Putting Your Product Lines Together
May 25th, 2010 | 
Author: Many sales reps take on any line they can find (something I did, when I first started, since I didn’t know any better).
A better choice is to stay focused somewhere near your product specialization, niche market, and what your geographic territory resonates with. Some lines just won’t sell in certain regions or to certain retail categories. If you are selling mostly cowboy jewelry and souvenirs, you will typically have a difficult time selling children’s personal care products to the same buyers. Lots of lines will not fit in with your areas of concentration. If you decide to sell them anyway, you may appear more like a flea market, and gift buyers will wonder just what do you sell! You will lack what is called “top of the mind” awareness, when people are looking for products in your area of strength (IF you have one… make sure you do)!
A good mix of 15-20 lines, depending on the size of each line, is probably a good place to start. Too many lines (e.g. 40 or 50) will be difficult to manage, and hard for you to do a good job with in the beginning. On the other side of the coin, too few lines (under 10) may be a discouragement to buyers who is looking for the value in time spent with you. When I got started, and proudly went through my handful of lines, the first question nearly every retailer asked was, “Is that all you have?”
Since buyers are such busy people, they like to work with sales rep having a good mix of products they can choose from. I only represented six lines when I started. And yes, buyers often did not take me completely seriously with such a small offering. But we all start somewhere! And when I kept coming back with more lines, I was IN! So start slowly, focus on quality lines, and defer the skepticism… you will get some at first. Just tell the truth.
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Hi Sandy -
Just wondering…how do I get those first vendors to be confident enough to sign on with me? I’m putting together a list of stores that have bought via my (phone) sales efforts in the past (luckily some are right here in northern IL!) and plan to start selling to them first as they at least know my name/ voice – what else can I do to put myself ‘out there’? (I’m also working on a website thru Google, so will ‘show it off’ once it’s done!;)
Having seen a list of Q’s to ask a potential rep, should I just highlight what I have done or say up front that I’m a ‘newbie’?
I’d really like to start out with at least 6-8 lines of really nice merchandise (I’m focusing on natural bath/ bodycare, educational kids’ toys/ games, wholistic pet products, high-quality ‘affirming’ jewelry and recycled paper products, for starters.)
Thanks so much for any insight, help, etc.!
Mary
Mary,
Best way I know to gain confidence is to have confidence in yourself and your product lines. Confidence (or lack of it) will show all over you! And I would not hesitate to tell buyers that you are new to the business …. lots of times, hearing a bit of your story will help build the relationship between you and your potential customers. Don’t despair if it takes several visits to stores before they buy from you. When I started out, buyers wanted to make sure that I was reliable and that I would return to service the accounts before they would buy from me. Also, I would caution you about the wide range of products you are looking to sell. Would a store that bought your natural body care products also want to buy your jewelry or your pet products? Look at the range of products you customer currently carry in their stores and that will help determine the types of lines you should carry.
Good luck and keep in touch — would love to hear how it all works out for you!
Sandy