For participating businesses… have your BEST Boutique!

Congratulations!  You’ve decided to display your amazing goods and services at an upcoming Boutique for the Soul – and we’re thrilled to have you join us.  In order for every Boutique to be successful, everyone must do their part – including vendors.

The good news is that most of the work has already been done – your facilitator pulls together the logistics and organizes the participants, your hostess will reach out to her circle of family, friends, and business contacts, and the caterer will ensure that everything looks and tastes delicious.

So what is left for you to do?

We’ve asked Boutique visitors to provide their feedback, and we’ve come up with the Top Five things that you can do to make your next Boutique your BEST Boutique …

• Provide cash-and-carry shopping … the shoppers that attend Boutiques are armed and ready to buy, and even though your business might provide a service, it’s always a good idea to provide something that can be purchased on site and taken home that day – our shoppers call this “instant gratification!”

• Offer a small gift or giveaway … try something from your business or that tie in to your business, and a discount coupon is not what we’re talking about.  We would like to see shoppers make a stop at every vendor station, and to encourage them to do so, offer a free gift or giveaway that they can take with them just for stopping by.

• Interact with shoppers … shoppers don’t like to be bombarded with a sales pitch, but they do love to have conversations.  Before you launch into your spiel: ask questions.  Take the time to learn about the person you’re talking to and find out if there is a need or interest for your products or services before you sell them.  Shoppers find that they can spend more time with the vendors from whom they’re most likely to buy (and you can spend more time with shoppers from whom you’re most likely to get a sale)!

• Offer a Boutique-exclusive special … why will shoppers keep coming to Boutiques?  Because they can get something there that they cannot get anywhere else.  This means that every vendor should offer a Boutique-specific special, such as a special discount or gift with purchase.  And don’t be afraid to mix it up – a discount one week can change into a gift with purchase the next – this keeps shoppers coming back.

• Let your circle of contacts know where to find you … when more people attend a Boutique, the better it is for everyone, so don’t keep your whereabouts a secret!  Use this as an opportunity to invite your own friends, family, and business contacts, because at a Boutique, the more the merrier!

And while not something on our Top Five, we hope that you will be generous when offering a hostess gift.  Our hostesses open their home and business to us in support of everyone’s prosperity, and for that they deserve a gift that reflects their time and generosity.  Give the hostess a gift, and you’ll be building just one more relationship out of all the opportunities that the Boutiques provide.

We hope that these suggestions have been helpful and that your next Boutique is your BEST Boutique … happy selling!