Keys to Successful Shows and Expos

The following information was graciously provided by Jean-Marie Hepworth:

Keys to a Successful Booth

A booth can be an excellent way to find both customers and distributors for your Young Living business. My Hong Kong organization was started from a single person hearing about out product line at the Whole Life Expo in Pasadena.

Depending on the event, your booth can highlight anything form a few products to the entire product line or focus on a theme. It can be very beneficial to invest a small amount in a booth in a small show with a theme, such as a pet fair, horse show or kid's products. More planning and dollars are needed for the big booths at large events.

Some questions to ask before deciding to set up a booth: Do you have products to stock a booth with? Or will you be ordering product for the booth? If you will be ordering product, make certain you know what to expect at this show. There is nothing quite as depressing as spending a whole lot of money for a booth, ordering lots of product, and having most of it left at the end of the show. Some shows draw more leads than sales, others sales and no new distributors, and still others - the jackpot - sales, distributors, and great leads. Much of your result depends on you, and how you set up and manage your booth. There are some situations (such as a booth at a conference for physicians), where you will be focusing on quality leads and connecting with people, since very little product will be sold.

Finding Events

Your first project is to find some places to show your products. State and county fairs can be great, but they require lots of time, money, and manpower. It would be best to consider them only if you have a dependable organization to assist you.

Ask around and check out the websites of convention centers, etc. They will often have a list of upcoming events. Call and ask, "Do you know of any booth space available?" You can often find space as low as $50 at some of the smaller events. When you find an event that has passed, but is held on a regular basis, call them and ask them to put you on their mailing list. Some of the larger events start selling booth space a year in advance or more.

I especially like the smaller shows. Your booth can be manned with a handful of good people, minimal product, and you will have the time to develop a relationship with those you are speaking to - the cornerstone of creating a new distributor or customer.

Set Up

FOCUS - identify your target audience. If your booth is at a large health fair, choose decorations and products that highlight our uniqueness and illustrate our superiority over similar products. For example, NingXia Red has tested twice as strong as our closest competitor. Have documentation to show people.

Choose your booth team members. Find those that complement your skills. Pick those who will be vivacious, enthusiastic, and friendly. Make certain that all agree to FOLLOW UP!! It can take up to seven or eight contacts to develop a distributor. Those leads are gold - treat them as such.

Product Display

Decide which products to feature. If you set up too many products, your booth can look too busy or you can overwhelm your audience. You could choose to focus on NingXia Red and the Essential 7. Or as an example for a pet show, the Animal Scents line, Kid Scents, NingXia Red, and Peace and Calming. (Most people with pets have children and all can use NingXia Red). You adapt your display to your show. In a recent show, we included the 12 Oils of Ancient Scripture and had a couple of papyrus depicting the Egyptian uses of essential oils. For safety, if your booth can be accessed from the back or sides, or if you are allowing customers to get close to the product, use empties for product display and keep the stock available for sale undercover.

PRIZES/GIVEAWAYS - Have a drawing to get contact information. I use a sign I made up on special paper with a child with her mouth wide open and her arms stretched to the side, she seems to be screaming with excitement! It says, "Register to Win One of Several Great Prizes valued at $100". I put the sign in a hard Lucite display frame that allows it to stand upright. Pick a product you can give as a prize. (A $100 prize could even be a ticket or include a ticket to a class you are teaching.) Bring a closed box, attractively decorated, into which they will drop entry forms. (your Golden Leads)

Below is an example of the entry form I use. I like to use clipboards so your table is freed up for other things. I attach a pen to each clipboard with a colorful ribbon, so there is no hunting for pens. I use small clipboards, about 4" x 6", for the entry forms, and I have available a couple of large clipboards ready with Distributor Applications.

The entry forms have spaces for contact information (name, address, phone, cell phone, and e-mail) and a request to "Please check all that apply:"
(This is the form).
I would like to receive additional information on essential oils_____,
health benefits_____, longevity and anti-oxidant products_____,
chemical and toxin free cleaning or personal care products_____,
animal care products_____,
business opportunity_____.
I'm interest in it all _____ Drawing only_____
I am NOT a YL distributor_____
I am currently a YL distributor _____
I am an inactive distributor_____

By the way, inactive distributors are extra special. They already know the product line (or at least some of it), and usually have dropped out because of poor support

Decorating Your Booth

An open front is inviting. If you have enough space, consider placing your tables int eh back and on the sides while keeping the front open with a small table (like a plant stand) and a couple of chairs for tired feet. Carpet on the floor is great for comfort too - for those in the booth as well!!

Place large Young Living banners on the high point of the booth. You can get banners made at Kinko's for a very reasonable cost.

Height is important -- create high points by placing boxes on your table or by using decorative wood stands or something similar. Cover unattractive boxes with a material that can also be used to cover the table and create a drape that hangs down to hide items under the table. Pick cloth that is either opaque or can be draped over an opaque sheet or cloth. I like using a light weight iridescent royal blue cloth over a basic cover. The light cloth creates a beautiful pooling effect on the table at the bottom of my displays. You can add some height you using a large floor easel with a poster. Carl Janicek enlarged the front of the "Rub a Dub, Dub, Is Cancer in Your Tub" booklet to 18" x 24", and it made a great poster.

