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Hey SMP’s!
I have a marketing question for you. It seems we are in the season of holiday boutiques! Have you ever had a booth at one? I would like to have a booth at one in December. I was thinking of selling gift certificates for Sprouting Melodies classes and maybe have a drawing for a “music gift” of some sort. It seems that most of the vendors at boutiques have actual products to sell so I wasn’t sure if this would be an appropriate venue. What do you think? Have you been a vendor at a holiday boutique? I would love to hear about your experiences! Thanks!ParticipantHi Marcie!
It is so good to “meet” you, too! You can check out the SMP Call Recordings Page. You will find some calls specifically for marketing and growing your program! You will also find some conversations in the forum on marketing. Let us know if you have any more questions. Good luck!ParticipantMy apologies for the funky code stuff that appeared. Basically the chords are D & A7. There is a G during the second part (Shake the shaker way up high). I hope you get to use this! I am going to try it out this upcoming week!
ParticipantHey Everybody! Here is a song I wrote to use with shakers called “The Shakers Song”.<br />
Shake the shakers with me. Shake the shakers with me. (D-A7, A7-D)<br />
Shake the shakers with me. Shake the shakers with me. (D-A7, A7-D)<br />
Shake the shakers way up high (way down low, in your hand, on your arm, etc.)<br />
Everybody shake.<br />
Shake the shakers way up high. Everybody shake.<br />
Shake the shakers with me. Shake the shakers with me.<br />
Shake the shakers with me. Shake the shakers with me.<br />
Shake! Shake! Everybody Shake.<br />
Shake! Shake! Everybody Shake.ParticipantHi Kristina!
Welcome to the forum! It is so nice to “meet” you! I would love to hear more about your Family Sprouts class as I am hoping to begin one soon. What songs/activities do you use? Any tips for including different ages would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!ParticipantHey Everybody! One of my PT friends and I were chatting recently about tummy time. There is one mom in my SM class who is concerned that her five month old baby isn’t holding his head up like he should. Her doctor has told her that he needs more tummy time. Apparently, the baby screams when put on his tummy. I mentioned this to my PT friend, and she had some great suggestions! She said that the mom could get on her tummy and face the baby so he could still see her. My PT friend also suggested using a therapy/exercise ball for tummy time. Have you experienced this? Do you have any recommendations? How do you incorporate tummy time in a Sprouting Melodies class?
ParticipantHey Everybody! I hope you are having a great summer! What are your plans for the fall? I think I learned a lesson the hard way last week! I scheduled a new Sprouting Melodies class to start the day after a holiday on July 5th! I had a couple of moms come for one of the two classes I offered. No one came to the other one. I am looking forward to lots of marketing and trying again in August or September. What has been your experience in starting new classes? Has the time of year made a difference for you?
June 6, 2016 at 1:54 pm
in reply to: Practice to Research: "You and Me Makes…We" being used in research
ParticipantHey SMP’s! I wanted to give a quick shout-out to Meredith Pizzi and Brandy Jenkins. Meredith just finished her master’s degree! Brandy is a part of the State Task Force which was successful in creating a music therapy license in Oklahoma! Congratulations, Ladies!
ParticipantHey Everybody!
I am planning the summer schedule, and I was wondering if you handle summer classes differently than the fall and spring classes. Are they shorter sessions? Do you have classes all through the summer? How do you handle makeups because of vacation? I noticed that a local dance studio offers pro-rated tuition for advance notice of vacations but does not offer makeups during the summer. I am going to have a free demo at a local baby store on June 21. Then I will have a summer session at a dance studio in July. What does your Sprouting Melodies summer schedule look like?ParticipantHello! I have a question about discounts. I have a mom who just joined the class with her two little ones. She loves the class and is telling her friends about it. She asked me if I gave discounts for referrals. I want to because referrals are the best way to grow my class. Do you offer a referral incentive?
ParticipantHey Everybody!
