A Warm Smile

Last semester, I worked my first ever pop-up shop, selling scarves for my e-commerce business Big Yarn. I learned two big lessons from the experience regarding atmosphere and relationships.

Picture this: soft, thick, heavy yarn woven into an infinity scarf that sits close to your neck. They are the coziest scarves I have ever worn. The ideal atmosphere? A chilly day spent mostly outside with women wanting a cute scarf to match their coat. This would have aided us in selling the 35 scares we had in our inventory.

The actual day? High 70s with beaming sun. No one was interested in buying our scarves unless they were thinking about the Pennsylvania winter ahead of them or they knew one of the members of our team. Luckily, we ended up selling 20 scarves that day, thanks to a big order from dance moms in their team’s main color. Had the weather been cooler, I believe more women might have approached the table and tried on a scarf or two without the potential of increased neck sweat.

The way I was able to drive a few more sales from strangers was building relationships.

At the beginning of the day, I was a bit nervous about reaching out to strangers from behind our table. It all changed when I began standing in front of the table and simply smiling at people as they passed. Many returned the smile and kept moving past the table. However, a number of women began to slow down and glance at the table. I would say hi to them, they would return the greeting, and ask what I was selling. This opened the door for us to especially talk about the charity we were serving through our sales. Many enjoyed the idea of helping women in homelessness, as well as getting some early Christmas shopping in.

It was so interesting to see how a simple smile and a hello opened up such a door for me. It even allowed up to overcome the weather and have people warm up (literally) to buying a scarf in 78 degree weather.