$50 for a Booth, Is It Worth It?

[iteachncook]

I have an opportunity to set up a booth at a Girls Night Out event across the mall. I'm not too sure about how heavy the traffic would be. It'll be held on September 4 from 6 to 9 pm. Unless I get over $300 in sales at the booth, it won't cover the expense for the booth. So is it worth it?

 

[leftymac]

I have an opportunity to set up a booth at a Girls Night Out event across the mall. I'm not too sure about how heavy the traffic would be. It'll be held on September 4 from 6 to 9 pm. Unless I get over $300 in sales at the booth, it won't cover the expense for the booth. So is it worth it?

Most will tell you that the purpose of a booth is to get bookings and leads, not sales. So, if you look at it that way, all you really need is to get one booking to recoup the cost of the booth fee. That one booking could lead to more bookings.

 

[cookie325]

Ditto what Keith said. I never do booths intending to get sales...if I get them, its a nice perk but my real goal is booking and recruit leads. And like Keith pointed out, one booking will recoup your losses, so two or more puts you ahead. Good luck with your decision!

 

[raebates]

I consider money spent for a booth to be an advertising expense. Generally speaking $50 is about my limit on booth fees. One thing I do when I do a booth is create a sales tree from that event, tracking the bookings and sales. For instance, I do a Ladies' Day Out every December. From that I typically get 3* new bookings from each event. These are new hosts. From each of those shows I generally get at least 2 bookings. My show average is about $550 (a tad more for live shows, but I don't separate those out for this tracking). This means that typically the event generates about $4,950 in commissionable sales. Let's assume I'm a new consultant and those shows are really spread out. At the base commission of 20%, that's $990. So, yes, a $50 fee would be worth it.However, if I do an event twice and get no bookings or referrals, the results aren't worth the expense. I say twice because, unless the event is a horrible experience, I generally give anything a second chance.I generally only track a couple of generations past an event--the bookings and their bookings.This is fairly typical. I don't figure the average on this because I've had as many as 11, but that's not typical. Most years it's been 3.

 

[Shell Northway]

I charge $50 for the vendor fair's I setup, that is to cover the rental of the space and the advertising that I do to promote the event.

 

[JackieB999]

$50 seems high... I just did one for $15. But maybe you could try it once and see how it goes. How many people are expected to attend?

 

[scottcooks]

Ask what the expected traffic will be. If it is to benefit some group or activity, often they ask for a raffle item - ask ahead if that will be expected.For $50, you should insist there be a traffic flow from about 500-1,000 people. I have regularly attended a farmer's market with flux attendance of about that - and my sales range from $40-$180. If it's the first time out and they don't know what the traffic flow is, use it to book another show: "I am not certain there will be enough folks coming by to make it worth my while, but if I could do a show for you and your friends, I would be willing to come support the cause! May I tell you about our amazing August host specials?"

 

[flemings99]

Booth fees have a broad range. Larger events are going to cost you $100-400. Most of those are going to be all day events over at least 2 days. We divide the cost up per shift and some shifts have two workers. If you know the event crowd this helps with determining cost.

Last year I got a spot for $50/4 hrs. and was upset to find another consultant sharing the time slot with me. Guess what? We had plenty of clients to talk to and one of my bookings signed with my team a few months ago and her biz is on fire!

Average fee for me is 45-70. I've found the $25 fairs are very low traffic and usually end up a waste of my time.

It's always great to ask:
Do they allow more than one of the same vendor?
How many yrs. have they been doing the event?
What was the previous traffic flow?

Also network with consultants from other companies. They'll tell you which fairs are good and which ones to stay away from.

Good luck. Be sure to have a drawing and you'll be fine.

 

[angmillar]

I'd say YES! It's the leads and bookings from the event.

 

[vanscootin]

I would love to know where to find an event for $50. Every event I have done has been in the 150 to 500 price range... I did an event in March that was $350 and I made my investment back in the shows that were booked. One booking from that event is still spiraling off into more bookings.

I'd say $50.00 is a great price and you will make your money back in no time! Good luck!