The Business Chat - How to create a line sheet

“Help! A store asked me for my line sheet! I’d love to have my work in this store, but I don’t have a line sheet because I don’t know what it is.“

The good news about this is that if they are asking for your line sheet then they are looking to buy wholesale and not on consignment. Yay! Moving on, now you have to create your line sheets. Easy.

A collection is all of your work organized into “lines” or “series”. A line or a series, is a body of work with a common defining element. A line sheet is basically a catalog page or brochure that shows your line to prospective wholesale customers. A catalogue is all of your line sheets together.

Here are the sections of a good line sheet.

 

The Basics

• Business Name/Logo
• Your name
• E-mail, phone and addresss
• A short statement about your business – what makes it special

Your company wholesale Policies

• Opening order: The minimum amount a retailer must buy from you the first time they order (e.g. $200). Remember these numbers are all the wholesale numbers.
• Reorder amount: The minimum amount a retailer must buy from you after the first order.
• Payment – Outline your payment options and policies here. Do you accept cheques? Paypal? Direct Debit? Credit Cards? Do they pay in advance, COD or do you accept terms such as Net 30? It is common for first orders, or the first 3 orders, to be paid in advance and then for the maker to offer Net 30. (Net 30 means that the buyer has 30 days to pay from the date they receive the order).  Do you offer discounts for early payment?
• Shipping Cost and Times – How long will it take you to ship your items to the retailer once they have ordered? How long will the actual shipping take from where you are to where they are? Who is paying for the shipping?
• Valid Until – Make sure you put an end date on the validity of your prices!! It may become necessary to raise your prices, make sure you have this option.
• Your warranty policy. Do you take returns for damaged/incorrect goods? How long after receiving your goods does your customer have to return these goods? Do you refund shipping costs, too?
• Your Returns policy –Do you offer a “swap” policy? (If your work doesn’t sell can they swap it – exchange it?)

 

The Items

• Start with the name of the line featured and the season. For example, “Ocean Line, Summer 2012 Collection”
• Each Item should have a photograph that is clear, professional-quality and large enought to show the details. Keep the photos simple and uncluttered
• Next to each image on your line sheet:
• The item's name or order number.
• Any available options such as colours, sizes, etc.
• The item's measurements, length, etc.
• Price Sheet

It is a really good idea to keep your prices separate from the actual line sheet. Your supplies fluctuate in price and if you were hit with an increase in supplies you have to increase your prices. Rather than changing your whole line sheet, you only have to change your price sheet. (Make sure you have a statement on there saying “prices subject to change without notice”). A price sheet is just a list of your items by number, your wholesale price and the MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price). Keep in mind, once a store has bought your work they own it and have the right to charge whatever they want.

 

Order Sheet
Start your order sheet with your company information and then a simple table for them to fill out. Head the columns with quantity, item number, title, and subtotal. You can make this a pdf that they can download and fax back to you, or you can fill it out in person. If you don’t have a fax, you can ask them to scan it in and then email it back. Or you could try sending them a Word file so that they can fill it out online and email it back.
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Brand your line sheet.

Make sure that your that your line sheet evokes the style and personality of your work. This is sometimes one of the first pieces of your company that a potential account sees. They should have a good feel for you from this.

 

Keep it simple and clean. If the buyer can’t read the tiny print, they can’t read it. If this is going out electronically test it out on a variety of screens. Designing on a 27” screen may give you a lot of space, check out how it looks on an iPad.

 

Some makers include a short artist's statement or artist biography as part of their line sheet, or any unusual information about their products. This kind of info isn't necessary, but if it happens to be unusual, interesting, or related to a timely topic in your case, it can sometimes lead to more sales.

 

Getting your line sheets to prospective customers

You should have printed copies of your line sheet available to hand out in person at trade shows and when visiting a shop or gallery. It’s important to have an electronic copy that you can email to  wholesale prospects.

 

The best way to create the electronic version is to save your line sheet file as a .pdf file, and either make it available on your website or email it when you contact a store.

 

Some designers prefer to keep their product lines and prices a secret from their competitors and keep their line sheets in a password protected area of their website. You definitely don’t want your retail customers seeing your wholesale pricing sheets as they won’t always understand why the difference between the wholesale price and the MSRP. It’s your decision on how you want to distribute your line sheet or catalogue.

 

If you do make it openly available, there's a much greater chance it will be found by a shop or gallery that's interested in carrying your work. One idea is to put your line sheet openly online but not the price sheet.

 

If you are serious about selling wholesale, creating line sheets is a necessity. The first one is the hardest to do, after that you have a template and can just change the images. It’s worth the time.

