Samples & Brochures

Re: [spiers] Samples & Brochures

Hi Malcome,

Thank you very much for your comments. They are very comprehensive and
useful for the beginners like me. I am wondering what is your observation
about packaging. I heard the expression that Packaging cells the product. Is
this true? I import handmade ceramic from Russia and I am wondering if I
should put my effort in finding boxes or other packaging to make a product
more complete as a gift.

InnaZ
----- Original Message -----
From: "Malcolm D"
To:
Sent: Friday, February 11, 2005 12:51 PM
Subject: Re: [spiers] Samples & Brochures


>
>
> > In a message dated 2/9/05 10:57:29 AM, ds_tradingpartners@prodigy.net
> > writes:
> >
> > <> > the
> > suppliers pictures or provide the sample and brochure (w/o pricing) sent
> > by
> > the supplier to the reps?>>
> >
> > I'd recommend no brochures whatsoever... perhaps pictures can be mounted
> > on a
> > password protected "customer only" website but at out level brochures
adn
> > catalogs are a waste of time and money.
> >
>
> Whether to use photos or samples depends a little bit on a variety of
> factors, including the industry, the number and value and complexity of
> products sold, the size of the retail organization making the purchase,
and
> whether there is value in actually touching the merchandise (e.g. clothing
> and produce are different in this regard than BBQ sauce and souvenir
> spoons -- however, for BBQ sauce and other gourmet foods, taste may be a
> factor, so leaving a sample for EACH screened customer can be important.)
>
> In my wife's rep business, she sells 40 lines, which range from five
> products (specialty foods) to over 1000 products (souvenir company). Since
> she lives out of her car from March through October, it would not be
> practical to have a sample of more than one to a few of the more important
> or complex items for each line. The next best alternative to samples is
> GREAT pictures. For our industry, we use what could be called 'catalog
> sheets' (color, 2-sided, 8 1/2 x 11", three hole punched), which go into a
> three ring binder, in sections for different categories of customers. When
> gift retailers are buying, they want to know, in order:
>
> A) What is the product? (mustard, t-shirts, glassware, jewelry, etc)
> B) What is the presentation? (probably most important) -- This is where
> photos come in
> C) What is the price?
> D) What are the terms (credit cards, minimums, case lots, re-orders,
first
> order incentives, net 30, COD, etc)?
>
> A purchasing decision or objection are typical at this point. Smart
> retailers (fewer than you might think) will want to know what the best
> sellers are, and what kinds of stores the line has done well in.
>
> When using catalog sheets (8 1/2 x 11 format) in what we call our 3-ring
> "pitch" book (which allows the rep and buyer to flip through the lines
> quickly, together), we generally design our own sheets, with MS Publisher,
> for a couple reasons. First, most of the smaller companies we rep for do
not
> have sales materials of any kind, so our alternative is to not represent
> their products. If we like the products, we are loathe to do that. Second,
> most companies, regardless of size, are clueless about how to design and
> present a flyer that is effective for wholesale sales (they tend to use
> retail/consumer style of copy and layout -- and too much fluffy
> information -- which is very different than the needs for wholesale
buyers).
> If a company has a catalog which meets our needs, we will use it, and
label
> our contact information on the appropriate spot. Most important is that
the
> information be presented clearly (along with good, appropriate photos),
but
> fancy is not necessary, as you are selling with information more than
image,
> unlike consumer/retail sales where image is paramount.
>
> We do expect any company we represent to supply good quality photos, which
> are the backbone of the sales process for our industry. We usually ask
them
> to mail us a digital copy, or if in the (increasingly) rare case where
they
> have prints, we scan and use them. (PS We sell mostly to independent gift
> retailers, and a couple small chains up to 5-10 stores, as well as
> occasional museum shops, C-stores, florist shops, and tourist businesses.)
>
> We print our flyers on a color laser printer for use in the "pitch" book
and
> offer b/w photocopies tucked in behind each sheet if the customer would
like
> to review the information later on a particular product or line. If the
> buyer wants to see a sample (not usually the case, as they are quite
busy),
> Sandy will go out to the car and bring out the product, or more often, a
> representative product in that category or brand. Occasionally, she will
> have a sample shipped direct from the manufacturer or distributor (or
