# first craft type show help



## Jo~* (Oct 26, 2007)

I have been making soap for a year now and have a room full of bars all packaged up and ready to do something with. Everyone that I have given soap to has always liked it so I think it time I try selling some.
My friend goes to a show every year that the (gonna kill the spelling) Soroptamas women put on and she always does really well with her crafts. This year Im going with her with my soap. I have a box from a wal mart holloween display that Im using to show my soap minus the hollween words on it. The back is higher than the rest of it and I want to print out some stuff about how handmade milk soap is better for your skin than some of the stuff you get in the store, anyone know where I can find some acurat info to print out?
Thanks.
JoAnn.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

google.com it is your best friend. Try, benefits of goat milk soap etc. Good luck at your sale!


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Yes, good luck JoAnn. Let us know how it goes.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I use the information "Why Handmade Soap?" from the Soap Guild but I belong to that organization. I always have those brochures printed out with my contact info on them.
Plus people do not read. They will ask you why goat milk soap is better. Work on your verbal answers since that is what you will probably get. After awhile you will be able to babble on forever about the benefits.


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## tmfinley (Feb 21, 2008)

I agree with LaNell. You don't want a person just standing in front of your soaps reading, blocking everyone else's way either. As someone comes up to look at ;your products offer them some handmade soap knowledge to get a conversation going with them.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Ditto to LaNell

Be ready for verbal responses. here are some of things I say at the market. Have samples, it makes people stop walking for a second to get you pitch spoken.

Would you like a goat milk soap sample?
To men: Do you take baths? Have a GM soap sample.
to men: Would like to have a gM sample? I am not making any implications! 

Have you ever used handmade soap? if yes ask if they have ever used GM soap? 

If they say NO, mention the ingredients, made local, all natural, our soap has a label that you can pronounce the ingredients.

If they have not used GM soap? mention how soap is made with oil and alkaline and water. GM soap is made with "fresh squeezed" goat milk. 

we replace the water with 100% gM. This makes a wonderful soap that my skin thanks me for. 


You need to be careful of the claims you make about your soap. (although, I do say our soap leaves my skin feeling so good i do not use lotion until the coldest part of winter)


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## Jo~* (Oct 26, 2007)

Thanks for the suggestions, guess I better do some reading and then try to remember what I read only stretch it out more. I have a bad habit of putting everything in a nutshell. 
I do have some bars I can turn into samples if I can cut them now that they are cured. Any ideas on that? I'm going to just try cutting them with a coping saw or something and wrapping with my email address. My big bars have cigar bans and a nice label with email.
Now I just hope to get over this sore throat and cold before this weekend.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

I cut them with a dough blade. Your could cut them with a flat knife (not a wedge, the same width on the sharp end and on the back side.) I cut the bar in half and shave off slices that are about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. place in baggie with my info. Benefits of gm, another sheet with the scents we sell and the ingredients. Three small things in a bag. I hand out 150 of these EVERY Saturday at the farmers market. 

Best wishes.


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## jdranch (Jan 31, 2010)

Good luck- hope you have a great show!


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

To men: Do you take baths? :rofl :rofl I am not sure that is the best first question to ask! Vicki


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Regarding giving away samples, call me "CHEAP", but if I "gave away" samples, I'd be broke. I sell my samples for $0.50 each or 3/$1. They are about .5 oz and are packaged in glassine bags with a business card-sized "label" that has the ingredients on the back. Of course, I do give some away depending on the encounter. Especially now with the holiday season upon us, many people buy hordes of them for stocking stuffers.

I use the small guest loaf from WSP and make a big enough batch to fill two of these loaves along with my regular-sized molds. Cut with a putty knife and miter box.


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I no longer give away samples either unless they buy lotion then I stick a soap sample in their bag. I discovered that I had the same people every month picking up samples but never buying soap. Cheapskates I guess. I even had one man tell me the sample wasn't big enough. It was at least an oz. guest sized really. 
I had another vendor at an event grab a double handfull and tell me they would make great stocking stuffers. I used to keep the samples in a bathrub planter , but then put them where no one could see them after that. Oh, the types of people we get sometimes.


