“Vendor events near me are all booked!”

A team member contacted me to tell me that all the vendor events in her area were already booked with a consultant from our brand. We set out to discover where she had looked and how she could solve this dilemma.

Vendor events, also known as craft shows, are held both indoors and outdoors in most months of the year. They can be found listed on Facebook under events or in vendor group listings, through referrals of friends and family, on Fairs and Festivals listing websites and in places like your town newspaper and Craigslist. If you only look in one of these places, you may find that all of the events have a consultant for your brand. If you haven’t explored all of these areas, you now have a to do list!

Let’s say you are a new consultant and are looking for opportunities to showcase your brand in the next thirty days. Let’s say you’ve exhausted all the above places to look.  Now what?

When I am told my brand is represented, I always to leave my name and number because things change and people cancel. I’ve been called twice for shows that were full or my brand was represented and the week before the show they welcomed me with open arms.

If there are legitimately no vendor events in your area with openings for your brand, then why not make your own event? (Don’t roll your eyes, stick with me for a hot minute).

Is there a new business in town that might be having a grand opening? Ask them if you can set up a table and help distribute flyers or post on social media to bring in people to their event. This could be a nail or hair salon that’s new in town. Are there boutique clothing stores in your area that might want to have a Ladies Night and partner with local small businesses such as your own?  All you have to do is ask! If you don’t ask the answer will always be no.

Do you have a product that complements another direct sales brand? Do you sell bags and have a friend that sells jewelry? How about a bags and bling party. Do you sell jewelry and have friends that sell clothing?  Reach out to all of your direct sales friends and ask them to brainstorm with you outside of the normal vendor event.

I was recently invited to setup a Jewelry Bar at the home of a Lularoe consultant. While she was busy with her guests, I was introducing other guests to Origami Owl. At the end of the day, I presented her over $100 in Hostess Rewards. She was astonished as she hadn’t even expected anything in return. It was a win-win.

Look outside of the traditional vendor events for a niche that you can fill or partner with others to grow both of your businesses.