This is Why Pop-Up Vending is So Easy to Do Really Badly.

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PART ONE:

Who is to say whether a pop-up vendor is good or bad at promoting products or services at fairs, festivals, trade shows, expos, marketplaces and special events?

It all depends on what their reason and goal for vending is; to have fun, make profit, and/or publicize something. 

 We can safely say that success in any of these areas is essentially a matter of interacting well with people. After all, getting access to crowds is the only reason to rent booth space. Visibility is not enough. The challenge is knowing how to engage. 

 We focus on the psychology of selling at ‘The Vendor Academy’ of ‘The Village To Vendor Pipeline’. This blog presents new perspectives for greater understanding of how unique and different event vending is from store selling. 

When I point out common misconceptions, my students/members often say “That makes sense. I just never thought about it that way”. Once they awaken to a new mindset, they can easily apply the lessons taught in our course “Master the Art of Vending Redefined”. 

The results are drastic. Vendors can double and sometimes triple their engagement and income overnight. They first have to get clarity that their vending booth is not a retail store.

POP-UP EVENT VENDING IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF STORE SELLING

 Vending is so easy to do really badly, because vendors don’t usually acknowledge the vastly different approaches to store selling in contrast to booth vending. 

 Despite the similarities, learning the differences is key to becoming the best vendor on the block. 

Shopping vs Event-ing

When people walk into stores, either alone or in small groups, they usually have only one intention: to shop around.

People walking past vendor booths are often swept along by the crowd. They might have come to the event for any number of reasons:  to shop, eat, drink, entertainment, information, dance, play, work at the show, people watch, socialize and sometimes to just walk around for exercise. 

One role vs Many roles

Store employees usually have just one job description: clerk, cashier, cleaner, accountant, security, etc. Vendors, on the other hand,  often change hats 3 or 4 times during just one 10 minute transaction. 

Members of ‘The Vendor Academy’ practice through role play, so they can act in whatever way the situation calls for. Personally, I quickly switch from goffer, to comedian, to educator, to model, to healer, to personal stylist, to self esteem builder and the list goes on. 

 Intentions vs No intention

It’s appropriate for shopkeepers to ask shoppers what they’re looking for. Browsers at events, however, probably can’t answer such questions. We can’t even assume they’re looking for anything. Even if they are, they probably don’t know what they want or what you’re offering. 

It’s never appropriate for vendors to ask questions that are difficult to answer.  That’s one of the “Top 10 Selling Mistakes that Vendors Make in the First 10 Seconds.”

“Let me know if you need anything” is what shopkeepers say as they back off to give people breathing room. Any vendor who mimics this line is selling well below their potential. I’m emphatically certain that leaving shoppers to their own demise is the worst thing a vendor can do. Of course, it takes skill to engage without pressuring, or bugging anybody. 

Event patrons rarely have clear ideas about what they want, besides having a good day, and going home with a souvenir. It’s the event vendor’s job to make shopping fun and stir up the impulse to buy. 

Doors vs No door  

Shopkeepers don’t usually stand outside their doors trying to cajole people into coming inside. Most vending spaces don’t even have closing doors.  Vendors standing face to face with shoppers walking by, are challenged to stop their forward momentum, and redirect traffic to their tables. 

This is a challenge my members of ‘The Vendor Academy’ tackle very well, after I teach them exactly what to say and do. The most crucial skill to learn is how to initiate contact with shoppers.  Your first words will “make it or break it”, so choose them wisely.  

How you greet visitors walking through your shop door, is not what you say to patrons walking past your event tables. 

Wrong greetings like “Hello, how are you?” are the #1 mistake of our series and explained in the free first lesson here.   

Relying on display vs What to say

One of the biggest misconceptions vendors have is that if their products are displayed well enough, they will sell themselves. This might be true for food, drinks and other necessities, but generally speaking, vendors have to speak up.  It’s crucial to know what to say.  I engage people until they buy or leave my booth.  

Furthermore, by the time a show patron reaches you in a show that’s over saturated with advertisements,   they’re probably already numb to signage.  Our members/students verbalize scripts to draw attention to their offers. 

My vendor friend in an African market stall once told me that “people have eyes, but they don’t see”. That’s why it’s important to clearly and simply tell people exactly what they’re looking at. 

Employed workers vs Self-employed sellers 

From the customer’s perspective, there is a world of difference between buying from the owner instead of employees. Simply put, it’s easy to sense how much owners care, and how much low paid retail clerks usually don’t. 

Shoppers are reluctant to give frank negative feedback to the owner. Learn to read micro expressions, so you don’t waste energy finishing a pitch for a product or service they don’t like, but won’t tell you.  

Trained shopkeeper vs Untrained vendor

It’s common practice for store workers and owners to get sales training to learn how best to help customers. The information is readily available.  

On the other hand, education on how to be an expert event vendor is very rare.  Members of ‘The Vendor Academy’ are challenged to unlearn store selling habits that ruin their sales potential at vendor marketplaces.

Temporary set-up vs Permanent location

The most obvious contrasting feature between shops and booths is that one is accessible long term and the other isn’t. What’s not obvious is a list of implications that infrastructure has on how vendors should function.

This is one of the topics I elaborate upon when teaching my secret selling strategies at ‘The Village To Vendor Pipeline’. If you join our membership learning community, you can look up part two of this blog. 

In part two, you’ll ’get four additional points of comparison, plus instructions on how to adapt to the unique demands of pop-up vending.