.
First of all, it is worth paying attention to wholesale buyers, and then to retail.
Potential customers are invited to fill out a questionnaire, after which they are provided with a catalog with a full range of products and a price list.

Completed questionnaires will serve as the basis for summing up the results of the exhibition.

They can also track how many buyers are really interested in the company's products.

After that, you can work on the mistakes, as well as evaluate the strong and weaknesses the work done.

A few more tips on how to hold an exhibition are collected in the video:

Major mistakes during the exhibition

Many do not fully understand what it means to organize an exhibition, which is why many questions arise, ignorance of the answers to which leads to negative results.

An exhibition is just work at the stand.

This is wrong.

This is a set of sequential actions that will lead to success.

It is important to take a responsible approach to each stage of the organization - preparation, direct participation and summing up.

Participation in the exhibition is only for the sake of participation.

The management of the enterprise must clearly set the goals that need to be achieved from participation.

The main focus should be on the stand.

Even the most beautiful and eye-catching stand will not save if the employees are not prepared and cannot communicate with clients.

The exhibition is over, and that's it.

Nothing ended until a complete analysis of the data obtained was carried out, and no work was done on the errors.

After all, what was the point of wasting so much time and money, so that later not to take into account the information received.

If you are ready to go to a new level of promoting your business, then be sure to study any information regarding the issue, how to organize an exhibition.

It is really very profitable and effective method Express yourself.

But without knowing certain points, it is unlikely that it will be possible to get an "exhaust" from the work done and the money spent.

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Weekend fairs are fairs that are created to support agricultural producers. They work from April to December inclusive (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Trading places are provided free of charge.

At weekend fairs, you can only sell agricultural products (vegetables, fruits, berries, meat, fish, dairy products) and foodstuffs(baked goods, cereals, flour, vegetable oils, salt, sugar, seasonings, tea, coffee, canned food and confectionery) produced in the territory Russian Federation, member states of the Eurasian Economic Union.

2. Who can get a seat at the fair?

You can get a place at the weekend fair:

individuals (leading a personal subsidiary farm or engaged in gardening or horticulture, animal husbandry, heads of peasant (farm) households);
individual entrepreneurs;
legal entities.

Individuals can receive trading places only for the group of goods "vegetables and fruits". Moreover, 60% of these places should be provided to those who are leading personal subsidiary plots or those engaged in gardening, horticulture, animal husbandry, 20% - to the heads of peasant (farm) households. The remaining 20% is distributed between individual entrepreneurs and legal entities.

At each fair, one place must be given to a pensioner (or disabled person) so that he can sell products grown on his site.

Legal entities and individual entrepreneurs who have received a place at the fair are not required to trade themselves - you can take sellers, no more than three per site. Individuals can take only their own sellers Close relatives - relatives in a direct ascending and descending line (parents and children, grandfathers, grandmothers and grandchildren), full-blooded and incomplete (having a common father or mother) brothers and sisters.

"> close relatives.

3. When are the fairs held?

In Moscow, weekend fairs are held during three trading sessions of three months. The first trading session in 2020 will run from April 3 to June 28.

The timing of the weekend fairs is approved every year by the organizer of the weekend fairs - the Moscow Fair.

4. How do I register and get a seat at the fair?

To trade at the fair, you need to apply. This can only be done online on the site.

If you do not have access to the Internet, you can contact anyone. There are e-service areas where computers with free access to the network.

Only one administrative region can be specified per request. But on its territory you can choose several fairs. At the same time, you cannot get, for example, two places if you indicate only one seller.

Places are given in order of priority: whoever submitted an application earlier, that is given a place. If you run out of seats, you will be included in the waiting list.

5. What documents do I need?

To work at the weekend fair you will need:

for individuals- identity document; for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities - the original or a duly certified copy of the tax registration certificate;
for individuals - documents confirming the running of a peasant (farm) economy, personal subsidiary farm or gardening, horticulture, animal husbandry, and documents of title to a land plot used for these purposes (original or a copy certified by a notary); for individual entrepreneurs and legal entities - shipping documentation (original or notarized copy);
documents confirming the quality and safety of products in accordance with the requirements of federal legislation;
medical books;
for individuals - documents confirming relationship with sellers.

Sellers must have documents during the entire time of work at the fair. They may be requested by authorized officials or organizers of the fair.

6. How to find a weekend fair?

Weekend fairs are organized in all districts of Moscow. Places for their placement The addresses of the location of fairs are coordinated by the councils of deputies of municipal districts, district administrations and other authorities involved, proposed by the prefectures of the administrative districts of Moscow, considered by the Department of Trade and Services of Moscow and submitted for approval at a meeting of the interdepartmental commission on the consumer market under the Government in the form of an address list of weekend fairs. Moscow.

