Increase Sales - What You can Learn at the State Fair

Aug 07 2009

Increase Sales - What You can Learn at the State Fair

Fairs are a big deal here in Iowa. We have county fairs and then the big state fair. As far as fairs go the State Fair in Des Moines is ranked one of the best.

Not only is going to the fair a must do before school starts for many local families… the fair is a fantastic place to glean some great insider marketing and sales ideas you can put to work immediately. More than likely I’ll take at least one day to go to both the Spencer fair (one of the larger county fairs) and the state fair. I can’t wait. If you have time between August 13-23 come on over. We’d love to have you.

While I love the food, the fun, and the things that can only be found at the fair just like everyone else I also love what you can discover there that will help you improve your marketing and sales.

I’ve heard some of the best sales presentations of my life at a state fair. The really good fair booth renters are truly amazing to watch and listen to. There are two things you’ll notice immediately. They are genuinely excited about their product and very likeable people. Plus they know exactly how to talk about their product in a way that makes you want to listen.

Could the same be said for you? I’ve seen wonderful business owners with a fantastic product or service who were so uncomfortable, so terrible and awkward explaining it, that they seemed to lose their authenticity.

I’ve suffered through business owners who tried to tell me why they thought I should want their product or service who completely missed the mark.

I recommend you grab a car load of your favorite people and head out early for the local fair. Plan to stay late so you can squeeze as many experiences as possible into your day.

Make sure you walk past every vendor. While you’re going to have a blast there are a few things I want you to do while your their:

Notice where the people most likely to buy your stuff are gathering
Listen closely to the way the vendors selling to those folks talk about what they’re selling
Pay attention to how those vendors get those buyers to stop at their booth
Gather round the vendors who are able to get your buyers to gather around them, and notice why those buyers are stopping
Pick up the information they’re picking up to take home and study later
Make a note of the organizations that have vendor booths, food stands, and provide help to run the fair
Talk to a couple of the best vendors and find out what people are looking for, what’s changed recently, where their hottest market is, etc.

By the time night falls you’ll be physically exhausted BUT your mind will be alive with new ideas for new ways to improve your marketing and sales efforts.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 7th, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.