Well have been back from Minnesota for a little over a week, two days after getting back I had my second sale. Unlike the first one that was in the middle of the embassy this one was set up on a weekend during a community garage sale event where it was mostly the local national employees as the customers rather then the American employees of the embassy. Between the two sales this is what I learned.
1. Know your audience- For my first sale I did not have enough smaller pens, most of my pens were to big and heavy for the women customers which contribute 1/2 my customer base! For my second sale my inventory was much to high end, as I mention below I did not have enough low end products for the type of audience I had and honestly I should have had much more of the low end even for the first sale.
2. Schedule some time after the sale when you will be available to make the custom orders that are bound to come from a sale. I really did not think I would have the orders I did after my first sale (about 10 custom items were ordered). Leaving right after the sale for vacation may have cost me a couple of additional orders as well. Striking while the iron is hot will undoubtably increase sales.
3. Everyone is a customer! During the garage sale, I did not see much traffic other then the kids of the other people there manning booths for the garage sale. With nothing else to do I entertained the kids for most of the sale, with only 10 min left I had not sold one pen. In the last 10 Minutes I sold eight, each child who visited my booth during the sale came back with their parent and bought every low end pen I had in stock. Some even took advances on their allowances to so they could have a custom pen. Which brings me to my last point!
4. Variety is the key, just because you as a craftsman like something does not mean the customer base will have the same tastes! During my first sale I was shocked at how quickly the big bulky looking wine stoppers I made sold out. On the flip side the cool looking letter openers I thought would sell are still sitting in my inventory. During the second sale, the pens I figured I would have forever, the pens I first made when I was still learning the craft, the one that were too bulky or plain looking, those are the ones the kids loved an bought.
I hope this helps those of you who follow my blog who are into the wood turning!
Here is this weeks turning.
1. Know your audience- For my first sale I did not have enough smaller pens, most of my pens were to big and heavy for the women customers which contribute 1/2 my customer base! For my second sale my inventory was much to high end, as I mention below I did not have enough low end products for the type of audience I had and honestly I should have had much more of the low end even for the first sale.
2. Schedule some time after the sale when you will be available to make the custom orders that are bound to come from a sale. I really did not think I would have the orders I did after my first sale (about 10 custom items were ordered). Leaving right after the sale for vacation may have cost me a couple of additional orders as well. Striking while the iron is hot will undoubtably increase sales.
3. Everyone is a customer! During the garage sale, I did not see much traffic other then the kids of the other people there manning booths for the garage sale. With nothing else to do I entertained the kids for most of the sale, with only 10 min left I had not sold one pen. In the last 10 Minutes I sold eight, each child who visited my booth during the sale came back with their parent and bought every low end pen I had in stock. Some even took advances on their allowances to so they could have a custom pen. Which brings me to my last point!
4. Variety is the key, just because you as a craftsman like something does not mean the customer base will have the same tastes! During my first sale I was shocked at how quickly the big bulky looking wine stoppers I made sold out. On the flip side the cool looking letter openers I thought would sell are still sitting in my inventory. During the second sale, the pens I figured I would have forever, the pens I first made when I was still learning the craft, the one that were too bulky or plain looking, those are the ones the kids loved an bought.
I hope this helps those of you who follow my blog who are into the wood turning!
Here is this weeks turning.
Three shaving kits preordered from the first sale!
The Acrylic Pens in a patriotic theme.
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