Today's `view' came when my husband and I walked through a local Mother's Day craft fair at one of our neighborhood shopping areas. Among the twenty or so booths displaying everything from hand made jewelry to items of clothing - there was a home party consultant displaying her products. This particular company sells consumable items that I use regularly in my home and so I stopped for several minutes to take a closer look. The owner of the booth was seated behind her table in a lawn chair, chatting with the vendor seated next to her.
Despite the fact that I stood at her booth for several minutes, she never made eye contact, greeted me or stopped her monologue even long enough to take a breath. Unfortunately, I was unable to ascertain whether she had products on hand to purchase or even to figure out what might be new this season just by looking at her display. Eventually I just wandered off, feeling frustrated and disappointed.
Booth situations are a wonderful way to expand your customer base. They help you to advertise your business and meet people beyond your own personal circle of family and friends. I am relatively certain that this was the goal of the consultant whose booth I visited last weekend. And indeed, she had all of the right ingredients - a tasteful display featuring enough, but not too many products, a clipboard with information cards, wonderful weather and many customers wandering by. What was missing was the consultant. Her booth, as lovely as it was, might as well have been unattended. As a fellow salesperson, I think she wanted her body language to say, “I don't want to be pushy.” However, to a potential customer, her body language said, “Leave me alone, I'm too busy and can't be bothered to talk with you right now.”
And so, because that day I was wearing my customer and not my consultant `hat', unfortunately the sale and a new contact was lost for this consultant.
- Just a view from the other side for your consideration.
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