Finding Sales Reps for your Product Business
2018/05/06 6:00 AM
You might be wondering how in the world you are going to actually find a good, reputable, hard working, fast-talking sales rep for your product business who can make you some money right?Finding sales reps for your product business
I know exactly how you feel.
In fact, I felt the same way when I started out!
And for most of the time that I had my handbag company, I struggled to find good reps. While I loved my NYC reps, and they made me loads of money, I wanted to find other sales reps around the country that could you know…..sell more than I could!
Finding Sales Reps for your Product Business
Step 1:
Finding sales reps for your product business can be tricky. Sadly, there is no “411” for sales reps. These links below can direct to you listings of reps in the different categories for apparel and gift. You will need to call them and see who is wiling to meet with you after they view your website or catalogs. Unless the person comes HIGHLY recommended by a friend or one of the other companies they represent, then I suggest going to visit them.
Research the Marts in Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles and NYC
- http://www.americasmart.com
- http://www.dallasmarketcenter.com
- http://www.californiamarketcenter.com
- http://7wnewyork.com
Step 2:
Finding a rep in NYC – The best way to find sales reps in NYC is to travel to the NY Gift show or to Accessory Circuit which takes place in January, May and August every year. The 7W building in NY is very limited and small compared to the other cities who have centralized showrooms.
- Most sales reps are independent and are difficult to find, but you can use the links below to search for different kinds of sales reps. Most reps have a booth at one of these shows. It is a good idea to try to introduce yourself (if there seems to be a lull) and leave a catalog so they have it in hand.
- On line sources: I have used Greatrep.com with good results finding road reps or smaller rep groups all over the country. The rates to sign up are very reasonable and you can often find reps in a matter of weeks.
Step 3:
A road rep is another option and much less expensive if you are just starting out. These are independent reps that sometimes work for a larger group, or on their own, and don’t have a showroom. They travel around their “territory” showing products to stores they service. This can be a more cost effective choice as there is no showroom fee. Another bonus is they are always out and about so they often have more opportunity for a sale then someone sitting in a showroom waiting for a client to stop by.
Step 4:
One of the fastest ways to find sales reps is to look at the websites of other lines you think would be in the same stores as your product line. Most brands have a wholesale tab and list their sales reps. If they don’t and you are feeling bold, call them up and ask who represents them….. they’ll usually tell you.
Step 5:
Choosing a sales rep gets easier once you have narrowed down your choices and found some showrooms that want to meet with you (they all won’t want to meet you – so don’t be disappointed). I suggest getting on a plane and going to see them. This is a very personal decision and you should see the showroom and meet them face-to-face. I also think that a person who has met you is more likely to take you seriously.
I wanted to share this with you so you can get some amazing people to represent your line. This should give you some guidance and make it easier for you to find reputable companies that you feel will help grow your brand.
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There are 8 comments
Aziza says: Great idea. Thanks for this tip. I'm just curious as to how you actually uncovered the name/ names of the sales rep or sales rep groups? Like exactly where on ones website could this be found? Thanks!
Great idea. Thanks for this tip. I'm just curious as to how you actually uncovered the name/ names of the sales rep or sales rep groups? Like exactly where on ones website could this be found? Thanks!
Well said – “Finding sales reps for your product business can be tricky…..”
Thanks for this informative piece of content. Looking forward to reading more such awesome articles.
Thanks
Nicole says: Great Article. I was wondering what is a source to fine a sampling shoe manufacturer? I’ve created a shoe and just started out.
-
Hi Nicole, Thanks for reading. Depends where you are looking to manufacture? China, Italy, USA?
Google will be best…..
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Building an email list can be tough, I totally agree. But an email list is just as important as social media in my opinion. Social media is fleeting. Your customer might not see your post flash by, the FB or Instagram algorithm changes all the time so you never really know if anyone is seeing your posts (as much as you hope at least), and unless they purchase, it’s hard to tell if it is driving traffic or not.
When I started my handbag line, the internet was just getting started, and people were just beginning to get online for the first time and the biggest thing since sliced bread was www.match.com.
Note the www…… everyone used that back then so you’d KNOW it was a website. LOL.
