Category: Lucy the Octopus

This past weekend I had a brilliant time, selling my wares at MCM Expo at the Excel Centre in London. Having been there a few times as a visitor and creator, I thought I’d note down some ideas to improve sales and the whole MCM experience, mainly to remind myself for the next one!

Most of these tips are relevant to other comic shows too.  Lots of this may be obvious to more experienced Comic con veterans but for those starting out, better not to learn the hard way…

1. PREPARE WAY, WAY, WAY IN ADVANCE
Book your table as soon as possible.  These events are often booked out months before showtime.
Plan ahead what stock you will need.  Allow yourself enough weeks / months to complete new products and promotional material and to get them printed.  (Printers often get busy near to big shows).
Nearer the time, make sure you know you’ve got your travel plans / journey time sussed.

Lucy the Octopus posters – No last minute panic printing these bad boys for the show!

2. MAKE A CHECK LIST
What you need to prepare / take?
It might be a little bit like this…

• Stock to sell
• Display stands
• Promotional banners
• Table cloth(s)
• Price labels
• Posher Business cards to give to prospective clients (also having a portfolio handy might be good)
• Cheaper business cards / flyers for anyone to take
• Blu Tack, masking tape, sellotape, safety pins, scrap paper, pens for making notes, last minute price labels etc. – all sorts of issues could come up!
• Drawing paper and materials (If you do portraits / commissions)
• Clothes (What to wear?  What to wear?)
• Snacks / Lunch
• Water
• Charge up phone / camera
• Train / Helicopter tickets
• Lots of change.  Fivers and pound coins seem especially useful to me.
• Proof of Registration / Pass!!!!
• Price / Stock List (see below)

3. PRICE / STOCK LIST
Save a copy of your list of product prices, to tweak and print out at every show.  Then make a note every time you sell something.
Record how much money you have at the start of each day (whether you’re keeping it in a tin, wallet, cash box or Lilo & Stitch purse) and check that everything tallies up at the end of the day.
Before the show, make a note of how many of each product you have brought with you (so you can check if any have gone missing at the end).  Note down all that you sell (and swap)!
Make sure the list is easy to read and understandable. Then if you have to leave your table, a helpful neighbour will have no problems understanding it and selling things on your behalf.

4. DON’T UNDERPRICE YOUR WORK!
This is really hard to get right but…
Remember your sale prices should not just cover the cost of printing / manufacture.  You should also consider the cost of travel to shows, table hire and most importantly your time, skill and effort in making your comics/products.
What would you pay for a similar product in a comic/book shop? 
Think professional and act professional. Yay!
You can provide products in a range of prices.  If people have already spent too much on imported Japanese chocolates (fair enough) they may not have enough to buy your £15 comic collection today, but they might buy the £1 postcard or £2 mini-comic.  This could lead to them buying your pricier stuff at another show.

My table at the start of the weekend – I tweaked the layout of my products throughout

5. KNOW YOUR SPACE
If the Convention organisers haven’t already told you, find out how big your table is.
Is there an electric point?
Is there wall space behind you and if so are you allowed to stick things on it?
At most shows the answer to both of these is no.

6. PACE YOURSELF
As well as being behind your table selling stuff, you’ll most likely want to check out the rest of the show, have comfort breaks, buy Buffy pencil cases (if you’re me), grab a coffee (not me) or Dr Pepper (me again), not to mention shmooze with other creators.
Here’s my recommended times to do all this at MCM Expo…Friday – Least busy day, so here’s when you’ll want to check out Scooby-Doo Cosplayers, try out Wii games and check out the stands selling Pokemon hats.  Also, anything you wish to buy is less likely to be sold out at this early point of the show.
You could also take the opportunity of a more relaxed atmosphere to chat to some creators, but as lots of them don’t turn up until Saturday and Sunday you may want to plan another Creator shmooze session on one of those mornings.
Saturday – Busy, busy, busy – brace yourself and knuckle down!
Sunday – Not as busy as Saturday.  Busier than Friday.
First thing in the morning is the calmest part of each day.  At the end of the day there may be slightly fewer people but often folk are looking for a last minute purchase before they head home.