"> is approved annually.

The addresses of weekend fairs in the section of the Department of Trade and Services of the city of Moscow on the site. You can also find them on the open data portal.

I am constantly writing about various handicrafts and other types of income that do not bring big profits. How to start earning more, reach another level? How to feel not just a homeworker who painstakingly performs work for a small group of acquaintances all day long, but also a creative, in-demand person who receives expensive orders? One of the simplest and most effective options is organizing an exhibition.

Any entrepreneur is constantly concerned with issues such as advertising, creating a positive image of the company and promoting sales, both wholesale and retail. To reach the threshold of efficiency, significant financial, human and time resources are required. By organizing an exhibition, you get the opportunity to simultaneously use all of the above marketing tools among a specially collected target audience of potential customers. That is, at the exhibition you form the image of your company and advertise the product and sell it.

How to organize an exhibition, attract visitors, recoup costs and make a profit

First of all, let's determine that exhibitions are different:

For the sake of sales (made, sold, drank). In many cities there are already regular exhibitions of hand-made workers (handmade). If you do not have this, then you can agree with the city administration, other craftsmen and monthly (or weekly) in a certain place to hold such exhibitions and fairs. The entrance is free of charge.
For show, that is, a classic exhibition, such as how. Payment of rent and other expenses from entrance tickets. These events are not cheap and require serious organization, therefore they are held 1-2 times a year.
Show yourself. This is usually not a personal exhibition, but participation in a large city, industry or regional exhibition. She will not bring quick money. Its plus is that most of the costs are paid by the state, but in order to get a result, you need to take into account a lot of subtleties, so a separate article will be devoted to this topic.

The organization of the exhibition includes several points, known as the "Rule of 4 R":

Exhibition planning.
Attracting visitors.
Staff.
Obtaining and analyzing the results.

Exhibition planning

In order to properly organize an exhibition and ultimately get the maximum result, you first need to decide: for what purposes are we organizing it? The list could be something like this:

Searching for clients - do you need new clients?
Search for partners - wholesale buyers, suppliers of raw materials, advertising companies etc.
Search for employees - you intend to expand your business?
Search for like-minded people - people with whom you have common interests, who are worried about the same problems.
Formation of a positive image of the company.
Brand advertising - did you manage to come up with it?
Pay back the costs of organizing the event and make a profit.

Organization of the exhibition

Organizers... First of all, you need to resolve the issue with the organizers of the exhibition. Will you deal with this alone, will you involve city or regional authorities, or will you find partners? Immediately stipulate who will do what, and also financial questions, and if these are not your relatives, then conclude a written contract.

Premises... The second question is finding a place. They depend on the size of the planned exhibition, its direction and even the time of year, because in the summer you can do a lot just in the open air.

Nowadays, most museums organize various temporary exhibitions, so if you are engaged in folk crafts, you can negotiate with them. Quite a decent exposition can be organized in the lobby of the hotel, in the house of culture or in a new shopping center, where not all areas are leased yet. In general, now in any city there are enough free premises that are rented, now for shoe sales, then for fur fairs.

Performers... Someone will have to put the premises in order, install (and then disassemble) the stands, lay out the exposition and maintain it throughout the entire exhibition. In big cities, special firms are engaged in this, if you do not have one in the city or you do not have money for it, then you will have to do everything on your own, attracting friends and relatives.

Advertising... Now any printing house will print brochures, leaflets and booklets for you. Make sure that it contains all the information you need for those who want to find you after the exhibition. Don't be too flamboyant, a small bright sheet with basic information is all you need! In addition, you will have to spend money on advertising that will attract visitors to the exhibition. In about a month, bright announcements should appear in city newspapers and on local television. You will also need to hang posters on the streets. You also need to distribute flyers in crowded places and advertise on the Internet. On the net, articles and messages on thematic pages, again thematic sites, forums and social networks, as well as mailing and contextual advertising, work best.

Exposition placement... When creating an exposition, constantly ask the question: for whom am I doing this? After all, firstly, the exhibition should be interesting for all visitors, that is, for people who are far from what you do. After all, satisfied visitors are free advertising Events. Secondly, it should be such that people want to buy your product. Thirdly, wholesalers and potential partners should be able to quickly get all the information they need, and you should also quickly get information about them. Therefore, staff need to be taught in advance who to say what, what information to provide, and what information to ask.

An example of an interesting exposition

An interesting option to interest visitors is to conduct master classes. Allocate a place for a craftsman who, in front of visitors, will create some things, and at the same time teach everyone some simple tricks.

