What do you wear at the show?

Bill Coye said:
Off subject but...

I learned a very valuable lesson this weekend at the Tulsa show:

You just don't buy the knife, you buy the maker. It's a package deal.

I saw guys that apparently could care less about selling anything, let alone what they wore and sat the entire weekend.

I also saw guys that were on their feet and politely engaged folks as they walked by.

Do you have one of your own knives on your belt or in your pocket? Some did, some didn't. I used my my own beater I carry every day to describe what I was doing before (a whoppin' three months ago) and what had been done to improve on the design, finish, sheath, etc.

A guy stands there looking at three or four knives: pick it up, put it down, ask a question, ask the same question a different way, walks away, comes back. Then hands you one of your knives and pulls out his wallet, that's when the whole game changes. I felt a strong responsibility to look the man in the eye, re-introduce myself and firmly shake his hand. You don't just buy the knife, you buy the maker. It was a great experience.


BC

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Bill I agree with you on how some were dressed. I knew a couple of makers that I know for a fact they make a great knife but were dressed terribly.

When I walked up to Bills table he was standing there and greated everyone. Nice shirt on but took an intrest in everyone that stopped at his booth. I didn't get much talk time in with Bill but I swung by several times and most of the time he was talking with someone at his booth.

As for dress, It will be a button down shirt, new jeans and yes my boots. Maybe a custom ball cap. Most people that know me know I wear one almost all the time.
 
Good subject. I know some makers who always wear a suit and tie at shows. On the other hand, I know some who have long hair, long beards and wear overalls nad that is the way they are expected to look.

I tend to dress up a bit with a nice shirt, new pants. I might wear a sports at some shows. I don't do the suit and tie. Not only do I hate wearing a tie but it's just not me and I don't want to pretend to be somebody I'm not.

I had some nice button down and polo shirts made for me and my wife with my logo embroidered on them. I am really starting to second guess that move. People seem to get the impression I am representing factory knives when we are both dressed in our "Carter" shirts.

I do usually wear my Knifemakers Guild badge to identify me and the fact that I am a Guild Member.

I do try to engage and talk to everyone who looks at my table regardless of whether I think they are going to buy.
 
Guys I really appreciate the question and answers, being new to the biz. My partner and I were just talking about this subject. We have seen all types of dealers in all types of dress. I believe it is same as any sale process. You make your client feel comfortable.
OR you just don't care and that can come out as well.

In my humble opinion.
 
i believe anyone should dress as they feel comfortable. i learned not to judge people by their appearance, and in the meantime i get that right.

that said, if i want to do business, either for myself or the company and go to a show, i wear a suit and dress up accordingly. but i do it for me, because i don't like to go into public with my home-cloth's. and if formal attire is wished for during dinner, i'm not the one going there in jeans, but i won't wear the smoking with cufflinks, and stuff either if i don't feel like it.

if someone refuses to talk to me, or doesn't take me serious when i inquire for a knife or whatever, because of what i wear, or don't wear - well, there's enough other people selling nice stuff arround. there won't be a second chance.

that said, i think dresscodes are out-dated ;)

greetings,
olli
 
Timely subject here. I think the key is clean clothes (nothing ratty, profane, or ripped) and good personal hygiene. If you are selling military knives to Mall Ninjas and really want their fifteen dollars, I think camouflage and combat boots are fine. If you are selling high end custom art knives that start at several hundred dollars, I would rethink it.

My dad had some embroidered button down shirts made. Not me. I had nice T-shirts made with his logo and contact info on them. Mine get worn a lot, and after three years of washing and wearing, I made a few small design changes and ordered new ones. We should look successful enough to be able to dress ourselves!

Eye contact, a warm greeting, and a firm handshake with an introduction go a lot further than an Armani suit.
 
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Rock said:
Timely subject here. I think the key is clean clothes, nothing ratty, profane, or ripped) and good personal hygiene........

....Eye contact, a warm greeting, and a firm handshake with an introduction go a lot further than an Armani suit.
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To me, A nobody,who doesn't know anybody, and never attended anything like this, I think Rock pretty well summed it up for me. I think if you want to show yourself "At work" you should do so in pictures. Maybe a couple of poster sized ones showing you at work, would show the "Real You". I wouldn't care what you are dressed in,as long as it is neat, clean and fits your personality. I would be there to see your wares, not what you are wearing. However if you were selling Bushcraft style knives, and looked like you just spent a month straight in the bush, I would wonder about you!! Maybe enough so, to wander on off.

If you sat there in a $50,000 suit and acted snobbish, I wouldn't give you a penny's worth of business, no matter how good your wares were. But if you were in faded jeans and T- shirt AND greeted me in a friendly and courteous manner I might even pay every penny you were asking and feel guilty about not paying more. Clean, Neat, Friendly, Courteous, with a good product is what will attract my eye. To be quite honest, I would probably pay MORE attention to your display than you!!

Catch my eye with what you have, Catch my attention with your Demeanor,and chances are you will catch my money before I leave.... Maybe not right away.... I might walk off, talk it over (meaning begging) with my missus, and if she says OK then I'll come back..... If you met all the criteria above!! IF I have enough money!! If I don't, I may walk by your booth/table several times, But I may run into another customer who I would point your way!!!

Like I said, I'm a nobody, who doesn't know anyone of you other than what I've seen here on KD. But If I had never been here on KD THAT is how I would do it as a customer. Yes, to a degree it is the impression you make. But you will get More "Points" with me, in how you treat me. Most Suits remind me of Lawyers and Undertakers, Neither of which I'm in a hurry to meet!!

