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Selling Offline at Events<br />
and Trade Shows<br />
One of the best ways to get your clothing line out there is to set up shop at<br />
events. This usually refers to reserving some table space to sell your tees. There<br />
are typically costs involved as most events charge a fee to vendors. The fees<br />
vary depending on how big the event is. Selling at events can be pricey, but it’s<br />
fun. You can meet your fans face to face, network and meet new people, and sell<br />
a bunch of tees in one place. Here are some good tips before you venture out.<br />
Types of Events<br />
You would expect to see apparel companies at the big apparel trade shows like<br />
Magic which we’ll get into in the next chapter. And you might often see apparel<br />
companies setting up shop at major music festivals like Warped Tour, SXSW,<br />
or Bamboozle. Don’t forget about craft fairs, film festivals, expos for various<br />
niches, etc. Try to think of events where there might <strong>not</strong> be a lot of other apparel<br />
brands competing with you. For example, Johnny Cupcakes could set up at a<br />
baking conference or something about cooking. Or maybe Cure Apparel could<br />
sell their tees at a Diabetes Race. If you were attending a horror film convention,<br />
you might expect to see a brand like Fright Rags or Electric Zombie there. I<br />
recommend planning out your events a year in advance and budget accordingly.<br />
Expect to Spend Some Money<br />
Like I said, events are super fun, but can be pricey. Be prepared to spend some<br />
cash. In addition to travel and food expenses, you will need to pay for vendor<br />
fees to reserve a booth or table space at the event. At SXSW last year, they had<br />
a “launch package” for startups that ran $5,000. This included floor space at<br />
their Interactive Trade Show and two sponsored posts on the SXSW Facebook<br />
and Twitter accounts. Quite pricey indeed. At Weapons of Mass Creation Fest,<br />
we charged $100/day for a table or booth. You’ll <strong>not</strong>ice that most vendors at<br />
these events have a nice branded banner at the very least. They might have a<br />
tent with their logo on it and various other signage or displays that help them<br />
get <strong>not</strong>iced. You’ll need to stock up on inventory, swag like stickers and buttons<br />
to giveaway, flyers, brochures, catalogs, etc. You are going to need to stock<br />
your table full of eye catching goodies! And if that wasn’t enough, you can even<br />
hire D-List celebrities to stand by your booth and attract attention.<br />
THREAD’S NOT DEAD • Jeff Finley<br />
The Glamour Kills booth at Bamboozle 2009<br />
Be Prepared and Organized<br />
It can be a crazy hectic mess while selling at an event. Something will get lost<br />
or go wrong, it’s inevitable. But with good preparation, you can minimize disasters.<br />
Prepare for this by running through the scenarios beforehand. Remember<br />
to think about the customer’s experience. A visitor will <strong>not</strong>ice your booth, approach<br />
it, and want to easily see your tees and prices. Do you take credit cards<br />
or cash only? Make sure visitors can see this info clearly. How are you displaying<br />
your tees? On a board behind you or laid flat out on a table? Are you going<br />
to bring shelves or storage totes to keep your inventory? How are you keeping<br />
track of orders? Money? We’ll get to that in a minute.<br />
Get there early<br />
How long does it take you to set up? Practice this at home first! I can’t stress<br />
enough getting to the event as early as possible to set up and make sure your<br />
booth is looking spectacular.<br />
Sales & Fulfillment 71
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