> importer). As we grow, we are considering a newsprint catalog, which we
can
> print 1000 for about $500 up to 48 pages (8 pages color, rest b/w). The
> downside of a catalog is that lines and prices change very often, and we
> have found that buyers want photos and prices on the same page so they can
> make a quick purchase decision. Separate price sheets can work, but they
> really slow down the purchasing process in the gift industry, where the
> visual presentation must be weighed against the cost. Anything that slows
> the sales process or sales decision, reduces sales. We are also
> investigating PDF catalogs which can be updated almost instantaneously,
and
> sent as an email attachment.
>
> Remember that the sales process is quick and dirty. Reps offer multiple
> lines, and buyers are busy and always short of time, so you must supply
> materials which provide the correct information as succinctly and easily
as
> possible. (8 1/2 x 11" pages, portrait orientation work best... avoid the
> traditional tri-fold brochure -- much harder to make a good presentation
> with those, and retailers tend to toss them more quickly in our experience
> as they are not standard notebook size.)
>
> I will also say that gift reps do not generally use samples (or brochures)
> to the extent that most manufacturers (or importers) think they do.
Samples
> are often sent, but for a lot of practical reasons (e.g. the size of a car
> to travel in), simply cannot be taken along. A good photo is a much better
> investment for us. We have an entire room of samples from various lines,
> which we often ask them NOT to send... but they do anyway. Samples are
> effective for new products, for educating new reps, and where touching the
> product is critical to the purchase decision. However, buyers learn to
trust
> good reps, and if the rep says "For your store, this is a line (or
product)
> you should try", that is how reps tend to be effective, by looking out for
> the retailers interest (i.e. recommending products that sell well). While
> the rep may be contracting with you, their long-term success is dependent
> upon how well they build the retailer's business (and trust), not on how
> much of your products they push down a retailers throat.
>
> We have probably worked at one time or another with nearly 100 companies
> over our five years (of learning) in this business, and I can say that
only
> one company truly understood our needs. They printed color catalog sheets
> with outstanding product photos, features and options in tabular form,
terms
> clearly stated, and a line about an inch from the bottom of the back page
> that said "Represented in your area by:" and then left the bottom of the
> page blank, for us to put in our contact information label. If everyone
did
> that, our lives as reps would be much simpler. (They also sent samples,
but
> for our market and because of the great photos on the sales materials,
this
> was a waste of their money and time.) Note that you can cost-effectively
> include the prices right on the sheets with a system like this, only if
your
> pricing is fairly stable (e.g. subject to annual changes only). If prices
> are included -- always best in our industry -- you would want to reprint
> this type of sheet annually or whenever you were adding new products, or
> changing the pricing structure. If each flyer is a new product or line,
this
> could also be a good system.
>
> Last recommendation I can make is... ask your reps what they need from you
> to be successful with your line BEFORE you start sending out samples OR
> brochures willy nilly. This will reduce your costs, and may alter your
sales
> material development process. Reps are just another category of customer
in
> addition to being a business partner, so asking them what they really
need,
> is a key to your success if this is a market channel you intend to take
full
> advantage of.
>
> Also, make sure you are using the appropriate type of rep. Reps differ
> widely in the size and type of retailers we call on, the categories or
lines
> we are successful or specialize in, and our geographic saturation. ASK THE
> HARD QUESTIONS! Note that our rep business sells mostly 'made in Idaho'
> gourmet foods and fine gifts, and Idaho souvenirs (imported by a souvenir
> distributor in South Dakota) to small accounts. We would probably not be
> successful selling products developed under a business system emphasizing
> the John Spiers model of innovation and design of new products in large
> amounts. You would need to find reps (and there are lots of them) that
> specialize in that type of repping, and work in more populated areas, and
> call on larger and/or multi-store accounts.
>
> Happy repping!
>
> Malcolm Dell

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