Hey all,

I just finished showing my rods at the NW Fly Fishing Expo this last weekend in Albany Oregon. I'm moved from working full time at a day job to part time consulting work and the other part of my time is rod building and fishing. I decided to do a couple of fishing shows this year to help spread the word about my company and start building up my client network.

At this show, my plan was to display a sample of my workmanship on switch rod and spey rod blanks. While these were all Rainshadow blanks and I explained about the value and performance features of using them, I let everyone know that a custom builder allows us to use any blank that fits the customer's needs. This part was successful as I was the only truly custom guy at the show, except for the 3 bamboo builders there and the workmanship displayed drew lots of positive comments. People would be doing the zombie show walk, go by my booth, stop, look, look again and then come over to touch. I made sure to get the rod in their hands as much as possible. I spent some money on some signage and info brochures, and along with the booth space, it wasn't much of a money outlay to get started. The biggest investment was in the material to build up the rods for display.

While I didn't sell anything off the rack, I did write some new build orders and a couple hundred people took cards and information sheets. In addition, I did get a consignment deal with the fly shop that had the booth next to me and he seemed pretty excited to have my rods in his store. I don't usually build inventory of finished rods ahead of any orders, but I had to have a reasonable display for the show so this line up will be a good start. Given all this, I consider the show a success for me and hope to generate more clients in the coming weeks from the show. I had a great time getting the word out and talking to tons of anglers (and other builders)

I also want to put out a thanks to all the other builders and Rodmaker (especially Tom) who have shared techniques, some that I've used, some that I've modified to make my own but it definitely set my rods apart from everyone else that was there.

Do other builders buy booth space for shows like this and what things do you do to be successful if you do?

Thanks!

Terry Turner

You never hurt yourself by advertising.

..............

Trade shows are either really good or really bad for business & your approach is paramount to your success.
For some tips on maximizing your impact, check out:

[www.skyline.com]

They've been pretty spot on & really helps to polish your presentation & targeting the clients that you want.

Thanks Matt,

I worked off some other trade show sites but didn't see this one.

One thing that I will improve is offering some smaller rods in the display. The spey and switch rods definitely hit the mark with the local market here, but there is still a percentage of anglers that want to see trout rods so I'll definitely expand the offering to ensure I display some small stream choices and more unique configurations like multipiece pack rods, etc. I wanted to avoid building another 9' 5 wt as most everyone has one.

Terry

Terry Turner Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks Matt,
>
> I worked off some other trade show sites but
> didn't see this one.
>
> One thing that I will improve is offering some
> smaller rods in the display. The spey and switch
> rods definitely hit the mark with the local market
> here, but there is still a percentage of anglers
> that want to see trout rods so I'll definitely
> expand the offering to ensure I display some small
> stream choices and more unique configurations like
> multipiece pack rods, etc. I wanted to avoid
> building another 9' 5 wt as most everyone has one.
>
>
> Terry


That's the biggest thing with booths, space is always limited, attendees are always rushed to see everything & you have to be able to get them hooked in short order. Make your presentations quickly but informatively and show them you can offer something they can't get just anywhere.
You can run yourself ragged (& broke) doing shows, so it pays huge dividends to research the shows where you're targeting most of your energy & money. Sometimes that means hitting the smaller shows where your competition might not be there and your audience is captive & you're their sole source of information. The larger shows draw more people but the crowd may not be what you're looking for.
If you have the chance, grab a booth as close to the door as you can or at least on the end of an aisle. Middle row folks are trapped and most just walk on by. End caps are where people gather and decide where to go next and that oft times leads to them taking a longer look at your booth and may get you the extra interactions. If you can get by the main entrance, they see you going & coming, that's 2 opportunities for the price of 1 with the same person.
Be organized, clean, dressed well (leave the flip flops at home) & never sit down. If you look attentive and professional, they'll stop & talk. If you look busy or inattentive, they'll just walk on by.
I know this sounds like common sense but you'd be amazed at the people that just look like they're not interested in helping a client. If you act like you have a plan, they'll assume you do and that's all you really need to get in the door.