Here are Meredith’s Trade Show Tips as discussed in our March 2016 Conference Call. You can also download a PDF here.Trade Show Tips
1. Communicate. Send a pre-event notice to your entire database of clients and prospects. Be sure to include your booth number for the event! i.e. forward the Expo Emails to at least 10 clients. Let your customers know about a special giveaway at the Expo and the companies exhibiting.
2. Have a goal. Clearly define the objectives you hope to achieve. Write them down. It could be making contacts in the community (how many do you hope to make), taking orders (again, set a goal of how many orders you hope to get), setting appointments, shaking hands or whatever. Just make sure you have some sort of goal or objective for the show. At the very least, decide to bring back x-number of business cards.
3. Work the booth. Many booths are left unmanned for long periods of time. Try and have someone at your booth at all times. Don’t sit at your booth. Be approachable and friendly. Create a reason for people to come up to your booth (a raffle, free gifts, candy).
4. Business Cards/Flyers. Have a healthy supply of business cards and your basic sales brochure or flyer at your booth at all times. Remember, too much material is often wasted printing. A basic representation of your product line is the best, with a promise to mail more specific information to those interested. Collect information from the attendees (email addresses, phone numbers)–a drawing for a prize is common to collect this info.
5. Dress professionally but be comfortable. Wear comfortable shoes and try to stand as much as you can. Rarely do people have much success sitting down while attendees (prospects) walk by. Be aggressive but not annoying.
6. Be happy! Nobody wants to talk to someone who looks intimidating, bored or unfriendly, so make sure you smile at everyone. Act like you want to be there and are happy to meet them.
7. Condense your message. You cannot do your usual sales presentation in just the few seconds you will have to spend with attendees. Let them know in a nutshell what you do and how you can help them. Tell them what to do next–call, visit your website, come by your store, etc.
8. Acknowledge booth visitors. Many times you will get an influx of booth visitors and it can get overwhelming to talk to everyone. Try your best not to exclude a visitor because you are already engaged in conversation with another visitor. Say “hello” to booth visitors, even if it’s brief while you finish your conversation with the other booth visitor(s).
9. Always be engaged. If traffic slows and you get bored, find someone to engage. Talk to the vendor next to you or the next attendee coming down the aisle. Do not sit around looking bored. Do not check your cell phone messages or make calls or play Tetris. Talk to somebody about your business.
10. Arrive early! Be ready when the doors open. Be sure your booth is staffed at all times until the show closes.
11. Eliminate physical barriers. Make it open and inviting. Place the table in the back, or along the side. Get out from behind the table; invite people into your booth to sit/stand/talk.
12. Giveaways. Raffles, contests, and activities will make your booth inviting to visit. Use your imagination!
13. Survival Kit. Before you leave the office, plan and pack a ‘survival kit’ for the event. This survival kit should include, Collateral: Extra business cards, Extra promotional materials, Notepads and pens for each staff member to keep proper track of contacts made, promises for follow-up information and anything else that needs to be remembered for post-show action.
14. Ask questions. Ask questions about a prospective client’s own business or business needs. The more you get them talking about themselves, the longer they stay at your booth before moving on – and the more you learn about their needs, the better you can promote solutions.
15. Follow up. A trade show is only as good as the sales it generates. As you meet attendees or other prospects who give you their business cards or information, make notes on the back and then follow up via email or call them for coffee. If you have a tradeshow list or a fishbowl full of attendee’s contact information, send them a postcard with a special trade show discount.ParticipantHi Michelle!
There was one song that I learned from a fellow MT-BC, but now I can’t remember it. If I do, I will let you know! Thanks, Erika for the Nordoff Robins suggestions. I have a book that I received many years ago but haven’t used yet. Thanks for the reminder that I should!ParticipantHey Toni!
Congratulations on getting your program going! I use many songs from the training as well as songs from Beth’s book (You and Me Makes…We). Good luck! -
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