Confession time: I’m an introvert.
Selling products online? Fine. Posting on social media? Also fine. I can appear downright social from the safety of my phone.
Standing in a booth where actual people can see me, walk up to me, and expect me to talk to them?
I need a lie down in a quiet room just thinking about it.
But markets have become a big part of my business, which meant eventually I had to get over the fact that selling things in person requires being a person in public. And after doing enough markets, I've learned that you don't have to transform yourself into the world's most outgoing salesperson to be good at them.
You can be quiet. You can be awkward. You can need a recovery day afterward.
You just need to figure out how to make markets work with the way you are.
Make your booth do some of the talking
The less information someone has to ask me for, the better.
Clear pricing is a big one. I want someone to be able to pick something up and figure out what it costs without having to ask. Signs can also explain things customers frequently want to know, point out specials, or help them understand products that aren't immediately obvious.
This is useful for customers, but it's also useful for me.
After you've been standing in a booth talking to people for several hours, your brain can stop cooperating. I've absolutely had moments where somebody asks me a price and I suddenly have no idea how much a product I've personally priced costs.
Having a sign to glance at is considerably nicer than frantically searching through my POS system while another human being waits for me to remember.
You don't need a sales pitch
For a long time, I think I assumed vending meant I was supposed to constantly engage with everyone who walked into my booth.
I don't do that.
I'll greet someone, let them know I'm there if they have questions, and then usually let them look around.
Because here's the thing: I also like shopping without someone hovering over me.
You can usually get a sense of who wants to quietly browse and who is looking for a conversation. Some people want to know how something is made. Some need help choosing a gift. Some want your opinion between two prints. And some would very much like to inspect every single item in silence.
Let them.
When someone does want to talk, the conversation is much easier because you're responding to an actual person instead of desperately trying to manufacture a sales interaction.
Know your products, because people will surprise you
You made the things in your booth, so talking about them should theoretically be the easy part.
Theoretically.
Early on, a customer once asked me whether the flower hair ties we were selling were hibiscus flowers. She meant, obviously, Is the flower shaped like a hibiscus?
I responded, “No, they're fabric.”
My husband has never let me forget it.
This is why it helps to think ahead about the questions people might ask. What is something made from? How do you wash it? Does this strap adjust? Will this fit a particular item? Where do you make everything?
You don't need to memorize a speech. You just want enough familiarity with the answers that your brain can retrieve them while you're simultaneously processing music, people, heat, neighboring vendors, your payment system, and whatever else is happening around you.
And sometimes you'll still tell somebody that a flower is fabric.
You'll survive.
Set up a booth you actually feel comfortable in
Your booth obviously needs to look inviting to customers, but you're the person who's going to be standing in it for hours.
Make it comfortable for you, too.
Know where your bags are. Know where your water is. Have somewhere to put your phone. Keep the things you need throughout the day within reach. Set up your displays so you're not constantly squeezing around them or rearranging things every time somebody touches something.
I also like having my booth feel like an extension of my business rather than something completely separate from it. The colors, signs, displays, and products should feel like they belong together.
When the space feels familiar and organized, I have fewer things to think about — which leaves a little more brainpower available for the people part.
Bring backup if you can
If you have someone who's willing to spend a market day with you, appreciate that person.
Having my husband there means I can eat something, go to the bathroom, walk away for a few minutes, or simply stop being the person responsible for every interaction.
Even if you're perfectly capable of running a booth alone, having another person there gives you an opportunity to recharge without leaving the booth unattended.
If you're vending by yourself, take advantage of quiet periods however you can. Sit down if you're able. Drink water. Eat your snack before you reach the point where you realize you should have eaten it two hours ago.
A market can be physically tiring even before you account for the social part.
Pay attention to what people do, not just what they buy
One of the most useful things about selling in person is getting to watch people interact with your products.
You see what they pick up first. You hear the questions they ask. You notice when multiple people are drawn to the same print. You find out that something you thought was completely self-explanatory apparently requires an explanation.
Not every person who stops at your booth is going to buy something, but that doesn't make every interaction useless.
Markets have taught me things about my products and displays that I never would have learned from looking at online orders alone.
And occasionally you get to silently watch someone react to something you made, which can be entertaining all by itself.
You don't have to become an extrovert
I've done a lot of markets at this point, and I'm still an introvert.
I haven't unlocked a secret vendor personality who loves talking nonstop for eight hours. Market days still take a lot out of me, and afterward I'm usually very ready to go home and stop interacting with the general public.
But I also genuinely enjoy them now.
I get to see people discover my work in person. I meet returning customers. I talk to other vendors. I learn what people are responding to. I sell things, which is admittedly a fairly important part of the exercise.
And over time, the parts that once felt terrifying have become familiar.
If you're an introvert who's considering your first market, you don't need to become louder, more outgoing, or more naturally sales-y before you're ready. Prepare well, make it easy for people to shop, answer questions when they have them, and give yourself permission not to turn every person who walks by into a conversation.
You may even have fun.
And if not, at least you can go home afterward and lie down in a quiet room.
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