Someone on a forum I participate in wrote to say they had never had success with taking special orders at a retail show. In this specific case, they'd run out of a popular item at a previous show. They were low on stock and wanted to know if it were possible to take orders on the item. They'd never had success with this before.
Many other people wrote to share their successful experiences. I began to see a pattern in their response.
They made it easy.
The common element seems to be that the process is seamless and simple. You should not only be WILLING to take special orders, you should be PREPARED to do so.
My guess is that the first poster might be unconsciously adding obstacles to their customers placing special orders.
Make sure you're not making the process to place such an order difficult.
When asked, have a can-do attitude and a cheerful response. How you word your willingness or ability to take special orders can have an impact. "Yeah....I GUESS I could do that...." is going to leave the customer with doubts. And a customer with doubts is a customer who is not taking the checkbook out of her purse.
How about a sign indicating this item has been so popular you have to take orders for it because you can't keep it in stock? A small sign saying something like "YES! We take special orders for this item! Just ask! Delivery in time for Christmas" or whatever promise you can keep.
Have a ready response to questions about shipping, and a time frame for when they can expect their item.
Of course, it's best to under-promise and over-deliver. Don't SAY you can ship it in three days unless you're sure you can ship it in two. If it's going to take you two weeks to make the widget, allow yourself three weeks to get it done. On the other hand, don't tell them it will take six weeks, either. If you ship way before they expect, they may not have budgeted for the quicker delivery time. Be reasonable, and then be responsible.
If it's going to be awhile, I've learned to give them something--a receipt or a brochure with a note attached--SAYING when they can expect their order. Because I'm usually on vacation right after my big retail show in the summer, I know it's going to take at least a month to six weeks before people get their special orders, and I tell them this. But inevitably three weeks later, I get calls from customers asking where their order is. Don't trust their memory--they're overwhelmed by the show and excited about your work! Put it in writing.
Even then, if I have to tell them I'm not late, they're too early, I still apologize and acknowledge that it's a GOOD thing they can hardly wait for their piece to be delivered...!!
Don't have the customer make too many decisions without offering them actual choices--for example, saying "What color do you want?" instead of saying, "I can make these in black, denim blue, chocolate brown, sea-glass green or off-white, or another color of your choice."
Have a standard form, or a special book just for such orders. Make sure you have a street address for UPS or FedEx shipments, as they cannot deliver to post office boxes. A post office box is fine for USPS, of course.
I've always offered free shipping, but you don't have to. It's just such a minimal cost for very small orders. I usually include a self-addressed, stamped postcard in with the packet, with a sentence like "so-and-do has received their custom necklace safe and sound" and a sentence asking them to sign, date and return the postcard to me. That also gives them a chance to write how much they like it! :D
Finally, I would take a non-refundable deposit, but I wouldn't charge for something I hadn't actually made or delivered yet. That's my personal preference, but it also seems to be a concern many people have about doing this--that they're going to pay upfront and then wait months for the item (or never get it.) Assuring them they won't be charged until I actually ship the item is often a deal-clincher. Sometimes I even wait to process the DEPOSIT if I'm not sure how long it will take to get the parts I need to finish the order....
So look carefully about how you are setting up this scenario, and see if there is any obstacle you've inadvertently introduced that can be removed.
