So many people dive into retail without even understanding it all. And while everyday is a chance to learn something new, it’s important to dedicate time to truly understanding some key retail lingo before diving too deep into the retail world. By doing this, you can better support your business as well as better communicate with potential accounts, retailers, business partners and more.

See & Hear How Retailers See & Hear

Plain and simple – if you want a retailer’s attention, you need to think like a retailer and then communicate to them with these thoughts in mind. They have to worry about their Open To Buy dollars, their visual displays, their employees or lack of them, their old inventory, their new vendors, their Net 30 payments that are due and much, much more. Consider all these points when speaking with retailers so that you don’t lose sight of what their objectives are. Additionally, consider their product assortment. Is what you are trying to sell to them really a match for their store? A sale isn’t a  worth wild sale if it ends up in the wrong shop.

Timing Is Everything 

Buy seasons exist for a reason, and too often eager vendors and sales reps disregard this. Consider what buy season you are in the midst of, then pitch retailers accordingly. While each individual store may place orders at different times, their general thoughts are in sync with a certain buy season based on what time of year it is. For example, stores begin to think about Christmas purchases in June. By September most of their orders are placed. Last minute buys often take place, but dollars are typically spent or budgeted for 6 months in advance. Additionally, each specific industry varies so always make sure to identify your specific industry’s buying trends prior to reaching out to stores.

Bringing it Together 

Retailers are busy, busy folks. Don’t waste their time. When you get their attention, make sure you keep it. Have what you need to support them in your communication. This includes marketing tools,  a Buyers Packet, samples of your product, order forms ready, delivery details available and anything else to help sell your products. If you have a great display to showcase your products, bring it to your meeting. If you have a lot of press clips to help enhance your products, use them in your pitch. The worst thing you could do is not be fully prepared. And remember, retailers want results. Remind them why you can offer them this through sales of your product to their specific customer.

Have your own tips to share? Let us know! Please comment below.

Some reps may be ignoring you because they have product in nearby stores. Others may simply be too busy to return phone calls… even if this only hurts them. Whatever the reason is, try following these suggestions to help gain the attention you deserve.  

1. Kill them with kindness, always. Not the fake kind but genuine “you really care about their brands and the success they will have in your store ” kindness.
2. Forget the old fashion emails and phone calls. Go for bold statements. Once you have determined phone calls and emails aren’t being returned, put a packet together that highlights your store, recent sales success in your store (including specific sales to certain brands) and other key details that showcase how great you are. This may include press you have received, customer testimonials and even direct comparisons to your competition (if that may be what is standing in your way). Hell, even send chocolates.
3. Give a proposal as to an introductory order that you would place. Identify sales goals that YOU would have to meet so they know your commitment to their brand and their success with your store. Outline this in a clear, organized fashion so it’s quick and easy to read / understand.
4. Send all details in a neatly packaged presentation that will gain their attention.Use color while still remaining professional. Send this to their immediate attention and have it signed for so you know it was received. Follow up with an email first, then a phone call after. Give them 3 or 4 days to reach out to you first, though, from the time the package has been received. Afterall, they genuinely are busy people!
5. The goal is not to get the sale written right away but to gain their respect.Once you have that and can prove to them you deserve their product in your store (this is necessary so consider this, as well ) then the sales will follow. If they have contracts with other retailers that prohibit immediate competiton, ask them when their contracts / deals expire and if you will then be a candidate. Be direct but always polite so you know what challenges you are up against.

Finally, expect the same respect you are giving them in return. If they understand your dedication, it’s likely they will consider you as a retailer for their product / brands. The timeline may not be ideal based on existing retail relationships, but put yourself in line so that you are at the head of the waiting list.

[tweetmeme]Now that you know the difference between the types of reps there are, the next question is where do you find them. Two reliable websites to help you in your search are:

1. www.greatrep.com

2. www.infomat.com

Additionally, you can often find showrooms that have availability by visiting showroom websites. You will also be able to learn more about each showroom and what their other product lines are here. Depending on the territory you need, there are plenty of showrooms to learn about. A few general market / showroom websites to help you in your search are:

1. Dallas  – www.dallasmarketcenter.com

2. Atlanta – www.americasmart.com

3. Los Angeles – www.californiamarketcenter.com

4. New York – www.7wnewyork.com

5. Chicago – www.mmart.com

Please note that there are MANY more showrooms and each will vary according to your specific product category. Research, research, research will always be your friend in this process, though time consuming. Don’t overlook this step, though. Consider what you want from your relationship with your rep, how they work with their clients, who their clients are and what your long term goals are. Though many steps still follow this process, it’s an exciting journey to begin!

