# Test demand before you approach retailers

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/market-booth-demand-test · Last updated 27 October 2026

A booth demand test is a cheap market day before the retail pitch: one sample, a short set of questions, a way to capture what people say, and a written go or stop rule. Ivanka Menken uses it inside 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. You test the product, the price and the buyer with direct customer feedback before you email a retailer. The output is a one-page test and a retail decision you can defend.

## Retail is the next step, not the first

- You are about to pitch retailers without direct customer feedback.
- You test products on friends and guess demand.
- You cannot tell what customers would actually buy.

**AN EXAMPLE WEEK:** It is a Sunday night. The retailer email is drafted, the photos are ready, and only friends and your own kitchen bench have tried the product. You have no customer feedback for the first question a buyer will ask: who will pay for this?

### THE BOOTH DEMAND TEST

- Sample: one product, one price
- Questions: what would you buy? what is missing?
- Capture: tallies, not only sales
- Rule: go if the signal is there, stop if not

## A booth is cheaper than a retail listing and tells you what to fix before a buyer sees it

A retailer is a buyer with a shelf and a margin. Before that conversation, a booth gives you the same questions at a fraction of the cost: who stops, what they pick up, what they ask, what they would pay.
The booth is the research lab. The retailer is the next step, not the first. The test tells you whether the product, the price and the buyer are ready.

> The booth is the research lab; the retailer is the next step, not the first.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Staying stuck means building retail listings on guesses, not customer feedback.

## The tool: Booth Demand Test

Booth Demand Test puts one sample, three questions, a feedback capture and a go or stop rule on one page, so the retail decision comes after customer evidence.

It is a one-page test, not a retail plan. It holds the sample, the questions, the capture and the rule. The same page is used at the booth and reviewed in the next session.

It replaces the retail pitch built on friends and guesses. Validate product before retail starts with direct customer feedback.

### What goes on the page

1. The sample: one product and one price
2. The questions: what would you buy? what are you missing?
3. The capture: a tally of answers, not only sales
4. The rule: what signal means go or stop

It sits inside 1:1 Mentoring, alongside the Fortnight Loop. The booth test is one decision in the six months, not a separate product; there is no separate checkout.

## Plan the booth before the retail pitch

Ivanka starts with the product and the retail email you are about to send. She asks: What will be sampled? What will customers be asked? What signal means go or stop? What decision will you write down afterwards? They write the sample, the questions, the capture and the rule. Before the next session, the founder brings the tally and the decision.

### The questions

- What will be sampled?
- What will customers be asked?
- What signal means go or stop?
- What decision will you write down?
- What will you change before retail?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The product and the retail decision.
2. The numbers: Sample, questions, capture, rule.
3. The story: Why friends and the kitchen bench felt enough.
4. The commitment: Run the booth and write the decision.

Before the next session, the founder brings the tally and the decision. The review is the customer evidence, not the retail plan.

## A retail decision you can defend

By month 6, the booth test is a habit, not a one-off market day.

**NOW**

- The retail email is built on friends and guesses.
- The product is tested on the kitchen bench.
- The price is a hope.
- The decision is made after the pitch.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A completed booth test.
- Written customer feedback.
- A retail decision recorded as a commitment.
- The next product decision stays in the Fortnight Loop.

The container: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## The numbers are read with you, not at you

Ivanka Menken built 1:1 Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses growing while cash tightens. The work is a thinking partnership: she reads the numbers with you, asks the hard question, and holds you to the decision you write down.
The Booth Demand Test is one of the tools inside that work. It does not replace your sales team or your product judgement. It makes the customer feedback visible before the retail pitch.

> Ivanka has the unique ability to ask the challenging questions and be supportive at the same time.
>
> Business owner

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You run a $500K to $3M business growing while cash is tight.
- You are a product founder considering retail.
- You have tested the product on friends, not customers.
- You will run a booth and write a rule.

### It does not fit

- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone else to sell.
- You want to build the retail plan first.
- You will not test the product in public.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** It is part of 1:1 Mentoring, a 6-month programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The booth test and feedback capture

Three founding places in total, shared across 1:1 Mentoring and its three focus programmes, are available at A$1,000 a month, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)

## Questions about Booth Demand Test

### How does the Booth Demand Test work inside 1:1 Mentoring?

It is a one-page test Ivanka Menken uses inside 1:1 Mentoring. You choose one sample and one price, write three customer questions, capture the answers and set a go or stop rule before the booth. The next session reviews the tally and the decision. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, and the tool has no separate checkout.

### What should I ask customers at the booth?

Ask what they would buy, what they are missing and what they would pay. Keep the questions short and the same for everyone, so the answers can be tallied. In 1:1 Mentoring, Ivanka Menken helps you write the questions before the market day. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What signal means go or stop?

You write the rule before the booth, not after the day. The signal can be how many people ask the price, pick up the sample or say they would buy; the founder chooses it with Ivanka Menken inside 1:1 Mentoring. Stop means change the product or price before retail. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What if retail is still the next step?

Then the booth test becomes the evidence for the retail conversation: what customers asked, what they would buy and what they would pay. In 1:1 Mentoring, Ivanka Menken records the retail decision as the next commitment. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.


## Test the demand before the retail email

If the retail email is ready and the customer feedback is not, start with 1:1 Mentoring. The Booth Demand Test is inside it, and the 20-minute intro call is where you can see whether the programme fits.

- [Join 1:1 Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](/mentoring)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/#/15606000001356030)
- [See the 1:1 Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/mentoring)
- [The Fortnight Loop](https://ivankamenken.com/fortnight-loop)
- [The Money-and-Clarity Scorecard](https://ivankamenken.com/money-and-clarity-scorecard)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka