Trade Show Handbook for South African Exporters to the USA

 Always be promptly on your booth. You will lose valuable sales if you are late coming inearly venturing out. The DTI will also not pay the fees of warehousing within the USA and the transfer of this booth into the second show from that warehouse. If you do want to go that path, you will have to pay for this yourself. It is imperative that you take just as little equipment together with you because as soon as the show is finished, you will have to get rid of your furniture/stuff or even place it in storage inside america if you would like to use it again. Be certain that all your samples are plainly marked with the costs. After getting busy and have more than 1 person from the booth, you never want to drop a purchase because the samples are not marked. Customers are happy to browse if you're busy, and can wait patiently if they are able to easily see everything clearly. If you're based upon the Department of Trade to fund your own shows, you will likely only be able to do 4 annually, and that is just while they've the money allocated for transaction shows. Based on whether you're a manufacturer or a wholesaler influenced by a manufacturer, the number of implies you could perform will be restricted to the total amount of product that will be realistically produced a year. If you are sending some seeds, 

seeds, grasses, make certain that you have fumigation certificates. Leather and animal goods must have a Wildlife Permit. It's a good idea to set up the booth ahead and plan exactly the way you want what to check. Pare it down to minimum. Afterall, you're attempting to sell goods, not ornaments. 

Use your imagination to exhibit the most samples at the cheapest way. This really is where a logistics company may help you. It's possible to ship your entire trade show orders to one place, also there'll be one Customs Clearance fee for the merged dispatch. Your advertising company will subsequently strip down the shipment, and send the respective boxes onward to the clients. Then you will be charged the cost of the regional shipments by common carriers, i.e. UPS or FedEx. However, you may bill your customer the total cost of the shipping, that will be common practice and they're used to paying the UPS charges. Allow plenty of time for your own samples to reach the warehouse so that it doesn't cost you anything extra by way of drayage. The cause of this is the fact that it makes no big difference if you're sending a single carton or one hundred cartons. 

The clearing prices will be exactly the same, and also the customer will not happily pay those costs, which can run to $300 each shipment. Check your directory entry to see that what's correct, and get used to the layout of this hall. Make sure of the period that you're able to begin creating, and then be there promptly. In the event you must go out to buy such a thing you might have forgotten, now's the opportunity to complete it. PLANNING THE BOOTH One other problem you will encounter is accepting payment for the orders. The larger percent of your clients pay in their charge cards. If you don't own a USA company, or you also own a Dollar Account in South Africa, you will not have the ability to process cheques or charge card deposits in your South African bank accounts in US$. You will require a USA based company to process your credit card payments. Make sure that you have all of these risers and decorations you envisage. Pack all office needs, i.e. invoices, brochures (very important), staplers and spare principles, pens, etc. etc..

 Even though there are naturally many shops round, sometimes the shows are from the way places, also it's hard to have photo copies done and purchase abandoned essentials. In the event you're doing 4 shows each year and are being funded by the DTI, you will have to come back to South Africa after every show, and also all of goods and currencies have to emanate from South Africa. They won't consider any claims which can be paid for with foreign money, i.e. by representatives for your benefit. A typical fee to secure goods to your show is approx. $400, obviously according to the size and weight of their dispatch.

 Try and comprise your booth equipment in to as small a size as you possibly can. It's a lot easier to go compact equipment around compared to large, over size boilers, that cost more as a result of their volumetric dimensions. Make sure that you have clear and precise statements accompanying the samples, together with deals, tariff headings, and clearly marked as Trade Show samples that are duty-free. BOOTH SET-UP You might also want to bring some see-through netting or other covering with you to tie across the booth at the close of the afternoon. The DTI gives you an allowance to get your samples and equipment to the united states, but they wont pay for you to take it home again unless you're engaging in a Pavilion series, where they will pay all your expenses. It is very important that you choose what you will do with all the whole stall once the first show is completed. Galvanized Stitching Wire

Plan on getting to a destination a minumum of one day prior to the installation moment. For those who have never been to your website ahead, proceed to the show site and confirm your samples have arrived at your own booth. Also, even though your shipping representatives will provide you a sense of how long that your goods will simply take to get there, consistently allow an extra two weeks, because there may be delays together with Customs Clearance and delivery. Consistently give a very clear indication when you plan to ship your orders. USA clients usually work with budgets and might request you for dispatch on a specific date. They also don't want to have to be concerned about importing their goods, and will not manage Customs, or pay customs duties. They will all require shipment from the USA city. Ready your"office" so that all you may need to compose orders, give out brochures, and price-lists is neatly available.