1. What is his or her expected commission? Will this rate go up or down based on varying sales?

2. Are there additional expenses to the commission paid out upon sales completed?

3. When do you owe your rep his or her commission? One product is shipped or once product is ordered? Suggested recommendation here is once product is shipped and paid for.

4. How does your rep prefer to be paid? How often?

5. What trade shows do the reps participate in and are they guaranteed as part of their representation?

6. Are there additional costs associated with the rep representing your product at trade shows? If so, what?

7. Are there any other additional details you should be made aware of to help support your rep at trade shows, such as travel expenses or necessary production of line sheets?

8. How does each rep plan to update you on their active, potential and new clients?

9. In general, what is the rep you are interviewing preferred method of communication – email, phone, face to face meetings? This should matter to you since you may also have a preferred method.

10. How often should you expect to hear from you rep?

11. What are the top stores your rep currently sells into? If their territory is large, have this broken down by city or region. Are these stores you are familiar with or want your product to be sold to?

12. What other lines does this potential rep carry? Do they compete or complement with your product line?

13. Are there references from other vendors currently working with this rep that he or she is willing to share with you? There should be!

14. Why is this rep able to pick up a new line? Did they just lose a line or are they looking for more diversification? The details matter here. You don’t want to get lost in a crowd.

15. How does this rep plan to help sell your product? Why does he or she think they will be successful at this, specific to your unique product or brand?

16. Are there any terms the rep has in her contract that you should bring to light in your own contract, ensuring you are covering all your bases?

17. How long of a contract does the rep want for you to partner with them for? Are there grounds for terminiation / seperation? An example could be if you set sales goals that were not met during a certain timeframe.

18. How often do you expect to hear from the rep? Some reps don’t touchbase at all unless an order is placed. Make sure your expectations are agreed upon.

19. Does your rep cross territories with any of your other reps? If so, determine which rep gets which area very clearly to avoid troubles later.

20. What will your rep do to “wow” you from the other reps?

The list goes on and on based on your unique product, company, goals and expectations. Make sure that reps don’t just interview you but that you also interview them. A good rep will understand this and should appreciate you being so passionate about your business!

Finally, make sure to set in place your own contract with your rep. They will also have you sign one with them. This is all part of the partnership. Just make sure to read every word and come to agreeing terms on both sides!

If you need additional help in constructing a contract and negotiating what is best for your business, Retail Minded offers this service. Contact Retail Minded today for additional details at nicole@retailminded.com

• Good marketing; Branding
• Exclusivity of product
• Appropriate price points
• Focus
• The “It” factor

These points focus on your product. Some other key points that influence why a rep might work with you, or might continue to work with you, focus on, well… you.

The Rep Relationship

Build a strong relationship with your rep, to ensure that you communicate well. Think of it this way: you’ll want to keep in touch with your rep to see how sales are going with your brand. She’ll want to keep in touch with you too, to see what new products you have in the pipeline, share customer feedback and discuss selling strategies. You might talk or email daily, or at least several times per week. That dialog tends to be easier, and more fun, if you genuinely like each other.

Consistent Communication

A point that goes hand in hand with this is that reps sell more for you when you return their calls and emails. Not in a week or two weeks but within 24 hours. I often hear the “excuse” that family life has spun out of control and there just wasn’t enough time in the day…blah, blah, blah. A buyer who needs an answer from a rep won’t wait two weeks to get it. The buyer simply buys from someone else—probably your competitor. Likely your rep has been working hard to close the sale and if she loses that sale, in part, because you didn’t have time to call back with the answer on when the new shipment of goods will arrive, you’ll have one peeved rep on your hands…

You don’t have to wait for your rep to call you either. Call, check in and say thank you for the sale. Reps tend to be praise-junkies and just saying thank you will often increase your product’s sales.

Professionalism

This leads us to professionalism. When dealing with reps, fall back on the courtesies of friendly professionalism. In addition to returning calls and emails promptly, respect and trust what your rep can do for you. Understand that sales might not happen overnight—especially in this extremely competitive economic environment. Being a professional partner means success for you, your brand and the rep.

Learn The Industry

Another part of professionalism is learning the industry ins and outs so that you are better able to support your rep’s sales efforts. Take the time to understand the timing of the 2 major selling seasons and the dates of all the national and regional markets that are appropriate for your brand. Plan your product development according to those dates. Your Spring Summer 2010 sales materials should be ready to go—and en route to your sales rep now. If you show in Atlanta, materials should have been shipped out two weeks ago, since that show runs July 8-15th.

