Meet your Market

Choosing a show:

1. Know your product-can it be easily manufactured? In house or out? Will you need help? If you got 1000 orders, would that be a nightmare or not enough? Be clear what kind of life you want to live: many customers can mean alot of invoicing, shipping, paperwork, phonework, etc. If you like the idea of managing employees, you’ll want volume. If you want a few close relationships, you’ll want to get crystal clear on what your ideal gallery or manufacturer would be like. It’s a given that your work will expand and change, but you have to start somewhere.

2. Know yourself. Take the time to ponder what your ideal life would look like and get to know your deeper inner belief systems (see below) Make more use of your public personas if you are a natural introvert.

3. Learn about what’s out there: If you can, try and visit a trade show in person first. This invaluable experience will allow you to see how booths are designed, the quality of the show, if the show is well attended, and if it feels like a good match for your product. You may also want to consider going toward the end of show, as exhibitors are not as busy and are happy to give you the lowdown. If this is not a possibility, or you want to exhibit right away, it is essential that you phone at least 3-5 other companies that have a similar look or feel to your work that have exhibited in the show in the past. The producers of the show will usually be happy to match you with the contact info of the appropriate exhibitor. A former exhibitor can give you valuable information about the best locations and dates for a particular show and answer your questions. Be respectful of their time and ask for a 10 minute “phone appointment”-and have your questions ready. The trade show producer is essentially selling real estate, whereas the exhibitor can give you a most accurate forecast of any show.

4. When you are budgeting for the cost of the show, make sure that you can afford not only the booth fee, but the hotel, electrical fees, and any help you may require.

Once you’re in a show:

1. Booth design: good lighting, floor covering, shelving. Check out fellow exhibitors and bag the pipe and drape. Be original and accessible. This can make the biggest difference. Stand up. Talk about the product, drop the “can I help you”! Bruce Baker has some great tapes on this subject. www.bbakerinc.com

2. A COLOR picture catalog with price lists essential. Don’t let fear of price stop you-even a one page tear sheet can be an acceptable leader to your website. There are plenty of printers who can print a catalogs for you that are affordable. You’ll to stand out from your peers. Make it easy for the buyer to not have to make an extra call once home. Ideally you want to make the sale at the show, so don’t leave your brochures out, and get the buyer’s card when you do give a catalog away. Use your intuition on who you give to-scouts vs. stealers. Have business cards as well, but a catalog is even more essential.

3. Product: Have plenty of clean, well made samples, if possible at least 2 each design. Breakage. Theft rare at shows but it does happen.

4. Give yourself plenty of time for setup to avoid unnecessary stress. It’s a big pain, but doing a trial run set up of your booth will save you from tears and exhaustion. and the overpriced charges from the producers for buying what you forgot.

5. Make time to walk the show and check out the other showrooms if possible. If you decide you don’t want to exhibit yourself, you can still find a compatible showroom rep.

6. Road reps will approach your booth during a show. As a rule it is difficult to find a really good one, but when you do it’s a great supplement. 15% is usually the industry standard for the gift shows.

7. Take advantage of the press room at shows by posting your PR materials.

Licensing:
Licensing is a good way to spend a more time designing and gain a great deal of exposure in the marketplace. It’s possible to make a full time living from it, but it’s best to see  it as a supplement to other activities. Choosing a manufacturer is really quite a similar process to choosing a trade show. Attending any trade show on a regular basis is a great way to expose yourself to manufacturers interested in licensing your work. The big manufacturers scout most of the shows. You can also try the specific licensing shows listed on the last page.

Contracts: The basic components of a contract are:
Copyright ownership, the Licensed product, territory, licensed period, options to renew, compensation/payment terms, advances agreements, sample terms, grant of license,
books and record keeping, warranties and indemnifications, approval, quality standards and quality inspections, art requirements, bankruptcy tenets, controlling forum, conditions temporarily excusing performance, authority to enter agreement, witness and signature. etc.

Finding an agent:
An agent can serve you by contacting many more manufacturers than you may have time to locate, and create a contract with a company that is more in your favor. Be cautious of exorbitant percentage compensations to any agent or rep. Once again, determine what you want to spend your time doing. Being your own agent will require the clarity and determination to handle legal aspects and plenty of time contacting possible clients.

Other methods of connecting to the best markets for you:

Browse the ads in magazines that seem to be a similar match and contact stores or galleries directly.

If you find products you like, make it a habit of checking out the manufacturer. They could be a good possibility for licensing.

Generate editorial exposure through sending your PR packet to magazines.

Doing “inner work” can make a difference in how you manifest in the outer world. Take the time to get to know your deeper belief systems and assumptions. Ask yourself these questions:

1.How do you feel, on a deep level, about:
The Art market and Art’s current place in society.
Commercial art/fine art. “Selling out.”
The value and quality of your work.
Money
The current relationship between your ideal work and current work
Time
Change
Rejection and Judgement from others.
Being proactive.
Asking for and receiving help and guidance from others.

2. Learn the difference between what is causing resistance to move forward-are you out of your comfort zone, or are you feeling resistance because an option you are considering is just not right for you at this time? It’s ok to expand slowly and steadily out of your comfort zone, AND you have to listen to which side of you is “running the show.”

3. Concepts/Books that have helped me:
What would my ideal working day look like? (Wishcraft, Barbara Sher)

4. Am I willing to work ON my business and not just in it? (The E-myth Revisited-Michael Gerber)

5. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t/ Law of Attraction (The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent, Esther and Jerry Hicks)

Feel free to contact Kimberly Hodges with any questions that you have based on this material. These are my opinions only and are not in any way legal advice of any kind.