Don't forget to make a stand for the kids. It doesn't matter what it will be, except for your products - clockwork Railway or a cage with parrots, but children should be interested. This is one of the good incentives for visitors to tell their friends about your exhibition and advise them to visit it.

How to make money at the exhibition

Sale of entrance tickets. The easiest option, but it won't work if your entire exposure can be bypassed in a couple of minutes. People need to understand what they are giving their money for.
Selling your products. Make sure that by the beginning of the exhibition you have a good stock of goods for sale, including inexpensive ones that visitors like to buy as a souvenir of where they have been. And of course there must be something fun for the kids.
Renting out part of the premises. If the room is large for you, then part of it can be rented out, the most the best option- network companies (). These organizations dearly love large crowds of people who are in no hurry. In addition, they have experience in this kind of work, so their stands and staff will look quite presentable.
If conditions permit, you can organize something like a buffet - a showcase, a coffee machine and three tables.
Quizzes, contests, lottery, etc. Here is one of the options I found on the Internet: advertising materials are freely distributed at the stands, and an SMS quiz is announced, according to which you need to answer 10 paid (sending SMS messages) questions. At the end of each hour, valuable prizes are drawn between the correct answers. The mechanism is as follows - 50% of the cost of an SMS message goes to the operator, another 25% goes to the content provider that processes messages, and the last 25% goes back to the organizers of the quiz. It turns out that visitors are not only happy to sort out brochures, but also pay money to read them carefully.

Analysis of work

After the end of the exhibition, you need to disassemble the exposition, calculate the income and expenses, pay off the staff, but the most important thing is to start working with the information that you received during the exhibition. This needs to be done right away, so entrust all the rest of the work to assistants, and start making contacts yourself.

In general, getting contacts is one of the most important functions of the exhibition. So initially set the staff up so that during the exhibition they should get as many contacts as possible. That is, their task is not only to smile and hand out brochures, but also to convince potential customers or partners to leave their coordinates: phone, email, business card, etc.

After the exhibition, you will need to sit down and work closely with each of them. Send letters of gratitude to all visitors who have left information about themselves for their interest in your exposition. It is better to prepare these letters in advance, even during the preparation for the exhibition. Then promise to contact the visitor within a week. If you want the visitor to remember your company, you need to send him a letter within 48 hours after the exhibition closes.

Having done this work, you can actually analyze the results of the exhibition: what worked and what did not, is it worth holding such events regularly, how long and how often? Listen to staff, partners and visitors. Ask them how to organize an exhibition next time. This will help to do everything much better in the future. Who knows, perhaps your exhibition will become traditional and become one of the most significant annual events in your city.

Good day, dear friends!

Today I would like to touch upon a topic that is quite exciting for many needlewomen - participation in exhibitions and fairs of products handmade.

I was inspired to write the article by a conversation with Alisa Lucinska - at that moment she was busy writing her book about making money on decoupage. Having discussed the issue of participating in "living" fairs, I realized that it makes sense to put all these sketches and thoughts into a single whole.

I Types of trade fairs

First of all, it is worth realizing the scale of the "disaster". Trade fairs can be conventionally divided into large, medium and small.

1) Large fairs have a lot of advantages, but the disadvantages are even more significant.

They are held on a grand scale - in large rooms, with many craftsmen and visitors.

The premises are well equipped - stands for your gizmos, more like a room where you can place your products even on the ceiling; bright lighting, it is possible to choose the place where you will live during the exhibition.

Fair "Craft Bazaar"

It seems that everything is very worthy so far, right? But there is no barrel of honey without a weighty fly in the ointment - the cost of participation in such fairs is not just high - it is very high! There is no guarantee that you will even beat off participation. Exhibitions of this level are good for studios and handicraft shops that want to show themselves to the general public. Or for the wives of the owners of oil rigs who were bored. =)

It is also worth noting that there are a lot of visitors, but very few people buy anything. For visitors, such fairs are more like entertainment or a museum - to come and see the beauty that others make with their own hands.

One of the stands at the Craft Bazaar and Teddy Fan fair

Also, about half of the visitors do not reach the second floor, so it is better not to choose places on the second floor (if the exhibition is located on several floors).

3) And, finally, very small hand-made fairs.

Small fairs are usually held in shopping centers and small areas of shops. Now there are a huge number of them - in St. Petersburg there are no weekends without such fairs. The organizers reckon on people who are walking or going about their business. The most unsuccessful type of fairs in terms of sales - there are no conditions for holding, the tables are very crowded, they are very small, there is no additional lighting, and by blocking the passage, the participants of the fair annoy people passing by, hurrying about their business. At such fairs, if something is sold, then something is quite inexpensive and souvenir.

ll What you need to find out from the organizers before deciding to participate in the fair.