Sales Materials

Reps need stuff to sell your brand—catalogs, post cards, line sheets or sell sheets, a good website, order forms, show specials, samples and even freebie product. Create them, supply them and update them often. Imagine attending a networking event without business cards. You probably won’t add that many people to your network, since they won’t remember who you are—or have a way to contact you. Sending a rep out on the road without sales materials is pretty much the same thing. We meet and greet, we sing your product’s praises and, unless we leave your catalog, we probably won’t ever close that sale when the account “has open-to-buy dollars in August.”

Commission

In addition to being praise-junkies, reps respond well to commission checks. Set up a system for paying commission and stick to it. Half a dozen of the brands that I rep pay religiously on the 1st or 15th of every month. Their checks come with statements and a scrawled Thank You! I’m not likely to resign a brand that cares about me enough to worry about my financial needs and ensures that I am paid promptly and consistently for the work I do. I am however, very likely to sell those half dozen brands to my top accounts before I show any of my other lines.

The take-home here is that a rep is an ancillary but very important part of the success of your organization. Communicate consistently and professionally, understand the industry, provide sales support and financially incentivize your rep to increase your rate of sales success. It’s a win-win for both of you.

The article above was completed by guest contributer Lara Brynildssen. Lara owns and is the primary sales rep for LJBryn&Co., a Midwest-based independent rep group specializing in children’s gift, toys, gear and apparel. Learn more by visiting www.LJBrynAndCo.com.  

What type of rep do you want? 

You’ve decided you want a sales rep and you’ve decided you’re ready for one too.  The next step is defining what sort of sales rep you should hire.  I’m using the word “hire” pretty loosely here…  If you want to work with an independent sales rep, both of you create a contractual relationship rather than an employer/employee relationship.  You don’t typically pay an independent sales rep benefits or withhold taxes from her commission check.  If the relationship ends, the sales rep won’t receive unemployment benefits.  These are some of the legal reasons why sales reps are independent.   

There are other reasons sales reps choose to be independent too.  Sales reps are small business owners.  They have that same entrepreneurial spirit you do.  Typically reps are self starters, gregarious and ambitious.  They are often driven by success (and money) and by the flexibility of their day-to-day work schedule.  They might not like the hierarchy of a typical office work setting, preferring to be more in control of how they run their rep business.  Few reps will work the typical 9 to 5 day but most work more than your typical 40-hour week.  

You might be wondering at this point if you still want to hire a rep…   After all, if you hire a rep that’s so independent that she doesn’t like to be told what to do, how are you going to work with her?  The good news is that a rep that already knows what to do to sell your brand—and doesn’t need to be constantly managed or reminded about your expectations—saves you time and earns you money.   After all, you wouldn’t want to hire an independent rep that needs to be given a daily to-do list, would you?

When you go about hiring your rep, don’t worry so much that you won’t have a typical employer-employee relationship with her.  Instead, find a rep you genuinely like and evaluate if your communication methods sync.  Are you a phone call person or are you 24/7 email and text?  If you live by your iPhone or Blackberry, and rarely pick up the phone to make a call, make sure your new rep is tech savvy too.  Also evaluate your communication style.  Are you blunt and straight-forward or subtle about your needs?  How do you react when you hear bad news?  Find a rep that has a communication style that complements yours and you’ll avoid time-consuming future issues.

Next, decide if you want a 30-year veteran of the industry or someone new and eager to grow with you.  Both have their advantages.  A veteran rep already has solid relationships with accounts, and might be able to place your line immediately, giving you instant sales growth.   Veteran reps are great industry resource too and can guide your growth, preventing some of the frequent hiccups a growing brand encounters.  A newer rep is still establishing her account base.  You might not see immediate sales with her but she might be an out-of-the-box thinker for sourcing new clients for your brand, and ways to promote your business.  A new rep might also have fewer lines and more time to spend selling your brand.

There are other details to consider too.  What other brands does your potential new rep sell?   Do the brands that she reps have a similar feel to your brand but nothing so similar that buyers will choose one or the other but not both?  If you manufacture organic cloth diapers and your new rep sells bamboo layette, it sounds like you have a good fit.  If your brand is organic cloth diapers and you sign on with a rep who sells frou-frou collectibles, the partnership might not be as beneficial to either of you.

Also consider your price point.  Does your new rep sell to high-end, moderate or low-end accounts?  Where does your brand fit into that pricing continuum? If you partner with a rep who sells mainly to high-end boutiques, but your target audience is moderate to low, you might not see the growth you anticipated, because she’s presenting your brand to the “wrong” buyers. 

