No matter how hard you try to sell your products, sometimes, the buyer says no! It is inevitable!
There are many reasons why a buyer will tell you no and finding out why is important to the growth of your business.
In my experience, here are some of the reasons why a buyer says no:
- Product(s) are not unique enough — important point, especially if you
are selling to independents stores that thrive on uniqueness.
- Not a good product for wholesaling — unfortunately, some products are just not well suited for wholesaling.
- Pricing is not appropriate — if you sell your items for $10 in shows and/or on the internet, store buyers will expect the wholesale price to be $5 or less.
- Product(s) look too homemade — this especially is a problem if you are creating something very commonplace at craft consignment stores or fairs.
- Sales material lacks professionalism — presentation is critical as it shows how serious you are about your business.
- Sales presentation is ineffective — if all you talk about is yourself or your products, rather than listening to your buyers, your sales presentation will probably fail!
- Unable to deliver products in a timely basis — most buyers expect a reasonable time frame for receiving their products. If you are unable to ship within a few weeks, you may have a problem (of course, this does not apply to high end artisan work that can easily take months for delivery),
- Product doesn’t fit stores motif — don’t expect to go into a dollar store to sell high end jewelry, for example (okay, that example was kind of out there, but you get the idea).
- Store is not Open-to-Buy — often, buying times are only certain times of the year. If you connect during the ‘off’ times, you will often be sent away without a sale.
- Store buyer personality may not mesh with your own — no matter how charming you can be, some buyers may just not like you. Nothing personal!
How do you know which of the reasons why you were rejected? Ask the buyer!! I know that may sound intimidating, but you would be surprised at the answer(s) you may get.
In my experience, buyers may direct you to a nearby store that is a better fit for your products,; They may suggest you come back at XX time when they are open to buy again; or the may even make suggestions for better packaging or design of your products — you just never know until you ask!
If you are interested in more information, check out this mini website