Wow! Great Bridal Fair - 150 Leads in Just One Day!

[chefmeg]

For those of you considering doing a bridal fair/expo, I just had to share this news!
One of my consultants and I drove 1 1/2 hours from home to participate in a fair on Sunday~we had drawing slips to have EVERYONE (not just the brides) fill out to win a new "29 minutes.." cookbook. We got over 150 slips filled out, 78 of which were interested in the registry and/or a show and of those 78, a whopping 41 were interested in being a consultant or getting more info!
Now, we know we have to take the time to work this information we were blessed with, but that is a fantastic way to spend a day getting leads!

 

[sfdavis918]

That's great! I hope they all sign!

Out of curiosity, how much was the booth? I have the opportunity to do a bridal fair in January but it is $595!!! The fair itself is only 5 hours long. I just have a fear that it will not pan out for me at all!!

 

[Cindycooks]

Very cool Meg! I'm originally from Roanoke Rapids NC, and lived in NoVa for 10 years so the whole Chesterfield/Richmond area is familiar to me - where was the fair? My best friend lives in Midlothian. If you ever come down my way for a show or a fair, the beach wherever, let me know!

I'm still trying to decide whether or not to do a bridal fair here in January. It's $300 for the booth, so if I can get someone to go in with me I probably will. It is usually a good fair that draws a big crowd with everyone planning spring and summer weddings and wanting to get out of the cold!

 

[chefmeg]

The booth was $400 and was in Chesapeake-about an hour and a half from me. It was SOOOOO worth it as I got an email from one of the brides yesterday and she is interested in signing up! Aside from that, we had about 40 folks very interested in the wedding registry and another 30 that said maybe-even if only 10% of those people get a wedding registry, we will so have made our $$ back!

 

[bypamperedchef]

Curious Newbie - do you give out a catalog, mini catalog, or what?It definitely sounds like a great opportunity, but the booth price plus giveaways might break me...

 

[roxylady]

Just curious as how you set your booth up. I am doing my first bridal expo in Orlando on the 28th of Oct. Not only will it be my first expo but I am 4weeks new to the business. I think maybe I am over-my-head but the opportunity fell in my lap and I had to take it. I will be working the booth alone. There are 90 vendors and the Event Planner stated the last show they had between 3-4 thousand people show. I didn't know that many people could make it to an event that only lasted 6 hours. She said this time of year is their busiest due to the massive amount of Spring/Summer brides. Anyway, can anyone offer advise or suggestions on how to set up my booth??

 

[chefmeg]

Curious Newbie - do you give out a catalog, mini catalog, or what?

we gave out 2 pieces of info:
1) the "Come Join Us" flyer with my info on it as I wanted to focus on recruiting
2) the wedding registry flyer with Andrea's info on half and mine on the other half as she wants bookings and we both want registry leads

 

[chefmeg]

Just curious as how you set your booth up. I am doing my first bridal expo in Orlando on the 28th of Oct. Not only will it be my first expo but I am 4weeks new to the business. I think maybe I am over-my-head but the opportunity fell in my lap and I had to take it. I will be working the booth alone. There are 90 vendors and the Event Planner stated the last show they had between 3-4 thousand people show. I didn't know that many people could make it to an event that only lasted 6 hours. She said this time of year is their busiest due to the massive amount of Spring/Summer brides. Anyway, can anyone offer advise or suggestions on how to set up my booth??

The "booth" was just a table (9x12), so on one end we had the Trifle Bowl with 2 goldfish in it with a sign that read something like "bowled over by all of the registry choices?"
Next to that, we had the Dots Large bowl with floating blossoms of fresh flowers in it. I had ordered the box from Merrill for the drawing slips to go in and thank God I did! It is small enough to not overpower the table but large enough to hold all the slips we had. We had the Small Bowls and Caddy out with candy in them and then sprinkled the rest of the candy around the table. I took lapboards and pens to hand out as the brides tended to get bunched up when filling out their slips-this way they could step away from the table to fill them out.
I was TOTALLY not responsible for any of these cute ideas! My consultant Andrea is a decorating whiz and took care of all of that for us!

 

[CookingwithMary]

Quick thoughts on this...

Please, please get someone to help you with the booth, if only to allow you to use the restroom

In a different line of business (DH's) we had help from 3 college students who *craved* to see the show...very helpful, worked 2 hr shifts , had the rest of the time to see the show, return to help pack up.

A college age helper/s, dressed NICELY, can be a real boon. You don't want to loose possible contacts because you're busy helping someone else and/or overwhelmed.

People love freebies...have a dish of individually wrapped mixed candy (in trifle bowl?) to help lure them in and pause.

Also a place for you to sit down and at least one extra chair for the Mother of Bride who may be exhausted.

Don't sit behind a table...people will pass you by.

Mary

 

[roxylady]

Thank you all for your wonderful ideas and advice. I have found everyone on this site is sooooo helpful and kind. I have recruited a friend to help with the booth, she is a GREAT Fan of PC. I am working on her becoming a recruit for PC as well, but she is not ready. She actually recruited me, imagine that! ;o) I will have to take pics and update you all after the show. Thank you again,
Dawn
Florida