The Business Chat - Wholesale

Wholesaling is when a store buys your work outright. They order from your catalogue, you produce the work and they give you money.

There are a lot of advantages to selling your work wholesale. The biggest advantage from a business point is that since you don’t produce the work until you receive an order, you don’t have to invest as much in inventory. Many makers also like wholesale because they spend more time in the studio and less time selling. Of course, you still have to sell to the stores.
Note: a store that buys wholesale is also known as an account

The downside to wholesale selling is that you have to have a catalogue or line sheets in order for your accounts to order from. The work in your catalogue must be repeatable, wholesale is not designed for one of a kind work. As the store makes their money from marking up your work, you sell to the store at 50% off your retail price. Of course what the store actually sells for is beyond your control as they own it.

Wholesale can be very important for your crafty success. Selling wholesale provides you with another income stream for your business. Unlike consignment the store or gallery has invested their own money in  your work and therefore they are more motivated to promote and sell it. This leads to increased exposure for your work and free marketing for you! A good store will actively push your work in the media meaning more publicity for you. If the store is a large one it can mean more media coverage. The media is much more likely to mention your work if their readers can find you in a store. One big advantage to selling wholesale is that you can lower your manufacturing  costs because when you make in bulk, you buy your supplies in bulk and get bulk discounts on them.

What stores are looking for

Stores want to make sure that your product will sell. They are always looking for work that is unique and original. The store will also think about if your product will sell to their customers. You already know your target market, is the stores target market the same? If so, then talk to the store buyer about this.

Many stores will ask you for exclusivity. This means that they are the only store within a certain geographical distance selling the product. Exclusivity makes sense sometimes. If every store in the neighbourhood has the same work the customers will tire of it. You should think carefully before you grant exclusivity to a store, are they the best to sell your product?

How to get started in wholesale:

Here’s a checklist to get you started. You will need:

• Product.
• You need a product that is something a store will want to carry. No matter how beautiful it is, if it is not going to sell no store will buy it.
• You need to have enough product to meet the demand a store might have. Landing an account is no good if you have to tell them to wait 2 months. As a wholesaler, your products must also have the correct packaging (this is not the same as the packaging you’d use at a craft show). If you want to deal with very large retailers you might also need bar codes, hang tags, sku numbers,  labels or other supporting material.
• Catalogue/line sheet. This is absolutely necessary. Your catalogue or line sheet has to be professional in all aspects. You need professional quality photos, descriptions, lists of ingredients, colours if applicable, a product number , time to ship.
• Pricing sheet. It’s a good idea to keep the pricing sheet separate from the catalogue or line sheet. This way you can change prices if necessary.
• Order form
• State your minimum order, reorder quantity, shipping and payment terms
• Terms and conditions
• What happens if they want to return unsold merchandize? State your payment terms How to find wholesale accounts.
• and any other administration stuff.

How to find wholesale accounts

One way to find multiple accounts is to exhibit at a wholesale trade show. These are very different from retail crafts shows. Trade shows are not open to the general public, only to registered buyers. As an exhibitor at a craft show, your booth is filled with as much product as you can as your customers want to see everything you have. In a wholesale trade show booth, you carry only samples of your work. You might only have 20 – 50 items on display. Your customers (stores), order multiple units of each of the products on display.

Wholesale trade shows are not for the beginner. It is a seriously large financial investment to attend one of these.

To look for individual stores start by looking locally. Ask your friends and your customers to recommend stores they think would be a good place for you to sell in.
Online searches are a good direction to go. Try using Google and search for something like “jewelry stores Montreal”.  If you are looking for larger stores, you can look in Linked In. Search for the store name or the buyer. Try connecting with them there. Of course, this means that you have your online presence absolutely spiffied up.

Approaching a store

Before approaching a store, always do your research first. Check out the store to make sure it’s a good fit. If you can, go to the store and look at their current inventory and who they represent. Find out the name of the store buyer.

Make sure you know your story. When you walk into your appointment with the store buyer you must be wearing your best salesperson hat. Talk about the benefits your products will bring to the store and to the stores customers. Know why your products are better than your competition., You are selling twice here, once to the store and once to their customers.
When you are ready, call or email and schedule an appointment with the store buyer. Practice what you are going to say and make sure to show up prepared – bring your catalogs, samples, and order forms.

After meeting with a buyer, always send a thank you note. This keeps you in their sights and shows that you can follow through. If they didn’t place an order this time don’t despair. Schedule a follow up for a later date. Sometimes they may love your work but just not have the shelf space or the money at that time. You can ask the buyer when you could contact them again, or just put a note on your calendar for every 3 months or so.