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## Faye Farms (Sep 14, 2009)

I quit giving away samples as well. I found that interested folks would buy one bar to try but if I was giving away samples they wouldn't buy anything.


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

We don't give away soap samples but we do offer a dab of our lotion to anyone who is interested ("Would you like to try a bit of our lotion, made with the milk from our dairy goats?"). Selling soaps and lotions to the public does require some effort, as you need to talk to any and everyone who pauses in front of your wares. If you just let them look and don't say anything to them, the chances of making a sale are limited. However, once you strike up a conversation, people are more apt to make a purchase. Caroline


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I do give out samples......at my discretion. And they often bring in new customers.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

When your doing a one time show, it's very different than doing a weekly farmers market type space. You have one shot to reach everyone coming through and you do that with samples. They won't be at this show the next week to take samples again. You can expect to only sell to 10% of the folks who come through the door, so to have ongoing sales you have to give samples with a way for the folks to get in touch with you also.

With what the women are about, I would push the idea of supporting a womens start up business like your soap company, maybe some pretty brochures or photos of christmas bags you put together...even if you don't yet....or get the $5 flat rate box, fill it and say it "ships anywhere in the USA with a gift card for >>>>>. Vicki


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## adillenal (Feb 6, 2009)

I do not do a weekly farmers market. I do one that they call a market but it is monthly. I just found that soap samples did not do anything to bring in customers where I do shows. And I repeat shows. Rarely is it a one time thing. 

The only place I hand out soap samples is at the state fair when people are coming through and looking at the goats. I do that just to promote the goat.

At my shows I have a table full of lotion testers that they flock to like flies. Whipped shea butter testers, cuticle cream testers. So all of those people that buy lotion or shea, get a soap sample stuck in their bag. Does it help with soap sales?? I have no way of knowing although I get online orders from people I do not know that have apparently purchased from me at a show. 

Everyone has to figure out what works in their area. I am constantly revising and revamping what I do anyway. Keeps me on my toes. And I talk nonstop all day selling the idea of goat milk soap and lotions when I go to a show. I become an instant extrovert which is not my usual self. I actually like doing shows.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:



> To men: Do you take baths? :rofl :rofl I am not sure that is the best first question to ask! Vicki


 Keep in mind I stand at the front gate of the farmer's market. I wear a sock monkey hat in the winter. I smile big . It always makes them smile and whoever they are with usually laughs.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I used to do a lot of samples too, but I never found that they brought me any sales at all. I think people appreciate them becaue they were free. Now, when someone buys a single bar of soap to try, they will often come back buy many, many more...for themselves, friends, etc.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

At the market, samples sell a lot of soap for us. I have people come back every week to buy soap from samples. I hand out about 150 (more or less) each week and our market gets about 1000 people. (most are regulars and I do not give them samples) Our samples are 0.1 of an oz and sometimes I give them two pieces! They walk around with it in their hand. I watch them smell it. I do not hand out any dark soap samples because they look like fudge.

I think it makes them feel compelled to listen to my speech. Sometimes folks will say No Thanks, but not very often.

Are sales are MUCH less when we do not hand out samples.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

oh, our samples are from the ends of our logs. (I line our molds with plastic, so the ends have ugly wrinkles)

We cut down underweight bars to a pretty square to sell as a "gift soap" and the end piece (from turning it from a rectangle into a square) from that gift soap are cut into small pieces for samples. So, our samples are not soaps that had potential to make me money (unless i shredded them and rebatched some how.


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## [email protected] (Sep 18, 2008)

I've been doing TONS of samples. :/
I do round soaps (3") and when I do a batch, the bottom of the bucket gets poured into a 1" pvc and cut into 1/2 inch, .5oz mini bars (I usually get 15-20 out of a double WM batch). These are put into small poly bags with the appropriate soap label stapled to it. They get handed out when I go out looking for wholesale accounts.
At FM and shows, I just chunk up some of my 'ugly' soap and put in the poly bags with a business card stapled to it. I figure my whole line of soaps is on the table for them to see what the 'actual' product looks like. I also keep them 'behind' the table and only hand them out to 'hesitant' buyers or add them to a purchase.
Today I am mailing out brochures along with a small round sample to area B&Bs.


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