The League of New Hampshire Craftsmen will return to the Boston Gift Show this spring, setting New England’s top destination for gifts and decorative accessories apart from other markets.  The League, which celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2007, will return to showcase exquisite collections of handcrafted glass, textiles and pottery within the Handmade® division.  Founded in 1932, this juried, non-profit group is one of the oldest and most prestigious craft organizations in the country.  It was formed during the years of the Depression to help New Hampshire craftspeople make a living through difficult financial times, through education and by building an audience and market for fine handmade craft.  The League continues this mission today. Through its education and marketing programs, the organization has fostered appreciation and pride, throughout New Hampshire and beyond, in the overall culture and creativity of high-quality handmade craft.  Additional information is available online at www.nhcrafts.org.

S.M.A.R.T. Goal Planning
Companies young and old exhibit at the Boston Gift Show.  While some exhibitors are veterans and have discovered the marketing strategies that drive traffic to their booth, others are new to the scene and exploring the many ways to attract business during the market.  To achieve optimal exposure at the Boston Gift Show and increase your return on investment, consider setting S.M.A.R.T. goals to achieve and measure success on the Show floor.

S.M.A.R.T. = Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic and Time targeted.  It is recommended that you begin this process in January 2008 for the April 5-8, 2008 Boston Gift Show.

Following is an example of the S.M.A.R.T. planning process:

Goal:  Schedule and confirm 10 appointments per day with prospective accounts during the April 2008 Boston Gift Show.

• Action Step #1: Gather your mailing list and load it into your computer. You’ll need to mail approximately 1,000 invitations to meet your goal of 40 appointments.
  
  
• Action Step #2:  Design or select an invitation that reflects your brand and image.  If you have a picture of your booth, you might want to create a postcard-style invitation.  Compose text that is personal and enticing.  The printed invitation should include a contact name and phone number, complete company address, website information and your Boston Gift Show booth number.  Include Show dates and the Show’s website (www.bostongiftshow.com) so that your customers can easily access information.
  
  
• Action Step #3:  Hand address the envelopes for the most personal presentation.  Invitations should be mailed 6-8 weeks in advance of the Boston Gift Show, so you have time for telephone follow up.
  
  
• Action Step #4:  Establish the appointment schedule and assign staff to handle the in-booth meetings.
  
  
• Action Step #5:  Coordinate follow up phone calls.  These calls should be made 3-5 weeks before the Boston Gift Show.  The meeting schedule should be on-hand when the calls are being placed.
  
  
• Action Step #6:  Contact a member of the Boston Gift Show team with your list of buyers (with address, phone, email, etc.) who have booked appointments so we can be sure they have or receive a complimentary Show badge.
  
  
• Action Step #7:  Send thank you notes to all who have confirmed and reiterate the time, place and your booth number.  The thank you notes and the envelopes should be handwritten.  Here’s a tip:  Provide a cell phone number for them to reach you while you are in Boston.

What Can a Retailer Learn from the Red Sox?
By Rick Segel

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a long time Red Sox fan. I always like to say when you are born in Boston, it’s marked on your birth certificate, ‘RED SOX FAN’. Well, this year the Red Sox won the World Series for the second time in three years. There are a few things we can learn from this that I would call good business:

1. My hat goes off to Dick’s Sporting Goods & Macy’s. Eight minutes after the Red Sox won the championship, I received an email from Dick’s offering World Series merchandise. Timing is everything and they planned it perfectly. Macy’s offered a Waterford Baseball 30 minutes later. I am sure they had planned this months ago but that’s just great marketing. When was the last time you anticipated an event like that? It can be an offering of merchandise or just a press release about something in the news. Think timing.
   
   
2. Constantly reinvent yourself. I heard one of the sports analysts compliment the management of the Red Sox because they didn’t just stay with the players they had. There were only 6 players still on the team who had won 3 years ago. That is constant and never ending improvement. Could you be strong enough to make those decisions? How many times have we kept an employee too long because we didn’t have the heart or courage to let them go? I must admit I have. It’s not easy but the winners do make those tough decisions.
   
   
3. The last lesson is what really motivated me to write about the Red Sox. I saw a cartoon that got to me. It was a picture of Darth Vader wearing a Yankee’s cap with the caption that said Evil Empire. The next picture had Darth Vader wearing a Red Sox hat. Again the caption said Evil Empire. The point is we love the underdogs. We love comeback kids and we dislike the arrogant, the overly confident, and the leaders. We can work hard to make it to the top but if we stop striving and looking for ways to constantly improve ourselves, we are destined to fall from our pedestals. We must stay both humble and hungry.

