Flawless Event Planning - Part 2

Here are the essentials for booksignings and other events. 

Your event is right around the corner, but what do you need to have with you?  

• Cart/Dolly
• Table
• Tablecloth
• Poster or banner stand with a simple graphic (not a wall of text)
• Easel (if bringing poster)
• Books (be reasonable about the quantity)
• Book stands
• Cash box (with a "bank" based on how much you are charging. Set price so coins aren't needed.)
• Credit card swiping device (Square, PayPal, etc.)
• Any other collateral items you have, such as bookmarks, postcards, brochures, press kits
• Reseller tax permit for the state you are selling in (in a folder is fine)
• Optional: Original illustrations
• Optional: Photos from the book
• Tradeshow Kit*

*Tradeshow Kit: This is the holy grail. Here’s the scoop:

The tradeshow kit is a tackle box filled to the brim with what may seem like random items. Lisa, over her 30+ years of coordination and management of tradeshows, has compiled this list of items to put into a tradeshow kit. This kit includes the Things You’ll Need, the Things You Don’t Think You'll Need, and some Things You Don’t Even Know You’ll Need! These things interchange from show to show, but rest assured this kit should stay assembled and at the ready on a shelf or in your trunk, so you can grab and go for any event, planned or spontaneous! It has saved CMI many times, and it will save you – guaranteed!

Flawless Event Planning - Part 1

Your event is coming up quickly! Are you prepared?

It’s exciting to take your book to an event where you’ll engage customers and hopefully sell them your book. You want to make sure that you have an exciting display and all of the tools necessary to do business.

What do you bring? This question has plagued authors all across the country for years. Here’s Lisa’s list from doing over 350 national, regional and local shows from budgets of $250 to $90,000.  What she learned is to be prepared for the strangest things to happen! The items you bring along, and a little advance planning can make or break your show. 

1. Know who is attending the show and how your product benefits them.
2. Know if your fellow exhibitors are your REAL audience 
3. Know how you are going to follow up on your leads BEFORE you even go to the show
4. Have your spiel memorized, practiced, honed and perfected. And don’t change it from person to person!
5. Keep your messages simple and to the point for the audience you are seeking. Don’t try to be all things to all people.
6. Know how long it takes you to present your book to a prospective customer. (Learn how to stop talking and let them ask a question)
7. Know your goals
8. Know your budget and stick to it
9. Know who is in charge of the show itself: their phone number and name (It doesn’t hurt to bring a pack of Thank You notes and a couple of little gifts just in case.)
10. Don’t get hung up on little annoying distractions – be prepared with a Tradeshow Kit* so you don’t have to waste time hunting down minutiae.

Part 2 - Tune in next week for the essentials in packing for your events!

What Makes a "Good Contact"?

I was talking to a few people upon my return from BookExpo, and found myself saying "I met a couple great leads and a few good ones." But now, I'm thinking "What makes them a good lead?" Are they saying "I made a great contact" after meeting me at the show?

It's not just the connection at the show that makes a "Good Contact," it's the relationship that buds at the show, and then blossoms with care and nurturing after the show.

Just like any other type of relationship, a "Good Contact" requires give and take, too. It requires trust on both parts and integrity on both parts. And you need to plan how to handle your new relationships from the early stages so they are able to grow. At CMI, we plan what we are doing with contacts before we go to a show or networking event. Sometimes you are the one getting the contact; sometimes you are the contact. You have to decide if the relationship is something you need and want in your professional life. Here are the questions that you should ask yourself:

• Is this going to be a one-way relationship, or are there reciprocal benefits?
• Do we have something legitimate to offer each other in our businesses or is it not really a perfect match?
• Do the benefits of this relationship outweigh the costs of nurturing and maintaining it?
• Am I willing to share my network with this person?

Set your own list of non-negotiables in the contacts you make -- and be aware that others are also doing the same (you hope). The most difficult part in the networking relationship is looking at yourself in the mirror and asking "Am I a good contact?"

For more great information on networking, read Jeff Beals' book Self Marketing Power.

Small Press Month - Tip # 30

March 30 - Participate in trade shows that are RELEVANT for your platform. Book fairs aren't the only game in town for authors, but there are some very important rules to follow. It can be expensive, time consuming, intimidating, and ultimately, disappointing if you don't choose wisely and plan ahead.

1. The Biggie: Select shows that have a relevant audience -- your reader is not just a book buyer. Think TOPIC and INTERESTS. Just because 20,000 random and diverse people are going to a book fair in Miami doesn't mean they are your buyer. It also doesn't mean you'll be exposed to 20,000 sets of eyes. Sometimes a smaller show is better. WARNING! There's math involved. Two of you are in your booth for a two-day show, and say it takes nine minutes on average to present your spiel to a guest in your booth. You are only actually talking to 213 people if both of you are talking every single minute of the show! That's
         16 hours x 60 minutes x 2 booth staffers
                Your average presentation time
2. Participate outside of the exhibit floor in any available and affordable way. Try to be helpful to the organizer (and be nice to them), buy an ad or sponsor something if you can. 
3. Budget wisely. Be realistic. Read the show information and know what costs money. Don't sabotage yourself with rush fees or other fines by not reading the show rules and missing deadlines.
4. Set measurable goals and objectives; develop your strategy; be flexible. Trade shows are where trends are discovered, news is revealed and major things happen. Be prepared for that.
5. At the show, STAND UP in your booth. Engage the people that pass by your booth. Give something away. Talk to the guests in your booth. (No chairs are ever allowed in CMI booths!)
6. Have a professional-looking booth, without clutter.
7. Create talking points, practice them, and use them at the show...same spiel guest after guest.
8. Collect leads. Write down all information because you will not remember it later.
9. Follow up on leads. Plan your follow up before you even leave for the show. Over 80% of trade show leads are shamefully never followed up.  
10. Debrief right after the show. Measure your return on your investment at intervals three, six, nine and twelve months. It's tempting to do it right when you get home; but the real measure is four to six months later or more. Look for lifetime value of a customer gained at show.

Summary: Participate in trade shows that are relevant to your topic. Plan. Budget. Participate. Follow up. Measure.