To be honest, I would probably buy from someone dressed like Bill Coye is, Before I would buy from a "suit"1
 
There are those makers who beleive you should dress up for shows and I can't disagree with them if that's what they are comforable with. S.R. Johnson and Billy Mace Immel come to mind as a couple who you will find wearing a suit and tie but both are as friendly and approachable as anyone you could meet. The same goes for makers like Stan Wilson and Gil Hibben who will always be well dressed behind their tables.

Others have their own image. It's hard to imagine Jerry Fisk or Warren Obourn without their cowboy hats. I think it's just a matter of taking pride in their profession and want to put forth an image as a professional.

I have never been comfortable wearing a suit and it shows. It's just not me. But I do want to present a clean and professional image as someone who takes their business seriously.
 
I can see where you are coming from Mike. I guess Really as long as they don't LOOK like an Undertaker or Lawyer, it wouldn't be too bad!!:D Still, I think the display of your products get them to look closer, The Vendor's Demeanor, AND the Product are the important things regardless of how you dress.

I've never been to one of these "BIG Shows", so really I would have to defer to the judgment of those that have. You guys know MUCH more about it than I do!! Still, I think those things that Rock and I pointed out are the big things to customers.

1) Get me to stop with a good looking display of product.
2) Treat the customer well with friendliness and Courtesy.
3) Have a good product. Even if it is your more "Economical" versions. Which might not be a bad idea for the "Gawkers". Everybody likes a "Deal"!!
4) Remember that if the person didn't actually buy from you, If you have treated them well they may point others your way!!

I'll be honest, I would probably be more of a "gawker" than a buyer, but if you treated me friendly I most definitely would point someone your way. 'Course I would do that anyway, 'cause you are all "Dogs"!!:D
 
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I feel like the person should wear what they are comfortable in as long as it is acceptable to the event. I am a hawiianshirt guy. I like them, Im a Large Fellow, and they fit me well. They are not your walmart type shirts either. They are always pressed and look neat. Again, acceptable to the event. I would not think overalls and a t shirt would be acceptable at a dinner function, a hammer in lunch yes.

Just a me thing, but be well groomed. I looked at a table of knives that were well made and well designed, but the fellow selling them looked like he just pulled and overhauled a motor! Belive me I wont judge a man by his clothes, but whe you are dirty and your nails are black, it makes me wonder just how many corners you cut if you cant take the time to clean up for a show.

You and your work are the only representation you will get. I am a firm beliver in the "you only get one first impression" school of thought. Look good in what ever you decide to wear, be clean, and have a good engaging personality. I once had the money in my pocket to purchase a folder from a maker that I really liked, after hanging around his table a few moments, the guys attitude spoiled me. $600 sale lost.

God Bless
Mike
 
Hows the old saying go, dress for success. However there are exceptions to the rule. I use to know an old man in my home town. He wore overalls all the time. To him when he had a newer pair of overhalls and his better shoes he was dressed up. The old man lived in a log house in town, and had only an indoor hand pump for water distribution, from a well he had out back. I still remember when he ran a line into the cabin because he was getting to old to go outside in the winter to get his water. His sanitation was handled by a wash tub and an outhouse, and a clothesline outback the dry them! His cooking and heating were done on an old wood stove.
Most folks in town avoided him and the grumbles and rumbles went up and down the street, about the nasty old dirty man. He pretty much kept to himself and only seemed to frequent the community when he needed something. I once saw him out by his cabin and called out to him a greeting to him. He called me over and as scared as I was as I was just a kid I went and we began to talk. We seemed to strike up a friendship and I found out he loved to work on watches, and that he wasn't nearly as scary as everyone thought! Every time I saw him out and about after that I spoke to him!

When the old man died he had no only one living child, I didn't know he had any children! She refused to come and clean-up his home and everything was turned over to the state. When they went into the old cabin that discovered what the old man had in the cabin. Cash in old cigar boxes stuck everywhere, watches he had collected and fixed over the years and old coins everywhere, antiques.
It took them several weeks to go thru the entire one room cabin and tally it all up. It is a good thing the first one thru the door was honest and realized the value of the things they were looking at.
When it was all said and done the cash, watches, coins and other items in the cabin totaled nearly, a $100,000.00 dollars. Who knew? The old man in overalls was absolutely rich and everyone shunned him because of how he looked! They found papers in there (legal documents) that his estate was put up into a trust to help the needy, I figure he knew the girl that was his daughter would not want anything to do with him or his estate. I have no idea what the story was there.

I don't know if he had been trained in watch repair or it was self-taught by the time I found out about I think he had pretty much quit due to his eyesight. Had this man dressed better would people have felt different about him. That' hard to say. But if he had a table full of knives and I walked by it the workmanship is what would jump out at you and how you are dressed would come in secondary. Sometimes I must admit though it is hard to get over those first appearances!

I guess it smacks of don't judge a book by its cover!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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For shows and work at my own store I myself dress in clean newer jeans and one of my Nice new Cabela's long sleeve button down shirts with my Rhino Custom knives logo embroidered on the left top of the chest.
Its the same as my logo that's on my Avatar here and my knife logo & biz cards..

I like to have to this as a name tag & ID without wearing one of those pin on cards.

It really boil's down to what you are comfortable in and while I do believe in the dress for success philosophy, I also think you can go overboard for certain occupations.

I have seen suits, jeans, dockers, T-shirts, Hawaiian shirts and Dot Sikh wearing long white robes and the turban of his faith.

So wear what you feel is you and portrays the image you wish to project.
Cleanliness and a shave or trim always help set the image along with some deodorant!:biggrin:

Laurence

www.rhinoknives.com
 
I have never been at a knife show and won't for a while probably, but I can tell you all this. Always wear a suit if the dress code doesn't specifically say not to or it is sport or something. I am 16 and when I am not wearing a school or cadet uniform or a sports kit I am wearing a suit. I would not feel comfortable taking large sums of money from people improperly dressed.
 
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