Notes about succeeding in wholesale


Some makers dream of seeing their work in a large store such as Target, or Nordstroms. While it is always important to dream and dream big, working with very large retails is perhaps not the best fit for handmade work. If you are manufacturing your work elsewhere and can supply large orders a large retailer might work. The upside to huge accounts like this is the potential to make a lot of money and the increased exposure you get. The downside is that these stores typically pay net 30-90 days and they will want a larger discount than 50%. It is also rare for a superstore to deal directly with you, the small maker. You will need a sales rep or your own sales force.

When you are selling wholesale, you need to have an inventory system so that stores can easily reorder. You don’t want them phoning up and ordering “the really long blue and green necklace with the crystal pendant”. The easier it is for them to order, the more likely they will.

It’s a good idea to follow up to see how well your work is selling. Don’t wait for the store to call you once they need more work. If it’s not moving as well as it could, perhaps you can help them. Provide them with marketing materials to help promote your work. If you use a special technique inform them of it. Let them know what’s special and unique about your work, these are your selling features. Sometimes you need to train the store staff how to sell your work.

It is critical to your wholesale success to properly price your work. Underpricing at a retail craft show means that you might be losing money on a couple of items. Underpricing at a wholesale level means that you will sink your crafty venture. Use your spreadsheets and make sure you have accounted for everything.

Succeeding in wholesale for a handmade crafty business is absolutely possible. Do your research, prepare properly and go into it with your eyes wide open.

The Business Chat - 3 ways of selling

No matter how beautiful your work is, if you don’t sell it, your business will fail. In a crafty business money is sometimes not the main reason we’re in business. We do this because we love it, because we want a creative outlet, because we want to share our talents. Regardless of why you are in business, if you lose money it’s a failure.

The bottom line is you need to sell your work.

There are 3 ways you can sell your work.

1. retail your products directly to the public
2. wholesale to stores/galleries
3. in stores on consignment

There are advantages and disadvantages to each method. Each method isn’t mutually exclusive and most successful makers use a mix of all three.

Retailing to the public.

Let’s start with retailing your products directly to the public.

Pros:

• You receive 100% of the final selling price and you receive this immediately. Cash is good.
• You control the sales environment. You design your own display or store
• You meet the buying public and conduct on the spot market research

Cons:

• Time spent selling is time away from the studio
• You have to deal with the buying public. You are the salesperson
• Craft shows cost money. Opening your own store or studio costs money. Selling online costs money
• You have to start up and maintain your own display or store, or website

 Where to sell to the public:

• from your own studio/shop
• craft shows
• home parties/office parties
• online

Wholesaling to stores
Wholesaling is when a store buys your jewellery outright. They order from your catalogue, you produce the work and they give you money.

Pros:

• you don’t produce the work until you receive an order so you don’t have to invest as much in inventory
• you spend more time in the studio, less time selling
• unlike retail where you make a lot of small sales, in a wholesale model you set a minimum order and make fewer, but more lucrative sales

Cons:

• stores expect a discount from your retail price, usually at least 50%
• you need a catalogue or line sheets
• you must have work that is consistently repeatable, wholesale does not work for one of a kind work
• you still have to sell the work, to the store buyers

Consignment
With consignment, the store doesn’t actually purchase your work. They agree to display it and sell it for you. When it sells, they send you money. This is advantageous to the store as they do not have to spend money on inventory. While most of us would prefer to sell only wholesale, most stores deal on consignment. In the beginning of your crafty career, you will find that you are obliged to deal with stores on consignment.

Pros:

• your work is continually on display somewhere unlike a craft show which is a few days here and there
• unlike wholesale, you set the selling price
• you usually receive a larger percentage of the price than you do with wholesale
• consignment works will with one of a kind work or with large expensive pieces
• more time in the studio, less time selling.

Cons:

• As the store has not invested any money in your work, they may not be as motivated to sell it as you would like
• You must keep meticulous records of what pieces are in what stores
• Your inventory may be tied up for a long time without bringing you any return for it
• Stores aren’t always prompt in paying, it is up to you to be a collection officer

How you choose to sell depends on a number of factors. If you know that you are not a people person and don’t like the general public then craft shows are not a good option. If selling your work for 50% of the price means that you are losing money and you feel that you cannot raise your prices, then wholesale will not work for you. Think about how much time you want to spend in the studio rather than in a selling position, although if you want to sell wholesale or consignment you still have to sell, only this time to a store buyer.

Sometimes it’s a loathing of selling that stops many crafters from moving forward with their busines. Think of it not as selling, but as an exchange between friends. You are gifting them with your work, and they are gifting you with money. And you have made their world a more beautiful place, that’s fair.