Now the real work begins!

Just returned from several exhausting days in Atlanta where we exhibited at the Atlanta Gift Market. The License and Design section is a relatively new show within the AmericasMart, this was the third year, and it is definitely getting its legs. We have actually had good shows all three years, and we are already working with the Mart to fine tune the dates and plans for next year - I have no doubt 2012 will be bigger and better yet.

I was discussing the show with one of the other exhibitor/agents and we were lamenting the fact that you really don’t know how successful a show is for about 6 months or so after it is over. There is always excitement in the air on the floor and it affects everyone – including the attendees – so the art looks better, the collections are fresher and the people better looking…well, OK maybe not that…

Then you pack up, go home and start the process of sending out the designs and doing the follow-up. This is the real meat and potatoes of any show and best done immediately, and you can expect follow-up to continue for months afterward. What we were discussing was how weird it is that after a really heads-up, exciting show you send out their requests, and then all that new found rapport and sparkling conversation you had with that customer typically goes dead for a few weeks. There are always exceptions of course, but it’s quite disconcerting – as she said, you wonder if you just sent all that material into a black hole or something. Gone. No response. This is why I am always amused by exhibitors (including us) who are crowing about the great deal they just made, or the huge number of fantastic meetings they had, or how they have already paid for the show with a coming contract.

Really? Hmmm, let’s talk more about that in June…