Wanna Get More Sales?
How to sell your product in stores – retail wholesale model
Back in college, I was doing $10-15k per month in revenue not on Amazon (I hadn’t found it yet) but with…
…and this is hilarious…
…brick and mortar retailers! I had about 20 of them that sold my products. Which means (on average) each store paid me $500-$700 per month. I want to share my experience here in case you’re considering getting into the retail game. It can be a good offline supplement to Amazon FBA. It’s more work, though. Just be advised.
Step 1: Book an Appointment with a Buyer
Shockingly, only 15% of retail sales are online in the US. The rest are still in store! Weird, right? So in every city and town, there are independently owned retail stores. Some stock items where your product would be PERFECT. Don’t make them try to change their whole store identity. Embarrassingly, I tried to sell men’s fashion accessories into touristy gift shops or stores with largely female clientele, and it never went well. It has to be a true fit. You can approach these stores in-person or over the phone. I liked this worlkflow:
– call the store ahead of time, then
– ask when the owners or “buyer” would be in, then
– set up a 15 minute appointment for a specific day/time (if it goes well you’ll talk for longer), and then
– go in-person to show them your products
If the store is small, it will be staffed by the owner. But if it’s slightly larger, chances are they’ll have a “buyer” whose job is to talk to people like you and bring new inventory into the store. Come prepared with a printed line sheet. Here’s what that is. Interesting, right? But that’s retail.
Step 2: Pitch the Owner/Buyer
Do a live Shark Tank pitch with your products. This part is always fun! Like any sale, the most important things are: (1) interpersonal rapport and (2) understanding what their business needs are. And then, honestly determining whether you’re a mutual fit or not. Your line sheet has wholesale pricing in it. Your goal is to secure a modest initial wholesale order (e.g. 25 units, 50 units, etc.). You’ll generally have to sell product to them at 50% off. For example, if you have men’s sunglasses (as I did) that will retail for $50, you’ll need to sell the products to the retailer for $25. Some fancy retail terms for you: The “$50” is called the “MSRP”. The “$25” is referred to as the “wholesale price”.
If you truly believe that your products will move, but they DON’T want to place a wholesale order, you can consider offering your first run of inventory on consignment. The goal is to move the store to a wholesale relationship, but consignment can be a nice onramp to that.
Step 3: Fulfill the Stock
Deliver, and collect your cheque! Now, THEY (the store) has taken on the risk. They’re taking a bet on you. So, do everything in your power to support them. Great “POP” (point of purchase) displays go a long way. You should supply your own POPs if you have them. After all, you’re in this together. The more they sell, the sooner they’ll reorder, and the more money you make. Win-win.
A few years later, I found Amazon and blew my retail numbers out of the water!
These days, I help Amazon sellers with their advertising. My team and I spend $13 million per year just on Amazon Ads. That’s all we do. We’re real nerdy about it.
We don’t have time to cover everything in this post, but… I’ve set aside time for a free, private Zoom call where we can apply our new 2023 Amazon PPC playbook to your Amazon business specifically, and give you the campaign structure you need to get that distribution.
If you’ve got a great product, the only thing missing is the distribution. I promise this is going to be the best call you’ve had for your business this year.
You can use this link to schedule a time:
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