Best practices include:

• Don’t over crowd your stall. It is good to make sure each product on your table can been seen clearly and not overcrowded by other products. I’ve found this style can cause either overwhelm for customers, or encourage them to rummage and expect a bargain. See below images of best practice.

• Include different heights when merchandising your stalls so stock can be seen from around the market.

• Inspire the sale from your customers by merchandising, or styling with props that put your products in situ - help your customer immediately visualise themselves with your products. Using photography or video is also a great way of doing this effectively.

• Think about your favourite high-street shops, what do they use to merchandise and inspire their customer?

• Ensure you have affordability by offering both higher and lower priced products. One nice way to do this is to offer a sample sale box - extra mindful too! I feel the ultimate compliment is a customer buying your smaller priced items because it means they simply can’t leave without something and more often than not leading to another bigger sale in the future.

• Make sure your table top marketing is clear and visible to ensure that even if the customer is not in the position to purchase today, they can scan the QR code and get in touch when they are.

• Use your table top marketing to start a conversation with your customer, direct them to your mindful properties and share more context behind them, educate them and make them feel good!

• Please ensure you’ve taken note and considered the table space you have:
  FULL TABLE: 75cm x 182cm
  HALF TABLE: 75cm x 91cm before arriving

Best practices include:

• Your energy on market day is everything towards the success of selling in person! Make sure someone is always behind your stall and is visible - make sure even when you’re sat a friendly face can be seen and you’re open to a customer at all times.

• Make conversation! Some customers will not want to talk, but I know the friendly people of Leeds and the majority like a chat! Use your table top marketing to strike up a conversation!

• Up-sell! Create exclusive offers like new products/offerings, deals or discounts exclusive to market day, this can work particularly well if you’re already a big name in Leeds, it make a point of difference market to market/online

• Make items as giftable or as convenient as possible to sell - offer gift wrap and personalisation, bundle products together as deals or gift sets or even offer gift cards - often these lead to bigger orders too!

• Make sure your pricing is really visible to the customer, typically if a customer can’t see a price then they’ll believe it is out of their price range and wouldn’t always feel comfortable asking.

Don’t just rate the success of the market just on the sales you make on the day

Of course sales on the day are important, but think about the future money making opportunities too. Its unrealistic to think that all customers will want to, or can, buy from you on the day especially when there are so many other sellers too. Make sure you’re advertising any other services you have such as commissions, personalisation or workshops - having this information displayed in a frame is a nice way to do this.

Another success that can come from a market is awareness of your brand - make sure you have business cards and direct customers to your QR code for them to either follow online or sign up to your newsletter to stay in touch and to make a a future sale.

Use the market to create content to set you up for weeks, its rare to see your products all displayed together and it helps the customer see your brand cohesively online, this is not only good for customers but for wholesalers too!

Use the opportunity to test new products and get face-to-face reactions of your products, something hard to do online! Discuss with your customers what other products they may want to see from you

Offer gift-cards, there will always be a customer that thinks of their special friend or family member when they see your brand and style

Not everyone celebrates Christmas, and you may think its too early but if the big corporations can start stocking their AW and festive collections - SO CAN YOU! Plant that seed in your customers mind ready for when its time for them to buy later down the line

MOST IMPORTANTLY - identify the goals you want to achieve on the day, that be sales, follows/sign-ups, light-bulb moments from chatting to fellow brands and customers and keep track! Most market days go by so quickly, make a list of the areas in which you want to hit on the day so you don’t forget!

• Q: Do I need a card reader?
  A: I strongly advise having a means for customers to pay by card as although some customers still carry cash but will always expect a card payment method. If you don’t have the means to take payment by card you could offer PayPal.

• Q: How much stock should I bring?
  A: Its hard to answer this one! How much money do you want to make*? How much can you merchandise on your stall without it being over-crowded?

  *I like to be honest, I can’t guarantee you sales it is up to you to make the most of the opportunity on the day.

• Q: Can I bring my own table cloth and table top marketing?
  A: Please do not bring your own table cloth. You’re more than welcome to bring your own table top marketing, but please ensure the one given is clearly displayed and nothing obstructs the front of your stall and your brand sticker.

• Q: What are the table dimensions?
  A: FULL TABLE: 182 CM X 70 CM
  HALF TABLE: 91 CM X 70 CM

• Q: If I have a half table will I be sharing with someone else?
  A: Yes, see examples below