maggienoella Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I've decided to have a booth at the local quilt show in September in the hopes of getting more clients & also repeat clients. Basically I will have small quilts showing custom & semi-custom work. I'd like to do some fun things ?/or inexpensive giveaways. Do you have any ideas that have worked well for you? So far, I'm thinking about some handouts but also some kind of drawing and possibly a small gift with order if someone brings a quilt for us to quilt. Of course, I'll want to clear these ideas with the guild. I'm not yet a member. The goal is more panto clients but I know I need to show some custom work. Thanks for any suggestions, Joan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 Hi Joan. That's a great opportunity for you to showcase your business. Have as many samples of your work as you can. As for a drawing, you should offer something that will increase/expand your business and not just a "gift" like notions or a pattern. For your drawing, offer percentage-off coupons or actual dollars-off coupons. Be sure to have an expiration date on the coupons and clip them to your intake information or business brochure. If you can manage it, have a drawing hourly and make a big deal of it. If the show has a PA system, use that to announce your winners. When you hand the winner their prize, ask them if they would like to schedule the intake or if they need more time to get a top ready. You can pencil them in for several months in the future as long as it's before the coupon expires. And be sure to get contact info from them if they decide to wait. Then you can call to remind them of the coupon and nudge them a bit. Also, have a large piece of paper on your table that is used for scheduling appointments. You'll need to gauge how many quilts you can take in a month so as the sheet fills you can give an estimated time of completion. And you can be extra sly and pad the roster with a few fake names at the beginning just to make yourself more desirable. Play the game! If you have a notebook of panto designs, that's a great visual and selling point as well. Good luck and let us know how it goes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirleyl Posted January 17, 2014 Report Share Posted January 17, 2014 I have done this as well as sold some kits and supplies as well as some quilts that I make and sell at other shows. Just don't feel discouraged if you don't get any bookings up front. I have given out a lot of cards and brochures at many events and it is starting to come back around. I probably have gained more business from people that attend craft shows, but I have gained a few from the quilt show. I made a brochure and have them out for people as well as cards. Maybe demo drawing designs on paper or a white board. The more people looking at your booth, makes others think they are missing something. Shirley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemon Tree Tami Posted January 18, 2014 Report Share Posted January 18, 2014 How about having a piece of clear plastic (tape on edges) and a dry erase marker to demo quilting designs over a quilt top? Perhaps have pictures of your machine as well. Not everyone is familiar with what a longarm machine looks like, nor the size of it. What fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 Joan, does the show have other vendors that are not members? Ours had 20 or so last fall, none of them members. I was thinking of having a booth with some quilting and some of the projects I do that are not quilting, dried potato bead necklaces, fimo made jewelry to match something I like real well, painting gold pans, (small to about 10", ) could go on up to about 16" -18", which are real panning size. I didn't have enough made up of anything, to justify a booth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggienoella Posted January 19, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 actually, just from glancing at the vendor list, none of them appear to be members. i still need to print the forms so I'll probably learn of all the rules soon. joan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted January 19, 2014 Report Share Posted January 19, 2014 My experience with quilt show vendors is that there may be some who are members of the guild, but most are not. We have a committee which works hard to fill the vendor list for our quilt show and only two of the twenty booths were manned by a member. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maggienoella Posted January 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2014 Thank you so much for the ideas! I'll be working on coupons for sure. Thanks, Joan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 I like Linda Rech's idea to offer a coupon or gift certificate toward longarm machine quilting services. Over the years of having my business, I have given out $50.00 gift certificates to my clients who bring me a lot of business, and they are thrilled. People love freebies or discounts. Also, during our guild's annual dinner meeting or spring quilting event, I offer a couple of $50.00 gift certificates as door prizes. Everyone there always wants to win those gift certificates. It's great advertising, too. And (IMHO) handing out a few of these gift certificates every year does not create a financial loss for me, rather it has helped me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted January 21, 2014 Report Share Posted January 21, 2014 Be sure to have plenty of business cards on hand too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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