Don’t get caught reading your own press clippings. They only give you a fat head and no one wants to do business with people like that. Remember, you are never as bad as your worst defeat and you are never as good as your greatest victory.

If you are the biggest or best, prove it everyday. Don’t sit on your past successes but plan for your next one. Be approachable and remember to be nice to the people on the way up because you might just see them on the way down.

I am very lucky to have had my share of bad decisions because they made me appreciate the good decisions. Thankfully, I have had more successes than failures, but I also have great kids and a wife who bring me back to reality. After I have a great speech or a standing ovation, my wife likes to say “take out the trash” to put things back into perspective.

As a business, we can never have a public image that is overly confident or the feeling that they could care less if they buy from them or not. No one wants to do business with people like that. Treat each customer as if they were your first one and you will never have that problem. But if you are on top, remember that people will just naturally resent you for that. Don’t give them anything to reinforce that feeling. In the movie “American Gangster”, the lead character, played by Denzel Washington, was a mob boss who stressed the low key understated image. It was the showing off that finally did him in. This is a lesson for all of us.

We Want To Hear From You!

Need to arrange hotel accommodations for the Boston Gift Show?
Visit http://www.bostongiftshow.com/travel/index.html for the best available rates!

Looking to explore Boston during non-show hours? 
Visit http://boston.citysearch.com/ for great restaurants, shopping, events and more!

For the latest information on the Boston Gift Show, including an exhibitor search and seminar information, visit us online at www.bostongiftshow.com.

With the holidays now behind us, all eyes are on Boston!  As the April market approaches, Gift Rap returns to keep you informed of breaking Show news, exhibitor product launches and industry insight by our featured contributor, Rick Segel.  We’re proud of this Show, which boasts a new floor plan to optimize both the selling and shopping experience, quality exhibitors representing the best in New England-made products, and top-rated seminars by a nationally-acclaimed speaker.  April will be here before you know it, so book that hotel room, organize the car pool to the Show and map out your plan of attack by reviewing our list of participating exhibitors at www.bostongiftshow.com.  Until the next issue…stay warm!

Dunitz & Company, Inc.
(Booth #1132) is excited about its new CmacMulti necklace, debuting at the spring 2008 Boston Gift Show.  The necklace combines glass seed bead work with Macrame and Crochet, and is handmade in Guatemala.  The necklace is available in 14 different colors and features matching bracelets and earrings.

Beantown Toys (Booth #254) will present several Boston & New England Bean characters at the April market, including “Quacker” the adorable duck, “Pitch” the Boston Bean that never strikes out, “Blitz” the hard-hitting and super-tough New England Bean-ball player and “Lobstah” from the Molasses Sea.  With their small size, high quality and low price, these Beans make great impulse items, small souvenirs and gifts.

Batiz Jewelry (Booth #977) is thrilled to announce that in just two months following their launch, BatizJewelry.com is already one of the most highly-trafficked online jewelry company websites!  The company will celebrate their debut expansion into the wholesale market at the spring 2008 Boston Gift Show, featuring their new 70+ piece collection.

ShoreArt Gifts (Booth #823) is a newcomer to the Boston Gift Show.  The line includes home decor, jewelry, ornaments and fabulous copper mermaids made in Massachusetts. All products are inspired by the sea shore – starfish, shells, crabs, lighthouses and other coastal items adorn trays, tablecloths, garden art and many more home accents.

After a successful fall 2007 Show, Infinity Glass (Booth #1134) announces its return to the Boston Gift Show in spring 2008.  The company will debut several new lines, including a vibrant net pattern series of vases, an expanded line of “Tranquility Series” glass fountains, and the expansion of the colorful “Bright Series” of vases, and bowls. Infinity Glass will also be expanding its “Sea Life Series” of sculptural glass fish.

‘dibbledog’ (Booth #1022) is an exciting new Vermont-based company specializing in humor, dogs, made-up animals, real animals, cartoons, paintings and all that sort of beastly jazz.  Stop by to check out the company’s new line of printed products inspired by the wild imagination of artist and animator Anna Dibble – note cards, postcards and holiday cards; ceramic mugs; t-shirts; open edition and fine art and more.

Green Piece Wire Art (Booth #618) will feature its collection of 125 topiary, 4-inch to 14-foot forms at the Boston Gift Show.  New products include ‘By George’ and the ‘Natural’s’.  Stop by to see who “George” is – it’s worth the stop at booth #618!  No minimum opening order if placed at the Show.