How To Be A Successful Vintage Booth Vendor #4: Stories That Sell
How To Be A Successful Vintage Booth Vendor #4: Stories That Sell
I know we have covered a lot of ground with these last few blog posts in this series. You are probably wondering, “what more could she possibly teach me?” Stick with me for a few more days. I promise, the things you learn from this series will make a huge difference in your booth profits and how to be a successful booth vendor.
Today we are going to jump right into the art of story telling within your booth.
I can’t tell you how many books I’ve read and speakers I’ve listened to that hammer in the point that stories sell. People are looking to be entertained. Attention spans are short, so good stories, including visual ones, keep people engaged. The human mind craves meaning. It will even go so far as to create and even invent connections where there are none.
If the mind cannot create an orderly narrative from incoming information, it tends to ignore it.
If your merchandise is styled haphazardly (or not styled at all), potential customers will not understand what it is you are trying to convey and, ultimately, will not buy. Heck, they might not even want to enter your booth.
Your design must speak to the customer’s imagination. It must tell customers what your product will do for them, how it will help them, how it can enhance their life. AKA how it will solve their problems. When you learn how to create displays that will solve your customers’ problems, you won’t be able to keep your merchandise in stock! You should tell the story with the merchandise. Have your story drive the assortment of items you use in your booth rather than letting the assortment lead the direction of the story.
To do this, you need to curate your selections. Individual products become an element of the overarching story. Visual storytelling can help sell multiple items in a vignette. You can be imaginative with textures and color to keep your vision fluid and vignette cohesive. While we do have some talented vendors at Bliss that do a great job of visual storytelling, I believe the best examples I have ever seen have come from Junk Gypsy Co in Round Top, Texas. I like to say they serve up visual feasts at their shop. Everywhere you look your gaze is met with something interesting to look at and reflect on. For you to see the story they have laid out for you.
The image above is a photo a took at Junk Gypsy March 2023. The story I'm seeing is about a very floral and feminine country girl who is ready for spring and sunshine. She's a little bit outside the box and enjoys her glass of sweet tea in the yard under her umbrella. If I were to buy any of the items in this vignette, my life would be elevated to a gorgeous country girl enjoying the season.
The incredible thing is, they have beautiful stories laid out all over their store. Maybe the story of the country girl doesn’t speak to you. That’s okay because they’ve got many other stories for you to find where you fit in and see what problem they can solve for you.
Are you telling a good story in your space and in your vignettes?
You must speak to your customer’s imagination...tell them what your product will do for them and how it can enhance their life.
Need more inspiration on how to tell a great story? See additional pics below.
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