And to get on the website, even just to learn more about it, you needed an email address to get past their “paywall”. The Paywall was a pop up of sorts that asked for your name and email in order to “grant” you access to see what was behind the curtain. They built a list of millions in a few short weeks and that was more valuable than anyone just “knowing” about their company because they could market to them incessentanly.
Daily. And I mean sometimes multiple times a day. I’d never seen anything like this.
They were the first company that I knew of who “collected” emails, then turned around and marketed to you to get you to sign up for their services. And they were relentless……
I’m not saying you need to send emails daily, or emails multiple times a day, but if you don’t email your list at least weekly, they will forget about you and end up buying something similar chez someone else who is sending them emails.
So Why are Pop ups so important? Pop ups are a way to collect emails via your own “Paywall” and continue to market to potentially interested customers. If they take the time to sign up (first baby step) then they are showing you that they are on the first step of the staircase and want to keep walking up. It’s your job to keep enticing them to the top! AKA buy something.
Step 1: Sign up with a content management system like Active Campaign, Mailchimp, Klayvio or whichever one you like best. I like Active Campaign and have been using it for over 10 years. Some people choose to use the forms that come with these programs and I have too in various situations, but I also recommend Privy if you use Shopify, and Ninja Pops if you use Wordpress. They can easily be installed and connected to these CMS systems.
Step 2: The first and easiest way to collect emails is to have a homepage pop up with an offer for a % off the first order. That is a way to ‘collect” emails and give something in return. It’s the first step in building rapport with your potential customers. It’s like saying, let’s be friends, I’ll give you something you want, and you give me something I want, your email.
Step 3: Make sure you have an automation set up in the CMS system. This is an automated email series that will be sent to anyone who gives you their email address on your pop up. I call it the Hello Series. The idea of this series is to again, build rapport, and tell the customer a bit about you and your company over a 2 week period. This series has nothing to do with your regular email marketing emails. This is a sole and separate email series to build rapport so just set it and forget it. Yes customers will probably get some of these on the same days as other marketing emails but just don’t worry about it.
This is how it works:
The first email to go out immediately is the one with the coupon code they just signed up for. Add something about your brand and photos of your products linking to your website.
The second one goes out the next day and asks them if they had a chance to use the coupon yet, and then tells them to whitelist your email so they don’t miss your promotions and special offers for people on your list. Always have images of products that link to your website.
The third email goes 4 days later and in this one I like to tell a story about how I got started with the business. Add images and links here too.
The fourth email shares something cool about your business. Could be some nice stores you are in, a press placement, a celebrity who has your stuff or perhaps posted about it on Instagram. It can also be a tutorial about how to use your products, or a blog post you wrote on a topic they’d be interested in. Share something that will make them feel happy for you, and encourage them to hang with you.
The fifth and final email in this sequence encourages them to follow you on social media. I like to entice them with “doing” something in exchange for a gift. Could be something like “post your photo using or wearing our product, and be entered in our monthly drawing for a free X”.
Step 4: Now that you have collected more emails with a pop up, your ongoing marketing efforts will start to pay off faster. As the list continues to build, you’ll have more people to market to, invite to events you do, and share your good news with. Hopefully they will become loyal customers, share your site with friends, and continue to be an active part of your social media channels. Keep sending emails weekly ( at least) to your list so keep them active and engaged. I’m sure you’ll see a big difference.
If you want ideas to help you fill in the blanks about the above, drop me a comment below and I’ll be happy to help out.
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Do you know how to set the right price for your product line? Lordy knows I sure didn’t when I first started my handbag line. But once I learned the correct way to do it, I never mispriced anything again! Now I want to share this method with you so you can be profitable and not wonder why you can’t pay yourself.
It took me years to figure out how to set the right price for my product line when I first started out, so I can imagine you might be in the same situation. If you are not sure if you are making any money, then there is a good chance you’re not pricing your products correctly.
Proper costing is the lifeline to your business and profitability. Taking into consideration and finding all the hidden costs, is the key. So many people forget little things that they add up and then BOOM, you are not making any money. Once you have the actual cost (cost of goods sold) then it is easy to figure out the wholesale and retail prices so you are always making money.
I’d love to share this formula with you. It totally saved my rear when I was in year 3….. Just thinking of all that lost money in the first 2 years…. I want to cry!
Drop me a comment with “PRICED FOR PROFIT” and I’ll reach out and connect with you.