Whether your new rep has a showroom, does regular road work or attends trade shows are other considerations.  More to come on this in the next few weeks.

You had a great idea to design and manufacture a line.  You’ve sold it to a few stores in your neck of the woods.  You’ve even gone to a few regional trade shows, or retail expos, and your line sold pretty well, so you forge ahead with plans to expand.

And now you can hardly keep up…  Stores are calling you for re-orders but you’re on the other line and miss the call.  You’re so busy dealing with supply, manufacturing and design details, you don’t have time to promote and sell your line anymore, much less follow-up with existing accounts.

What’s the answer?  You’re still just starting up.  You’re short on time but you’re short on money too.  You can’t afford to hire any full-time sales employees, yet the business plan you wrote for the bank shows monthly sales growth. How do you grow your sales if you’re just keeping your head above water running your new business?

You hire independent sales representatives.   A rep’s primary responsibility is to sell your products.  A sales rep isn’t a magic bullet to increasing your sales—and finding the rep that’s right for you isn’t always easy—but if you want to increase your sales volume, assembling a team of reps throughout the US and Canada might be the solution.  

Think about it this way:  Say you have 100 accounts.   Right now, individual buyers call you to place orders and re-orders.  Depending on what part of the country they’re in, and what part of the country you’re in, you need to be accessible for order-taking 12-14 hours a day, in addition to the business of running your business, marketing, etc.  By assembling a network of regional reps, you increase your sales (over time) but minimize your sales-related workload.  Now you’re dealing with 8-12 reps instead of 100 accounts.  Your reps take on the business of the day-to-day contact with your existing accounts.  They’ll also introduce your line to their existing account base and, before you know it, you’ll need an assistant to process the influx of new orders!

Are You Ready For A Sales Rep?

I’m going to tell you flat out that if you’ve designed a tee shirt line and have a collection of 6 or 8 tees that have done pretty well when you’ve sold them at your local Mom2Mom or craft show, you’re not ready for a rep—yet.  How can you get your line ready for a rep—and the increased sales that go hand in hand?

There are several things you need to have up your sleeve to be ready to hire sales reps, primarily:  a constant stream of new products.  Reps sell, and buyers generally buy, in a two-season cycle, even if your product is the perfect, seasonless boutique item.  If an account buys your line in Fall, they’ll want to see new products from you in the Spring.  I’m not asking you to re-create the wheel every 6 months. Buyers do want to be able to recognize your unique brand.

What I am saying is that if you sold pink and yellow tank tops and short sleeve tees in the Spring, for the Fall buyers want long sleeves, different colors, new graphics and maybe a jacket.  Your best sellers like “I’m a Big Sister” or “Princess” might always stay the same—and that’s OK.  Don’t stop producing your best-sellers till you see their sales dip.  Work with your rep to market those original designs as the core collection of your brand and supplement them with new seasonal designs twice per year.  If you aren’t always designing and manufacturing new products, you won’t be able to keep up with the cyclical demands of your buyers.  Plus, a rep won’t show your line if there is nothing new to show.

Why will the rep stop showing your line?  The primary reason a rep gets an appointment with a buyer is to show fresh, new products.  Buyers are always on the hunt for the latest and greatest to showcase in their boutique and reps love to be able to say confidently, “This is a fantastic line.  Check out the new samples they just sent me.”

It’s not always a plus to tell buyers that you’re in 100 stores in California and that distribution is the reason your brand should be in their store too.  What’s more enticing to a buyer is to hear from a rep that your brand has great sell-through and a fantastic track record of designing and shipping new products.  After all, your buyer is making an investment bringing in your brand.  If your brand sells well, that makes her job easier.  She keeps buying your products every season when the rep calls to say your new samples just arrived.  If your brand doesn’t sell well or never has new products, that costs your buyer time and money because she has to research, buy and set up a new vendor to replace your brand.

What else do you need to have all buttoned up before starting your rep search?  A few easy basics:

• A sales pitch defining your unique brand
• Wholesale line sheets or a catalog
• Wholesale order form
• Easy-to-navigate, high-quality, professional website
• A basic understanding of how reps work and get paid
• Defined expectations for your reps, i.e. road work, tradeshows, a permanent showroom, opening new accounts and servicing existing accounts
• Time to build a relationship with your rep

This isn’t an exhaustive list because all reps work just a little differently.  The keys are:  define your brand’s product cycle, define why you need a rep and then search till you find the rep that will help make your brand a shining star in your industry.

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