NSS newbie here... Do you have any advice that you would like to share? (small company, new to wholesale)

I think the biggest mistakes made by newbies at NSS is to not have enough product to look at, and to have a booth that doesn't look like much effort or creativity was put into it. It is a sad thing indeed to see someone with their 10 cards and a folding table with a computer printed banner-- nobody is going to visit that booth. You want enough stuff that will keep an interested customer in there for more than five minutes.

Here are a couple of other things I've learned myself:

1) Have several sample decks on hand so that more than one person can look through your stuff at a time (we have 3 decks plus wall samples)

2) Ask for a business card from anyone who shows interest, write on the back of the card any extra details you want to remember and follow up with them at a show.

3) have a give-away of some kind so that they will remember you better. having your booth number with your information may mean a return visit.

4) Do not get disheartened if you don't break even your first time at a show, it will be a bit depressing, but you should take into account that this is a long term investment, it is about maintaining visibility and eventually the money will be there. Some things to take into account:

a) Some people wait to order after the show, sometimes waiting as long as 6 months to a year.

b) if you pick up sales reps, if you are interviewed by the media, then that means dollars down the road.

c) orders you fill are just first time orders and are likely to repeat from the same customers several times a year.

If you have the opportunity to go to these shows as a visitor first I highly recommend it, it is a huge investment and researching your gameplan as much as possible beforehand is going to help make your first show run smoothly.

Ask me anything about letterpress, wholesale manufacturing, trade shows, Blue Barnhouse, and/or our fucked-up greetings.