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I wrote about getting a merchandise table to sell CDs from my [Concatenation Records] label at [MAGFest 8] on Wednesday, but I didn’t really go in-depth on my experiences there. I plan to do so with this post. I know that I’m not the most successful person ever to run a merchandise table, but I did sell 80 CDs in about 14 hours altogether, so I have some insight that I’d like to share. I was a little nervous right before the first day of working the merchandise table, as putting myself out there in the public and attempting to sell things was a new concept for me. I had some previous success with selling CDs at earlier MAGFests, but all of the sales were to friends in familiar places – either in my hotel room or in theirs while they were drunk. Engage Your Customer When you’re sitting at a merchandise table at a convention, you notice almost all of the folks passing by. Some of them completely ignore you, some give the table a passing glance, and some of them linger. Go after the lingerers, as they might be uncomfortable bridging the communication barrier. The point is to sell something to them, and it’s hard to do that without actively engaging them. Ask Questions A good way to get their attention is by asking them a question on what they’re interested in. For example, I would ask them if they were into chiptunes, videogame covers, or original music, which are the types of music available on my Concatenation Records label. If they showed an interest, I would continue to describe what I was selling and give fairly detailed descriptions of the contents of said CDs depending on their interest. Have Something Free Available While I was doing my best to sell CDs, I had free fliers available on the merchandise table with a description of everything that I was selling. I also sold the point that there is free music available for download at the website address – [http://www.concatenationrecords.com] – that I put at the bottom of the flyer. I counted 63 fliers that were distributed, which is 63 potential customers in the future and 63 people that may tell their friends and associates about what’s available at the Concatenation Records site. Fine Tune Your Plan for Next Time As luck would have it, certain CDs sold out, some got close to selling out, and some didn’t move much at all. While it’s a little hard to fine tune a plan when you have a limited stock on hand, it helps you think ahead to the next time that you’re selling and to think about the audience you’re selling to. Have Fun While you should be trying to sell your product, you should also enjoy interacting with your customers. Exchange banter, tell stories, do whatever you can to leave a favorable impression of you and what you offer in their minds. All in all, it was an enjoyable experience working at a merchandise table. Selling CDs that I have put lots of hard work into in the months and years previous was extremely rewarding and not just monetarily. I’ll definitely be getting a merchandise table at MAGFest next year and I’ll hopefully be able to sell even more! Do you have any insight into selling merchandise at a table in a street fair, marketplace, or concert setting? I’d love to hear about it on the forums! Discuss this post at [The Forum of Jason Vincion]! Posted on January 8th, 2010. |
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