All that planning - and it goes by soooo quickly! Surtex 2011 is in the books, and now the real work (well...more of it begins) As you have heard many, many times now, doing the shows is ALL about the follow up. So this is what I have been doing and will continue to do for the next few weeks. However, after that Niki and I are cooking up some fun new adventures, so stay tuned!
So last year, there was
Confessions, and now
the Updated version. This year I would like to share with you a few things that I chose to do a bit differently after my first time experience of 2010
1. Enlist Help!! I did. I could not have reached all my goals this year without the fabulous
Niki. Let's face it preparing for a show is a ton of work. Add to that one (or in some cases all) of the following: maintaining current clients, creating new (tons) work, working a full-time job, raising young children, etc etc., and one can very easily and quickly reach a boiling point. Luckily for me I am doing this full-time, and have no young children. Yet even still - the lists spawn lists in the early spring, and it is really difficult to keep up. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Husband, brother, kid next door, an intern. If there is anyone available and willing to help, take them up one it! You don't have to be Shiva or a martyr. The people around you love and support you, so take advantage! You can always hire help as well. Maybe this is not feasible yet for your business long term, but think about swinging it just for a couple of weeks before the show. Just thoughts...
2. Don't under estimate the power of physical collateral. I know it is an email, paperless world, but we are all still human right? There is nothing, and I mean nothing that beats getting a hand written personal note. Along the same lines, it really can make a big impact to get a physical piece of collateral into an art director's hands. They then have something to show others, take to meetings, put on a bulletin board to remember. You want them to think - "we MUST be sure to make it to this one". I did not have the time to execute this last year, and I am so happy I did this year.
3. ABC is good, but ABL is better. Have you ever heard about the number one rule of selling dubbed ABC - Always Be Closing? This is a great rule for sales, but we are in the relationship business, and ABL - Always Be Listening is a much better rule. Although I am very proud of my first showing last year, there were definitely some holes in my catalog. I listened well, and made sure to have these bases covered this year. My collection was much more complete for the types of manufacturers who are interested my work. I took the constructive suggestions, and made it work for me. AND, it dosen't stop there. This year I learned even more ways that I can stay true to myself, and continue to push things forward. I already have tons of ideas for new work. Listening to the client and really hearing their needs is one of the most important things you can do to take advantage of the face time you get at the show.
Well, that's that. Whew! Until next year...happy creating!
***All images courtesy the always fabulous
Tara Reed!
Last year at SURTEX I met a cute bubbly woman who was really excited about my work, but wanted to discuss the details of her project at a later date. I thought ok, cool, and made sure to follow up with her after the show. Soon after we started communicating and she told me all about her exciting new project called Meeble Mail.
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A whole range of my work is available now! I will also be adding more fresh designs very soon! Run over and check it out and brighten up you email! :-)
That's Khristian. I have my invisible cloak on, so she can't see me. Or can she...
Little labors of love for our wonderful booth stopper-byers; giveaway swatches. Yes, they were all assembled by hand with minimal casualties.
One of Khristian's friends made some really awesome boxes out of Ivory Coast, a 
Many many thanks to everyone for a successful second year [first for me!] at SURTEX.
Remember 
Aside from working with Khristian, I am an avid photo-taker-maker, coffee consumer, and cheese-a-holic. I play tennis too, it keeps my arms strong to support my hands which carry my fingers that are used to key urls and cmd+c/cmd+v for my intraweb obsessions.
