Business lessons learnt from Young Apprentice Season 2 Episode 4 – Over 50′s Market

Task: Select two products from a selection of eight suppliers and sell at an exhibition for the over 50s market
Objective: Raw sales in pounds (costs not considered)

When looking to make deals with suppliers, your enthusiasm for their products can help to secure you deals, such as cheaper prices or exclusivity.

When running a team, it can be hard to let go, but it is important to trust the instincts of your team.

This episode taught us a lot about how exhibitions work. An exhibition is an event that attracts large numbers of the general public who self-select to be part of the demographic the show is about, and vendors expect to make most of their sales to these attendees.

Amongst the attendees to an exhibition, there is culture of expecting to be offered ‘freebies’ and to be given discounts on the items for sale. On the plus side, there is also the willingness to be impressed by product demonstrations. A high percentage of sales at an exhibition are down to impulse purchases, so a good sales person can actually take advantage of the attendee culture to make sales.

Impulse purchases, however, can be blocked by simple necessity – a bulky product can be hard to carry around and interfere with your enjoyment of the rest of the show. Smaller items will probably perform far better at an exhibition.

Another factor in impulse purchasing is the price. As we saw, however, this isn’t about the price being low – it’s about the price being perceived as right. This is why the vacuum cleaner still sold well despite the fixed price. People consider an item’s quality as well as the price when looking to make a purchase, and sometimes the price can be a factor of quality too, indicating if something is cheap or made well.

No matter where you are, be it in a showroom, your client’s offices, or an exhibition, a good product that can be easily demonstrated well will tend to be easier to sell.

Despite exhibitions being primarily about selling to the public, it is worth remembering that there are other traders there who may also be looking to make deals. This can also help to secure bigger deals, which can be more worth your time. This sort of deal is what a trade show is all about.