If you have access to electricity, bring a TV and VCR or DVD and show the NingXia Red video, Ancient Secrets video, etc. TV's are mesmerizing and draw people in to watch.

Place a floor lamp behind the display and shine the light down on the NingXia Red or products you are highlighting. Bring a diffuser and diffuse Abundance, Christmas Spirit, or something similar. Pick something with positive emotional connections for most.

Plant stand with live flowers creates a very "homey" atmosphere. Your decorations say a lot. Keep with the theme of your show (more western for a horse show, glitzy for an aesthetician show).

Dried wolfberries in a crystal bowl make a beautiful statement and conversation starter.

Literature

Handouts should be something of value (not just a product brochure, etc.), so identify the audience beforehand and choose your handouts accordingly. A flyer on how to do a cellulite wrap for a spa/massage expo or equine first aid for a horse show, might be something someone saves - even if they never got to your booth! When the booth is slow, get out and hand out those flyers. If they get to the booth and you want to give them something more, you could give them my "Aromatic Medicine" article or something similar. The flyers cost you less than the brochures or product catalogs. Keep the extra good stuff for people who ordered or signed up as a distributor.

Make certain everyone has business cards and stickers with their contact information. Nothing leaves the booth without contact information!! Bring a file box and different colored note cards for each booth member. When they are finished speaking to someone, immediately write down all the high points of the conversation and the contact information from the entry form. This will be of immense value when you are following up. Put the card int eh file box. (Keep in box until the end of the event, when cards go home with the distributor.) This way you can access the information readily, and keep the entry forms in the drawing box.

Display third party reference material, because this lends credibility. Usually, people don't look at these books, but having them there creates confidence in your product.

Wait until you are in conversation with a prospect before offering NingXia Red. Create value before they taste it. Their experience will be different if you are anticipating an awesome health supplement, instead of a plain juice. You can choose to order product for new customers and distributors rather than retail it. If a prospect wants to purchase product there, you can tell them, "I'll get you some fresh from the warehouse, and you won't have to carry it around."

Most urgent retail sales can be facilitated by having "emergency" type products on hand, either in kits (such as Essential 7) or by having a small stock of Thieves, RC, Lavender, PanAway, etc.

Talk to the People!!!

Watch to see what they are looking at. Sample conversation starter: "What a busy day, I'm so glad I have NingXia Red..." At a horse show you could say, "Do you have horses?"

Talk to people with the goal of getting their commitment to do something. Build in value by creating an expectation that they will feel great drinking NingXia Red, or using such and such oil. Compliment them on their decision if they choose to enroll or purchase product.

Put oils on people - great attention getter. Impressive experiential oils are peppermint, RC, or something for discomfort such as Idaho Balsam Fir.

Have a class or lecture set up in conjunction with the event or within a few days of the event. The woman from Hong Kong attended a short 45 minute introductory at the Whole Life Expo, and then attended a class that was held the following four evenings. She got up early the following day and flew back to Hong Kong. Because of the interest generated, she and others in Hong Kong purchase regularly, and I have taught several times in Hong Kong since then.

ASK THEM TO TAKE AN ACTION!!! "What product would you like to start with today?" "Did you want to get PanAway by itself or in the Essential 7 kit?" "Would you like to save more money by becoming a distributor?" "I know you will choose to drink NingXia Red everyday. If we get you on Autoship, you will save the most." "Let's see, if you are taking ____ per day, this bottle will last 2 weeks. So you'll need two bottles of ____, and a 2-pack of NingXia Red, so you and your spouse can both use it. I do recommend that you start with three ounces a day for at least the first couple of weeks. If we order a 4-pack, you will save even more and they will last all month." "If you purchase $____ of product today, you will qualify for the special." "Let's get you in the computer and get you a number." etc, etc, etc.

Follow Up

The secret to follow up is YOU taking action! As soon as possible after the conversation, write down everything you remember about them. I guarantee you will have forgotten almost everything by the end of the show. This step is one of the most important!

Statistics show most people need multiple contacts before they commit. Be careful not to re-sell people over and over. Build relationships. Ask question, use your notes, and express interest in their family. CARE ABOUT THEM. Remember to SMILE, even when you are on the phone. When you come from the heart, people know it.

First, follow up with inactive distributors. Second, follow up with new prospects.
Sample lead-ins:
- I was going through my notes and found ...
- You asked me about _____ and I checked and here's what I found out ...
- I want to invite you to a conference call (or a meeting) as my guest ...
- I forgot to tell you about ...
- I thought of you when my friend shared her results with ...
- I've been thinking about you. How soon did you notice that extra energy for the NingXia Red? How long did it last?
- If you aren't interested in the business opportunity, do you know someone who is health oriented and a self starter who might be? I am interviewing dynamic people to fill a couple of positions in our organization. We are actively training all who are accepted.

Taxes

You will be responsible to pay taxes on the retail sales you make in your booth. If you have someone with a local sales tax license, have them bring a copy, and you can pay tax off of their license. If no one has a local license, someone from the city will usually be by the booth, and you can buy an event license. Although Young Living collects sales tax, and we can show they charge it, sometimes these city employees don't understand the process. If they insist on you getting a license, it is usually around $10 for an event, and sales tax on your product is usually minimal. Be sure and charge RETAIL for any product sold in your booth, and add the tax - that way you will cover yourself.

HAVE FUN!!!!