7. FOOD & WATER
Humans on the whole, really dig these and comic creators are no exception.
Have a good breakfast and eat lunch early.  I got caught in a rush of folks wanting portraits done on Saturday so didn’t eat til 4pm. (See how I suffer for my art).  Better than stuffing Pringles into my mouth while trying to draw someone.
In all the fun, don’t forget to keep hydrated or you’ll get a headache the next morning.  So says Dr Richy.
The flip side of this is you’ll want to check out where your nearest toilet is.  As an exhibitor, you may be able to use your industry pass to get into nearby toilets that avoid the crush of thousands of visitors.  This could mean missing out on seeing a zombie applying their makeup though.

8. BRING ENOUGH STOCK
Make sure you have plenty of stock.  You don’t want to be lugging case loads of stuff you’ll never sell but it’s really frustrating for something to be flying off the table only to have not brought enough.
After a couple of cons you’ll get an idea of what sells and in what quantities, but best air on the side of caution.
What sells at MCM might not do so well at a Zine / Alternative Press Fair and vice versa.  Different markets.

9. CATCH EYES
Another reason for not running out of stock is you don’t want your table to look sickly and depleted.
Folk are not so likely to spot my tiny bear shaped mini-comics box sets if I only have a couple on the table.  If I have a tower of them, they’ll be noticed from further away.  So I build a tower of 7 bear boxes.  I might only sell 3 in an afternoon but that’s three more than if nobody had spotted them.  In other words I need the 7 there to sell the 3.

Even if you only have one comic to sell, keep your table enticing with lots of art samples.  It might also help to share the space with a friend, and double the eye candy.
If passers-by don’t like the look of your comic (or even notice it) they’ll keep passing by.  If they spot something else on your stall (even if its not yours) they may take an interest in your comic when they take a closer look at your table.
Banners are also handy.  Your table should stand out and catch the eye of people from across the room.  My own stand up banner advertising that I was available to do portraits was far too small but it was clearly something punters were up for when they were close enough to notice!

10. KEEP BUSY
Weird thing – if you sit behind your table drawing, folk will take an interest in your stall (especially if they can see what it is you are working on).  The audience there are into this kind of stuff!
Cutting up bits of bear boxes and putting them together shows people the hand crafted nature of the work and they value it more.
Likewise, the time I get the most portrait commissions is when people see me doing a portrait commission.

11. GENTLY DOES IT
I usually say hi to anyone who stops to look at my table to let them know I’m happy to chat if they’re interested. If they’re looking cautious about picking up a copy of something, I let them know there’s no problem doing so.
What I don’t do is run through all the items available like I’m working for a TV shopping channel. I’ve seen potential customers back off from creators who are over pushing their work.  No one should be pressured into buying your comic.
Often when someone says they want to have a look at everything in the show before deciding what to buy, you will see them back at your table later in the day.

12. LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR
Even if sales aren’t going well, a show can be brilliant fun if you have the right table mates. I usually ask for my table to be next to my talented creator friends Zarina Liew and Van Nim. Its great to have people you can trust to sell your work when you need a break.
When you know another creator’s work its nice to recommend it to a visitor.  You may get some recommendations back your way.
Not knowing the folk around you has advantages too, liket you get to know new creators.  That’s how I met Zarina and Van in the first place.
Goes without saying, be friendly and courteous to your fellow comic villagers.  Offer cups of tea etc if you’re heading off to get some or to keep an eye on their stall if they need to head off.
Chatting helps get everyone through the day, but be sensitive to a creator if a potential customer is looking at their work.  Give them space to talk to the customer and wait to carry on debating who would win a fight between Buffy and Wonder Woman (it’s Buffy by the way).  Same goes if a creator is desperately trying to pack / unpack their table.

13. AFTER THE SHOW
Get some sleep.
Check your stock sold and money taken matches up with what your noted on your Price / Stock list.
Follow up with any contacts you made.
Consider which items you should take more / less of next time.  Cat Zombies did well.  Zombie Cats didn’t shift at all.
Should you make more of a certain type of comic / product?
What else could you do to improve your sales next time?
Book and plan your next shows!

14. FINALLY… TRY TO LOOK COOL WHEN HAVING A PHOTO TAKEN WITH BELLE FROM BEAUTY & THE BEAST
And not have a stupid goofy grin.

I’m sure more experienced creators will have more advice to suggest, so please post a comment if you you do!

See some pix from MCM London October 2012 here!