As we participated in the largest exhibition for only 36,500 rubles

I will begin my story with an answer to the question: Why? It's simple. We have independently published a series of books for children “Simple Science” and we also make sets of experiments for them. And somehow it turned out that publishing books through the publisher failed and we raised money through crowdfunding. An attempt to sell books in bookstores was also unsuccessful and we sell them through our online store .



But publishing books and selling them directly without intermediaries is not easy. Sooner or later, we would still have to seriously address the question “how to learn to work with intermediaries?”. And the second question: "where to get them?". And somehow, on a sunny winter morning, sitting over a cup of tea and stuffing another text, I saw an advertisement for the World of Childhood 2015 exhibition. “Why not!” I decided. That's how we became participants in this exhibition. Next, I will try to describe in more detail and by points.

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1. Start

To find out the cost of participation, it was enough to send a request to the mail indicated on the exhibition website . The manager contacted us and sent us the terms of participation and prices. At that moment I could say, I had no idea what to pay special attention to and what the whole process of “participation” would look like.



In the sent presentation, including, there was an exhibition plan with prices. Rectangles are drawn on the plan, from which it follows that there are several pavilions and there are stands of various sizes. Prices varied quite strongly and were almost directly tied to the occupied space. But just take and say "we need 10 meters in this pavilion" will not work. In some pavilions there are simply no small squares, and in some there are not particularly large ones. Price per meter was about 10.000r. plus participation fee and VAT. As a result, we chose between 4 and 8-meter stands. That is between 60.000 and 120.000 rubles.









For some reason I didn’t understand, I chose an 8 meter stand. Looking ahead, I understand that this was a wrong decision for our participation. But at the last moment I got out and offered half the stand to my friend, who also produces kits for children. But more on that later.



So the choice is made. It was followed by a contract and an invoice. We must pay tribute to the organizers of the exhibition, the bill amount is divided into 4 almost equal parts and it is proposed to pay according to the specified schedule. Of course, by doing so, they increase the conversion from who I was, to those who I became. That is, from those who wish to participate. They are great!







The contract was signed. The first installment made. Back road, in fact, no. The next time I remembered about the exhibition, it was a letter from the organizers that it was time to pay the second installment. And he was paid. Then I forgot again to the third installment and the same with the fourth one. And on the third installment, a sensible thought begins to illuminate me, but can this stand be shared with someone? And as soon as I was thinking about it, as I get acquainted with Sergei, he is a manufacturer of kits for creativity. I say to him, “but would you, Sergey, not want to divide the roof over your head at the nearest children's exhibition? “I want to,” he replied. On that and decided.



One month before the start of the exhibition, the organizers send a letter and almost every 2-3 days they begin to send a newsletter for the newsletter. There is a proposal to build a booth (this, by the way, is a paid service) and letters asking you to fill out some forms and so on and so forth. From all paid services I refused. Filled out questionnaires, the data from which should have been included in the exhibition catalog.

2. Preparation

From time to time I thought about the appearance of our future stand and about some advertising material. Most importantly, I decided to use what we have and not spend money on anything other than business cards and flyers. In the editorial office during our "creativity" I had time to accumulate various requisites, among which there were tables with chairs, a TV on a stand, and a farm that we planned to use on the set and many other things. During the evening I put together a stand, which in the end turned out to be not so bad, considering that it was not spent on purpose, absolutely, not a penny.



Since on our half of the stand we planned to work together with Masha (this is my colleague), I made business cards for both of them and printed them out 200 pieces each. In addition, I ordered the printing of 300 pieces of flyers. Benefit flyer layout we already had. All the fun fell in 3500 rubles.

3. Check in

A week before the exhibition, a letter arrives from the organizers, which describes in detail the rules for the delivery and removal of equipment, how to order passes for cars, what is possible and what is not. We have complied with all their instructions and it must be said neither during the arrival nor during the departure there was a single problem. This, to put it bluntly, surprised me. Personally, I was preparing for different Kosyachkam, harsh security guards trying to earn sotochku, closed barrier with the inscription "entry through another gate" and so on. There was nothing of this.



On arrival gave time from 15:00 to 20:00 the day before the exhibition. But they also had paid offers for which you can drive in from the morning and leave the car throughout the whole exhibition right on the territory. As you understand, I did not take advantage of this offer.







All that is needed for the stand fit me in the car. At the appointed hour, I entered the territory, parked at the nearest exit from our stand, unloaded and drove the car out of the gate. According to the rules, an hour is given for unloading. With parking outside the Expocentre, things are not very good. There is a paid public parking, but the whole is busy. You can park in the courtyards, but you have to float back on foot.



The assembly of the stand took about 3 hours. I did everything alone, so for so long. I was told that they could steal something from the goods (experienced participants), so I put the books and sets directly at the exhibition itself. At the end of each day, I collected everything in boxes and in the morning I took it out again. Yes, paranoia. I admit.



Here is the stand without the goods:

4. Exhibition

Exhibitors are allowed on the day of the exhibition to come to the booth at 8:00, and the exhibition itself begins at 10:00. But since everything was ready with us, we arrived right at 10 o'clock. From morning until 12:00 we wandered around the pavilion, exclusively, the same as me "participants". But after that the “guests” began to catch up.



And this is our stand as a result:







"Experienced" explained to me how to work at such exhibitions: you need to take contacts and business cards from everyone who can. I started doing that. He started a notebook and if it was given a business card, attached it with a stapler and signed a short comment from a conversation with its owner. And if they did not have business cards, he asked for the record contacts with his own hand. Many people tried to dump as soon as they received my business card and flyer from me, but I found a reason for them to leave contacts about myself “I will send you wholesale prices and discounts to the post office”. After that, 95% decided to end anonymity and issued all attendances.







