I’ve never organised a Table Top Sale before….. How hard could it be?
Not very, as I found out. But there is one very important element that you MUST have, and that’s friends. I’m so lucky to have a fab group of friends who helped me advertise, promote, talk about and most importantly, help on the day. They took a table to sell stuff, manned the door, served teas, made cakes, ran the raffle, all without me having to tell them what to do! Friends like that are worth their weight in gold, trust me! And what else did I learn from the experience? Quite a bit, and I’d like to share my top tips with you.
1. Get the tables booked early and get people to pay immediately- No refunds if they don’t make it. If they don’t pay, offer their table elsewhere. Be a bit ruthless.
2. Charge an entrance fee That way, if nothing else, you’ll have a contribution from everyone who walks through the door.
3. Do have a raffle - Even if they don’t buy from the tables, most folk will buy raffle tickets.
4. Tea, coffee and cake are great cash-generators - You can promote your event as “come along and have a cuppa and a natter” and make it a lovely social event too, without pressurisng people to think they must buy.
5. Sell whole cakes separately - As well as with your teas as this can generate some extra cash.
6. Shout about it everywhere - On social media and do lots of leaflet drops too. If nothing else, the charity will get some free promotion this way.
7. Show people what the charity does - One of our fabulous Super Artists, Amanda, came along and painted shoes for the afternoon. The conversations she had with people, and the fact that everyone could see the final product coming to life, was so useful. It made the charity real, and explained instantly and in a very visual way, exactly what Supershoes does.
8. It’s easier than you think it’s going to be. And it’s fun. And it’s so satisfying. Do it!
£373.40 for half a day’s work. That’s 7 pairs of Supershoes.
Think about it. What could you do….?