Yesterday we talked about doing some research on the stores you want to wholesale to. That included visiting the store or researching them online. Before you set up a meeting you need to have some things in order. Build a checklist so that you don't forget anything.
The first thing you need is a list of all the products that you plan to wholesale. You need to have pictures, descriptions, retail and wholesale pricing. If contacting a store over the Internet creating a PDF should work just fine. If you are going to the store, you may carry the items instead of the picture, but it is a good idea to have pictures with the items as a leave behind.
Next, you need the product in sufficient quantities to make a sale. Nothing is more embarrassing than a store owner saying I'll take ten when you only have three. I am not suggesting that you have 50 of each item but keep a respectable amount of the item on hand. This goes for every item you have available for wholesale. Go to your meeting expecting to sell your product and be able to deliver. You do not have to take all the items in with you, you could just leave them in the car.
Another thing you need is a clearly spelled out sheet with your terms. Terms include minimum order amounts both in dollar and unit price. They also include how you get paid. Getting paid up front is ideal. If you are willing to do Net 30 let them know your terms on that. Include lead times if you are low on stock. Try to answer every potential question about what you expect from the store.
Lastly, dress nice if you are going to a meeting. Dress like you are a professional. Even if you know the shop owner is going to be wearing jeans and a tshirt, look nice. If your meeting is virtual be sure to spell everything correctly, use proper grammar and be polite.
That is it for today. Tomorrow I will be discussing the "First Contact" for those of you who are contacting shops over the Internet. In the meantime, I would like to hear your experiences on wholesale. Give me your success stories and your failures and nightmares if you have them.
I think most wholesale buyers of handmade things realize that the items have most likely not been made ... so there really isn't a need to keep much inventory. In fact, that's one of the things I like BEST about selling wholesale ... I can make a sample (or prototype) and see what sort of interest there is. If I get lots of orders, I'll make a few extras while I'm at it! Just remember to communicate well with your buyer. If you tell them their order will ship or be delivered in 30 days, DO IT (or at least update them if it's going to take much longer than that).
ReplyDelete