This, in essence, is the meaning of participation in the exhibition: to meet with your supplier, buyer or some other counterparty, exchange contacts and promptly leave some hooks for which you pull by phone or mail immediately after the exhibition. I had 92 contacts. I don’t have much or little, but my business cards took about 150 pieces. Preliminary calculations give a figure of 386 rubles for a distributed business card or 630 rubles for a received one. Looking at the numbers in the future I will work at exhibitions more efficiently. And I advise you of the same.



But maybe I would have collected more contacts at past exhibitions "World of Childhood 2014" or "2013". The security workers, again, argue that every year the number of visitors to the exhibition drops at least twice. I do not have the opportunity to check this data, for which I bought for what I sold.



But I must admit that the budget space also implies the minimum possible number of visitors. For those who were located closer to the main entrance, which is near the exit of the subway, people crowded much more. It would be interesting to look at their numbers.



As for us:

• on the first day 28 contacts were collected;
• in the second 40;
• in the third 15;
• and 9 on the fourth day.

The second day seemed to be the most useful for me; there were more targeted contacts in it. But periodically there were all sorts of unusual. For example, representatives of a major manufacturer from Hong Kong approached us and communicated, like us, in broken English. After 10 minutes of conversation, it turned out that they have our first book. It is not enough to say that I was surprised. I was very surprised! It turns out that the book was sent to them by one of their Russian partners with a recommendation to pay attention to us. And it turns out that they reached our pavilion exclusively in search of us. Maybe it helped them to find us a guide to the exhibition, a free form which I filled out at the very beginning. I, at least, decided to think so. After the conversation, they did not approach the other stands, turned and left. The next day, a man came from them and handed us souvenirs.



The inventor of various puzzles also came up to me. We met, turned out to be an uncle with a great sense of humor and very talkative. I think something with us will develop more. Gave two puzzles that broke my head that evening. One never guessed. The puzzles are really very cool, so here's an advertisement for you:











In addition to the table, chairs, shelves and, in fact, the books with the sets themselves, I had another trump card in my pocket. Suitcase! Not just a suitcase, but glowing such a suitcase, with music, all sorts of flasks, twirls and twists. We did it to conduct scientific shows for children, but it seemed to me that he would also serve well here. And I was not mistaken!



For half a day we worked without a suitcase, and I managed to notice how visitors behave, what they react to and what they ask for. And after lunch there is a suitcase. I put it on the rack. I open it. I turn on and ... it started! The number of those interested in our booth has increased by an order. I'm not talking about the neighbors in the exhibition. Someone passed by, then stopped and watched. Less timid approached and asked "what is it?". By the fifth such question, I had a quick and clear answer: “I need a suitcase so that you come up, ask“ what is it? ”, And I, on the sly, told about our books and sets.” Almost everyone was amused by such an explanation. And even if they had a bad mood, it clearly improved.



I spread the present of the suitcase itself, from which it will be better understood what I am talking about:







It is clear that a bunch of ordinary onlookers came up. But they created a certain excitement and already those who approached the case were more inclined to talk.



I also made one remarkable observation for me: they know us and recognize us! And not only “Simple Science”, but also me personally :) Someone came up and said that they and our child are watching our videos on YouTube. Someone recognized me on the program on the "Carousel" and asked to be photographed. There were also those who already have all our books and were interested in “when there will be something new”.



When I receive letters or messages in social networks from viewers and readers, it's fun and pleasant. But I never saw those people, and for me, how to say it is “virtual”, or something. And then the living people. With real smiles, not emoticons. And in addition, it is those who have already seen a lot in the children's market, due to their professional activities, and, at the same time, they are saying warm words about us. Nicely :)

5. Sales

The exhibition “The World of Childhood” was intended to establish contacts, enter into contracts, and familiarize market participants with each other. As they say, "look at others and show yourself." The press releases of the exhibition and other promotional materials did not say a word about any retail merchandise. But it turns out that there is an unspoken such rule that in the last day or two of the exhibition, underground trade opens. And those who are privy to this secret ritual, catch up on the exhibition, come up to the stands and, as if by chance, ask "can you buy your merchandise?" So when I spoke with some colleagues, they told me that it is quite possible sales "from under the floor" to repel participation in the exhibition.



I liked the idea. And although we were not as experienced as the others, we managed to trade for 25,000 rubles. It turns out that the exhibition has cost even less than we originally thought. A trifle, but nice.



Actually, that's what they sold:

6. Dry residue

It is obvious that it is impossible to translate the result from the exhibition purely into money and that the effect will be stretched for several months. But it’s already clear to the naked eye that it’s almost impossible to get about 100 target contacts for 58.000 rubles, which you personally met with in another way. In addition to these contacts, there were also those who did not leave their contacts, but took ours. There were those who took nothing at all, but paid attention to us. Someone told someone in words. Or maybe someone even looked into the exhibition catalog inadvertently and wondered "who are these."



“Simple science”, in comparison with many participants of the children's goods market, is not just small, it is simply not even visible with the naked eye. Previously, we used the Internet as a means to declare ourselves, but apparently it was time to go on a big road and the exhibition is the first timid step.

Parting words

If you have a project of your own, even if it’s still small and inconspicuous, but it already has something to offer the market, you may need to think about participating in a profile exhibition. Think about it.



Of course, when you yourself visit the exhibition as a guest and see these gigantic beautiful stands, in their background small stands look lonely and unattractive. But if you came to the exhibition on the case, and not just to gawk, then you will definitely get to them too. After all, it is on them, perhaps, that the future Apple, Lego or Google are located. So let prejudices not prevent you from making breakthrough decisions for your business!