First of all, you need to find out from the organizers: of course, the cost of participation, is it possible to participate not all days (sometimes it is convenient if you can not participate all week, but only a few days), is it possible to take an assistant with you and on what conditions - sometimes you really want to move away from your place (see the fair, drink coffee, etc.); is it possible to choose the location of the table, is it possible to bring any furniture and lamps for lighting with you, is it possible to inspect the room in advance, what time is the arrival at the territory for the masters (you need to accommodate yourself, expand your beauty), and what time the fair ends.

It is worth asking if there are other craftsmen for your type of needlework, since these are your direct competitors.

Photo from one of the festivals "Mirkwood"

Some organizers allow the masters to share one table for two. This is only reasonable if you have small items such as jewelry and they all fit on a vertical rack. In other cases, do not settle for this option - it produces a stunningly sad feeling of crowdedness and bazaar on buyers when the master is huddled somewhere in the corner. Often they won't even be able to approach you properly, let alone consider something.

Separately, I would like to dwell on the choice of a place on the territory of the fair. It makes sense to take into account the peculiarities of people's perception - corner tables often pass in an arc past, glancing over them - simply because it is not convenient or not possible to get closer. They also very often pass by the first tables and stands - they strive to go further, because people also follow, and no one has the desire to create a "traffic jam". Often they pass by places that are around the bends and bends of the walls - being impressed by what they saw, they simply may not notice that they missed something else. It is also worth paying attention to the places near the entertainment stands - quite a lot of visitors will stop here, involuntarily looking around all around while waiting for their turn (for example, face painting, mehendi). At the same time, it is worth assessing whether this queue will complicate the approaches to your place).

Mirkwood Festival, in the photo - Alisa Luchinskaya

lll What do you need to think about in advance, before the exhibition?

Be sure to find out the size of your table or the area allotted to you. I strongly recommend that you arrange things at home in advance on this square, as they will be at the exhibition itself. Believe me, this takes a lot of time, and before you start launching visitors, you simply will not have the opportunity to think about how best to decompose your beauty. (For convenience, you can take a photo of the layout).

A good positioning of things on a stand or table is of great importance.

Sometimes one purple monster at the edge of the table can bring more buyers to you than a whole evenly filled stand.

Large expensive things should be prominently displayed - not the fact that they will be bought, but they will serve as a decoration for the table and attract the attention of visitors passing by.

It is better to think over all this in advance to arrange things by theme, color, shape.

You should definitely think over the packaging for each of your items, and not just for especially large ones - after all, the buyer is still walking around the fair, and it will hardly be convenient to do this with the box in his hands.

If customers will try on your products, do not forget to take a mirror with you, and sometimes it is convenient to have two mirrors to make it easier for the customer to examine the product on himself.

Pictured is Tatiana Redsonya, wire jewelry maker

And further. The intensity and density of visitors are completely different, often the visitor rolls in "waves". It would be nice to think about what you will do during the calm moments. If your type of needlework allows it, you can create something, combining business with pleasure - the sight of a working needlewoman always attracts attention.

In the photo - Inga Moiseeva, felting master

lV What should you take with you to the fair?

1) Business cards! You can forget your head, but business cards - by no means! They will be able to find you after the exhibition, they will return to you for personal orders. Don't miss your chance!

Business cards should be in direct accessibility - the corner of the table farthest from you and closest to the customers.

2) Exchange of money. How many potential buyers was lost at fairs when the master simply had no change ...

3) Price tags. Many potential buyers, not seeing the price tag, walk by for fear of being in an awkward situation. It is good if the name of the work and the most basic materials used in the work are indicated on the price tag.

4) Tablecloth (if not provided by the organizers). The tablecloth should be solid or match the style of your work and decoration. On a colorful tablecloth, some of the things will simply be lost.

The list can, of course, be continued at your own discretion.

V What products sell best at fairs?

It is very difficult to unequivocally answer this question. Sometimes, at two fairs of the same type, completely different things are taken apart - somehow at one of the fairs all the notebooks were taken apart, and at the other - all the notebooks remained in my hands. Therefore, you can only notice some patterns, for example, the work should be of different price categories. Small souvenirs and useful things find their customers faster, but large and bright ones, as I already wrote, draw attention to your table.

And the last thing I would like to mention is the behavior of the master at the fairs. As little obsession as possible! Do not rush headlong to the visitor who has approached the exhibitions and attack him like a vulture, saying that your product is the best! This is frightening and repulsive to many. It's not bad if your motto becomes calm goodwill: they smiled, making it clear that you see a buyer, no more. If you see close attention to specific things, you can give some kind of commentary on it. Answer to questions asked, but do not spread out with a half-hour speech.