We've all seen them at arts & crafts fairs. They sit behind their booth's tables, their nose buried in a book, their eyes averted from potential customers approaching their displays, their body language uninviting and uncommunicative.

And, we've all heard them complain about how poor sales were.

I hear it all the time. . . I make beautiful jewelry and that should be enough for it to sell. WRONG! Your jewelry will not sell itself.

Any artisan who wants to be successful selling their creations at an arts & crafts show must find a way to excite their customers and to offer a reason to appreciate and value their creations.

Your customers must be educated by you, the artisan, why they should value and desire your work.

One method I have found to build sales at shows is to choose one key area I want to educate customers about, work-up the "lesson" prior to a show (practice it out-loud to yourself), and then focus on giving that "lesson" during a show as often as possible.

For example, I was having much less success selling my jewelry with cabochons in it than the jewelry with facetted gemstones in it. People just did not perceive the value of the cabochon gemstones.

I developed an educational talk about cabochons--why are certain gems cabbed and not facetted, why these gemstones are valuable, why my particular cabochons are unique and desirable, the process I go through to make a cabochon.

I focused on working the talk into my conversations with customers. I related my story about how I learned to make cabochons. I had a mentor who was in his mid-90s when he began teaching me the skills I needed. He was intent on passing his knowledge and skills on to someone who would appreciate and use them. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and as a result I was able to present this type of jewelry to my customers. People became excited when I passed on some of his experiences and how many of my cabochons came from rock specimens he had left to me.

When customers were looking at jewelry with facetted gemstones, I would find a way to introduce one piece with a cabochon and then launch into my talk. They might be looking at a purple facetted gem; I would introduce them to a purple cabochon piece. They might be looking at a facetted Golden Topaz for a November birthstone; I would introduce them to a Bloodstone cabochon as an alternative birthstone for November babies. They might be undecided which color of facetted gemstone would "go with more"; I would introduce them to a multi-colored jasper cabochon.

Success! My sales of jewelry with cabochons increased dramatically. I had successfully introduced my customers to cabochons, had increased the perceived value of the cabochons in my customers' eyes, and had gotten them as excited about cabochons as I am.

The next show, I chose a different topic to focus on--the value of purchasing a handmade chain that is fully soldered instead of one made of unsoldered links. Again, by the end of my show I had increased my sales of handmade chains.

I now have a series of these informative talks available for any show and use them as the opportunity presents itself. I can launch into any of these talks without hesitation.

The key for you as the artisan is to know your topic, feel comfortable with your talk, and to be truly, authentically excited about your topic. Keep it real--you will not have success spouting disengenuous information or trying to build enthusiasm for something you lack passion for.

Explain to your customers something new and interesting. Do not tell them that the piece of jewelry is valuable; explain to them why it is valuable.

An educated customer is one that will trust you, appreciate your jewelry, will buy from you and will become a repeat customer.