If you are successful selling your handmade products at art shows, online, and from your own studio, you might very well be ready to sell them to stores. Let’s take a look at your products to see if they can be stars in the wholesale world.
First, they must be well designed and impeccably produced. No store wants anything less! Your work should also have your “signature look”, something that unifies your entire line. Perhaps that’s the design and architecture of your pieces, or the surface embellishment, or even your unique color palette. When a person can identify the maker just by looking at the pieces, you have achieved a very successful product line.
It is not necessary for you to wholesale every item you make. If an item takes a huge amount of time and/or materials, you might want to save that for your retail customers. Keep in mind that when you are selling wholesale, you are in the “production” mode! You want to make your products with the utmost efficiency. Begin to think like the “factory boss” and concentrate on a good number of easily made items. You can always add to your line, but first concentrate on the basics. Know how long it takes you to make every item in your line and add a little cushion for unexpected developments. Start and maintain a “Production Calendar.” When someone places an order, fill in their ship date and as that timeframe fills, push new orders forward on the calendar. That way you will never disappoint your wholesale customer.
What to offer for wholesale
Examine your products to see what makes them special. Even if you are making a common item, you want to give the buyer reasons to want it for their store. Are you using unique materials, is it eco-friendly, or does it have a special story that elevates it? If so, you might want to develop a marketing tag line that succinctly tells your buyers about your brand. One glass maker has tags that tell his customers, “every piece has ash from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens which gives it a special iridescence.” That is certainly both memorable and distinctive!
If you do develop marketing materials or add tags to your products, keep in mind several things. First, make sure the tags do not overwhelm the products. Keep them small and simple. Also, you can add your company name, but do not add your phone, address or website. The store wants the customer to keep coming back to them for more!
You also might consider developing a “family” of products where there are large, medium, and small pieces. This accomplishes several things. It makes a great display in a store, it gives your line a spectrum of pricing, and the larger pieces help to sell the smaller ones.
Building your business
Keep in mind the retailer is always looking for “what’s new” so plan to add new items to your line once or twice a year. It gives you something to promote and them something to order from you. Also, the retailer is most likely gearing his merchandise to each season. Christmas always sells, but even if you are not producing holiday items, you might use your color palette to distinguish a winter display from a summer beach theme.
If your products lend themselves to being sold in combination, consider the best way to do it. For instance, if you are producing small items such as candles, soap, or lip balm, you do not want to pack and ship singles of every size, color, and fragrance. Instead, sell six of the same style for one price, and if feasible have packaging and/or display items that help the retailer sell your items easily.
My last piece of advice is to listen to your customers. They often have suggestions about new products, colors, and even shapes and sizes. There are scores of companies whose most successful products are not what they first made. Rather, hearing the same suggestion made repeatedly, they developed their best sellers!
Along the way, visit interesting shops and visualize your products there. What can you add to make them so appealing they fly off the shelves? A great part of wholesale success is constant analysis. Never be totally satisfied and you will become known for your innovation, consistent quality, and attention to detail. The secret to wholesale success is establishing a long-term bond with the store so that they are ordering your products for many years to come!
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