I always had better luck at the craft type shows than fishing shows. Wives and girlfriends eat up the custom rod thing. Perfect gift for their hard to shop for husbands, dads and boyfriends. But don't expect them to buy rods. Show off your work and have some cards or brochures and sell gift certificates.

Terry,
I did that show in 2005 or 2006 when I was still with Lamiglas. It was a great show and at the time there were a couple of builders with tables or booths. You really do need to have a variety of product for the fisheries in the area. Whether it's a 6'6" 2wt for the Metolius or Spey & Switch for the Sandy, Clack & Deschutes. Also, the 9' 5wt. is a staple, most everyone doesn't have just one. Plug away at that type of show and it will work for you.
Todd

Regards,
Todd Vivian
Mud Hole Custom Tackle

todd@mudhole.com

Hey Todd,

Good to hear from you. I appreciate all your comments and all the others as well. It does make sense and I tried to stay attentive the whole time. It did make a difference that I engaged almost everyone and got people to stop and talk when they would have otherwise just wandered by. I also had brochures on rod building classes and our TU Youth Fly Fishing camp that were also good conversation starters.

I won't make the mistake of leaving the small trout stuff in the shop next time.

Thanks again!

Terry

Hi Terry,

I look at fishing shows as a means of advertisement, greet and meet, show my product, hopefully sell a spec/rack rod and get custom orders. Does it work? Sometimes. I do 3 day weekend shows where the cost for a booth is $440 and Saturday fisherman's flea markets for $40/5 hours.

The main thing is to get exposure! The cost I consider is advertising. Do the same show yearly, have the same location and people will eventually seek you out. Eventually while speaking to people you will see other folks waiting to talk to you, go away and come back a couple of times before leaving or getting to speak with you. You don't want to be rude but it hurts to be talking to some one who is picking your brain when you could/might be talking with a live customer. But that is how it works. The sales will come if you have the right product at the right price. Patience!

Now if you happen to have a good fishing web site in your area and you take advantage by posting comments this is also a win win situation especially when you couple the fishing shows with the web site. The web site is FREE advertising and a great way to become known.

I have a rack with a few rods for sale at each show. They sell once in awhile. A difficult task when other vendors are selling rods starting at $20. You will catch fish with these inexpensive rods.

Good fortune.

Capt Neil Faulkner

Capt Neil Faulkner Wrote:
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> Now if you happen to have a good fishing web site
> in your area and you take advantage by posting
> comments this is also a win win situation
> especially when you couple the fishing shows with
> the web site. The web site is FREE advertising
> and a great way to become known.


Actually, websites are not free - somebody is paying for each and every one. If you're going to tout yourself and/or your business in any way on a website, consult the site owner first, and at the minimum, send him a few bucks to help offset his cost for providing you the means to advertise your business. Sticking in free mentions of your business as a means of free advertising is stealing.

..................

Hi Tom,

Thank you for holding my feet to the fire. Tom is absolutely right in what he says. I wrote my post during several interruptions and should have given a better answer. Sorry Tom. Let me see if I can clarify my thought process.

A fishing web site may have a rod building forum that is available to all. By monitoring threads you will learn much about our craft. You will learn about other rod builders in your area. Some will be building for themselves while others will be professional builders. You may be able to answer requests for information. Just thru this medium you will become known by others and you will make acquaintances thru PMs or EMails. When doing a show you will be surprised when folks say I read your posts. You will be within the guide lines of the site.

Every web site has it's rules and regulations that have to be obeyed. Easy to do. With some the guide lines are very wide and others very narrow. Some will allow a fishing show to be mentioned as a public service. Some shows actually purchase ads. Many times within a fishing show thread members will ask who is going and members will post that they are going to be there. If you are a site sponsor you can be more explicit regarding your involvement with the fishing show. Moderators on the site can confirm for you what is expected from your involvement.

I hope this is a better answer.

Capt Neil Faulkner