I am a start-up company with a great product which I invented that protects a person's valuables from tornadoes and hurricanes (and keeps things safe from looters). I've had it tested by a leading University (and it passed all tests!) and have a manufacturer in Georgia who has made a great looking product. And a nice website www.hurricanehutch.com. Now I need to sell it. I've been to the international home builders show (tons of leads, but only a few dealers signed up to sell). I am going to the National Hardware show in Las Vegas under the "new inventions area" this May but am worried I will not generate the sales I want. My question is: How can someone on a shoestring budget, but with a great new product get sales rep help? Any thoughts as to what I should do?
Hutch, the good news is you have lot of options. The bad news is you should have been working on your sales model in conjunction with your product development. There is an old saying ‘Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door’. I add, ‘Without a sales strategy, all you have is a new mousetrap.’ Enough preaching, let’s review options for selling more Hurricane Hutches.
I have several questions, how many have you sold far? How much were those sales? Who is your ideal customer? Who else is selling to your ideal customer? What is your ideal sales channel (direct, web, retail, distributors)? Who is your competition (direct and indirect)? How much margin is in your $1,500 price tag? Why did you only sign up a few distributors? Why did the others not sign? How many distributors did you sign up?
My immediate recommendation is to continue to market directly and through your website. This will confirm you can sell your product and at what price. One pricing comment, I too have launched a new product with a start-up at tradeshows. I tested pricing on tradeshow attendees and they all liked my high price, until I asked how many they wanted? Then I got, ‘Yes, I believe your product is worth x$ but for someone else not me.’ A true test of price is people actually spending money on your product and if you have a truly unique offering do not be afraid to increase your price.
Next, I recommend reviewing the margin in the $1,500. You need your resellers to make money on your product. Resellers need both product that sells and makes them money. Without both, you are in trouble. If you have small margins, you need to increase your price so both of you and your sales channel can make money. Next determine if you are going to pay them a % of the sales price or do you sell them the hutch for example $750 and they can charge whatever they want. Do they have buy inventory? Who will hold the inventory? Will you ship directly to the client? Do they have to buy one as demo to be a distributor or do they have to buy 10? Is your pricing model the reason you did not sign more distributors? At the Las Vegas show ask every distributor who does not sign up why and what they would recommend you change?
Identify who are your ideal client, consumer and distributor. Simply, an ideal client (consumer or distributor) is someone has a need, money, and desire to buy or sell your solution sooner rather than later. Once you know who your ideal distributor is, target them with the value of adding your product to their offerings. Another option is to find companies already selling to your ideal consumer. Additionally, review who is your competition both direct (similar solutions) and indirect (storage, safe, other). Then target distributors selling competitive solutions, and approach them on the value of selling your product. Regarding competition, the biggest competitor in any sale is ‘Doing Nothing.’
Once you determine the distributors you want to do business with, aggressively cold call them. Push the value of why they should resell your product and how much money they will make. Get creative: give them one, make sales calls with them, rebrand, etc.
Once, you put together these details, have specific goals for your upcoming tradeshow including individual sales and signing up distributors. When distributors do not sign up and consumers do not buy, ask them why. Plus, call all of the distributors from the previous show.
On a side note to increase your website traffic, I recommend purchasing adwords from google from as low as $50 a month. Click the link
http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/ to get more details
Hurricanes, Good selling the ‘Hutch’ and let us know how it goes! Reader Feedback, please click the comments below to give additional information on 'Start-up Selling’ and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun P
Hutch, the good news is you have lot of options. The bad news is you should have been working on your sales model in conjunction with your product development. There is an old saying ‘Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door’. I add, ‘Without a sales strategy, all you have is a new mousetrap.’ Enough preaching, let’s review options for selling more Hurricane Hutches.
I have several questions, how many have you sold far? How much were those sales? Who is your ideal customer? Who else is selling to your ideal customer? What is your ideal sales channel (direct, web, retail, distributors)? Who is your competition (direct and indirect)? How much margin is in your $1,500 price tag? Why did you only sign up a few distributors? Why did the others not sign? How many distributors did you sign up?
My immediate recommendation is to continue to market directly and through your website. This will confirm you can sell your product and at what price. One pricing comment, I too have launched a new product with a start-up at tradeshows. I tested pricing on tradeshow attendees and they all liked my high price, until I asked how many they wanted? Then I got, ‘Yes, I believe your product is worth x$ but for someone else not me.’ A true test of price is people actually spending money on your product and if you have a truly unique offering do not be afraid to increase your price.
Next, I recommend reviewing the margin in the $1,500. You need your resellers to make money on your product. Resellers need both product that sells and makes them money. Without both, you are in trouble. If you have small margins, you need to increase your price so both of you and your sales channel can make money. Next determine if you are going to pay them a % of the sales price or do you sell them the hutch for example $750 and they can charge whatever they want. Do they have buy inventory? Who will hold the inventory? Will you ship directly to the client? Do they have to buy one as demo to be a distributor or do they have to buy 10? Is your pricing model the reason you did not sign more distributors? At the Las Vegas show ask every distributor who does not sign up why and what they would recommend you change?
Identify who are your ideal client, consumer and distributor. Simply, an ideal client (consumer or distributor) is someone has a need, money, and desire to buy or sell your solution sooner rather than later. Once you know who your ideal distributor is, target them with the value of adding your product to their offerings. Another option is to find companies already selling to your ideal consumer. Additionally, review who is your competition both direct (similar solutions) and indirect (storage, safe, other). Then target distributors selling competitive solutions, and approach them on the value of selling your product. Regarding competition, the biggest competitor in any sale is ‘Doing Nothing.’
Once you determine the distributors you want to do business with, aggressively cold call them. Push the value of why they should resell your product and how much money they will make. Get creative: give them one, make sales calls with them, rebrand, etc.
Once, you put together these details, have specific goals for your upcoming tradeshow including individual sales and signing up distributors. When distributors do not sign up and consumers do not buy, ask them why. Plus, call all of the distributors from the previous show.
On a side note to increase your website traffic, I recommend purchasing adwords from google from as low as $50 a month. Click the link
http://www.google.com/intl/en/ads/ to get more details
Hurricanes, Good selling the ‘Hutch’ and let us know how it goes! Reader Feedback, please click the comments below to give additional information on 'Start-up Selling’ and I want your feedback on my response. Shaun P
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