Gift Rep Sandy

Posts Tagged ‘Gift Shop’

Following is the list of non-tradition gift store that can be overlooked by most sales reps.  Exploring opportunities in these stores while you are developing your territory can expand your customer base:

C-stores with Gift Sections. Not every Convenience Store you visit will have a gift section or be willing to buy from you. Listed are two main categories of C-stores which are very distinct and different to deal with:

Restaurants with Gift Shops. Some restaurants, especially those located near a tourist attraction, state park, or historical site, reserve retail space in front of the restaurant area for a small gift shop.  These shops are great locations for gourmet or specialty food products including candy and confections.

Farm Stores. One would not normally consider a farm store to be a place to see gifts, but there are some that carry a line of souvenir type products.

Food Co-operatives – multi-owners or multi-members. Food Co-ops are becoming popular as a hybrid type of gourmet food store – not quite a specialty food store, but not a grocery store either – featuring unusual and often locally made (or grown) products.

Consignment Stores. Most consignments stores feature crafter items sold on consignment, but I have seen a few that are owned-operated and buy a few gift items to compliment their products.  .

Gift Basket Companies. Since many gift basket companies conduct business out of their homes or warehouses, they are often overlooked by sales reps.

Fruit Stands and Produce Markets. Agricultural regions around the country frequently have fruit stands or produce markets.  Fruit stands feature locally made food products, local gifts or souvenirs alongside their produce.

Meat Markets. These types of stores most reps would not visit, but often offer complimentary products related to their meat counter.  Some of the biggest sauce or seasoning sections I have seen has been in meat markets.

Museum or Government-Operated Shops. Most people have visited a state or national park or regional museum during vacations and have visited their gift stores.  These stores feature specially-themed regional souvenirs and books.

Remote Vacation Resort Stores. Idaho features lots of ‘backcountry’ or rustic lodges in remote outdoor regions where vacationers travel to hunt, fish or engage in other recreational sports.

Outdoor Wear or Sporting Goods Stores seem to be an unusual place to sell gift products, but some of my best accounts are in sporting goods stores

Chambers of Commerce Visitor Centers. In Idaho, many Chamber of Commerce offices manage the local Visitor Centers with small gift shops.

Corporate Accounts. Sales reps, including myself, seldom solicit corporate accounts.  Usually, these contacts are a one-time sale of a potential high volume.  Businesses like these frequently buy for a certain event or promotion they are conducting.

Gifts are fun to sell and can be sold to a large variety of stores.  Some of the stores you will visit as potential customers are as follows to (not an exhaustive list, but representing a large sample of store types you are likely to run across):

1.    Independent gift stores
2.    Museum gift shops
3.    Convenience stores
4.    Restaurant gift shops
5.    Franchise or chain gift stores
6.    Gourmet food stores
7.    Kitchen stores
8.    Food co-ops
9.    Independent grocery stores
10.    Gift basket companies
11.    Fresh fruit stands
12.    Produce.
13.    Hotel/Motel gift shops
14.    Book stores
15.    Tourist attractions’ gift
16.    Remote vacation destination
17.    RV parks and campgrounds
18.    Chamber of Commerce gift shops
19.    College bookstores
20.    Pharmacy and Drug stores
21.    Home décor stores
22.    Antique shops
23.    Sporting goods outlets
24.    Florist shops and nurseries
25.    Variety stores
26.    Airport gifts shops
27.    More ….

After looking at the list above, I am sure you will see that gifts can be sold nearly everywhere!  I have even sold gifts to beauty shops, liquor stores, pack and ship stores, bakeries and ice cream shops!

One of my very favorite sales trips (and you will probably hear this often because I have some many great gift store buyers!) is to Lochsa Lodge — in the north central mountains of Idaho.

The Lodge is located on Highway 12 — better known as the Lewis & Clark Trail Highway — about 10 miles from the Montana border.  The drive from my home in Orofino to the Lodge is about 2 1/2 hours.  The road is narrow and winds around the mountain side next to the Lochas River, but it is some of the most beautiful river scenery in the state of Idaho!

Calm day on the Lochsa River

I arrived at the Lodge later than  planned.  Road construction slowed me down during the last stretches of the road.  Between road painting  trucks, construction vehicles, and bumpy surface due to the dug up roadway, I arrived late — and right behind a tour bus stopping for lunch!  The Lodge was buzzing with people and activity.  Quite a change from the miles of isolated road between the forest and the white waters of the river!

Lochsa Lodge

My trip to the Lodge is an annual visit in the late spring.  Even though Lochsa Lodge boasts that it is open 365 days a year, the buyer places large orders only once in late spring — so I waited as the staff and the buyer serve lunch to the tour bus riders who had chosen the Lodge for their lunch destination that day.

On my way back down the mountain, I stop at a few other gift shops to take more re-orders.  There is a new buyer at one of my stops, so I spend time explaining who I am and what I gifts items I sell to their store.

Driving back through the construction on the way home is tiring, but all and all, it has been a good day for Gift Rep Sandy!