Let's talk about trade shows with your BEETTAN biz!

There's been a lot of buzz in our partner group about tradeshows and vendor events. The common questions have been where to get your displays, what you should bring, how to share your products with people who walk by, and how to confidently share your business in different spaces. We've had a lot of partners sharing their experiences, what's worked well for them, and what they would do differently—so we thought we'd put it all in one place for you.

Fall and holiday vendor shows are great exposure for your spray tan business! If you take a little time mastering the 'vendor experience' through the next few months, you'll be prepared for spring events, too! Think outside the box—nothing is without limits. If EVERYBODY can feel great with a spray tan, EVERY audience and event could bring you new business! Here are some suggestions for finding events in your area:

• Ask someone you know with school-age children about any vendor events or festivals being held at the local schools.
• Find community involvement groups and entrepreneur groups that promote local businesses and see what they are promoting.
• Look for other events like fall festivals, 5Ks, fundraising events, non-profit awareness events, and anything else that may be looking for vendors.
• Watch for bridal events, women's shows, local shopping days, shop local promotions, etc.

Once you find the events you'd like to attend, you can create a setup and know what to expect. After your first couple of setups, you'll feel like a pro, and may even start to really look forward to vendor events!

These photos are from our BEETTAN spray tan partner, Caroline in Nashville, Tennessee! She created BEETTAN NASH, and we've loved watching her grow a brick-and-mortar store, train a team, and really create a glowing business that helps Nashville have an all-natural option for flawless spray tans. A couple of weekends ago, she and her staff took the tents, some marketing materials BEETTAN HQ helped her design, and set up such a positive and inviting little vendor space to help attract people to learn about what her business offers.

There are a few things we love about vendor events that can bring you new potential clients:

• A lot of foot traffic--especially at well-established events that have been recurring annually for years. People look forward to these and plan to attend. Just people walking through exposes them to your business and makes it possible for you to make new connections
• People are looking to spend money! They know at trade shows and vendor events, people are there to SELL SOMETHING, so they have money in their pockets and are looking for something new and different to purchase. This means they are probably open minded to trying what you are selling, and giving you their contact information to make a future appointment
• You can gather contact information for future appointments, ask for emails to sign up for your newsletter, or have an option to sign up for text marketing, etc.
• You can sell products at your table, which is a great opportunity for cash--on the spot! You can also take their information and charge them for their products, and then order them later from your affiliate link and have HQ ship straight to them, or place a wholesale order for them to pickup their products after they've arrived
• You can sell packages and pre-sale tans (even at a discount) to get people to commit to trying your services right away! This is cash up front for services rendered later
• You can also advertise things that regular clients may have never considered you for--like Bachelorette events, bridal packages, spray tan parties, and pop ups! Let one event bring you MORE events to share your business!

In our partner live a few weeks ago we had a few partners share their recent experiences in trade shows--from super successful meetings at a community event, to another that didn't really seem to peak much interest. It helped us chat about the fact that you have to learn your market, know which are worth your time and investment, and that overall we must keep in mind--not every show will be a roaring success! Some will be more successful than others, and some will be quiet. Even making one connection, or someone walking by and secretly following your social media, can bring you a new client.

A few things we suggest for preparing for a trade show:

• a table large enough to organize all you plan to display
• an extension chord/s
• a few products to sell, or at least for sampling/sharing
• Have some attractive frames with photos or something to display before and after photos, bridal portraits, etc.--something that makes people think 'oh, what's that about'
• your pink spray tan tent to be visible and attract them to your space
• wear something pink/on brand or with the BEETTAN logo
• have a way to accept payments--and be sure there is wifi or you have a hot spot, can take venmo, etc. Don't let not being able to find service cause you to miss a sale!
• have a clipboard or paper or electronic way of letting people sign up for an email list, etc.
• if you're going to offer tans, bring a shade or request somewhere in the venue that allows privacy in a corner, towards a wall, etc.
• bring fliers with your information CLEARLY visible, photos of your work or usual set up area, etc.
• Print and display a QR code to make finding your website, booking link, Instagram, or whatever you prefer to share easy to access
• bring a helper so someone can keep an eye on your set up and talk to customers and people that walk up while you do a tan (if relevant)
• don't forget to take photos, create a bit of content, and use this opportunity to make a presence; taking a helper for the day can allow someone to take photos of YOU actually being a part of the experience, rather than just taking photos of the set up and products--people want to see YOU being a BEETTAN spray tan artist!

If you're interested in creating custom trade show materials like banners, tablecloths, and displays, contact HQ and we can help! You can create your own and have them printed with a company of your choice, as well! Remember, this is YOUR journey and YOUR business; BEETTAN is here to help you GLOW!