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MenuI developed melamine plate for kids. It have nice design and package but I struggle with sales. How can I sell it?
I worked 2 years for design company as production manager. I learned how to manufacture products, but I don't have knowledge in sales and marketing. I invested all my savings. And developed my first product It is a melamine plate set in shape of a car for kids. The idea was to design plate which will make meal time more fun for kids. But so far I have sold only 100 pcs, and I still have 900. How I can sell it? I will appreciate all suggestions you can give me.
Answers
The best way to sell anything is to find a similar product to yours (but less competitive) and find out how / where they sell theres.
The truth is you'll need to make a lot of visits and calls which will mean rejection, but just know that it's a numbers game... meaning, it's all about the # of calls, emails, meetings you take - and over time you'll eventually get sales.
There's no silver bullet, only a lot of lead bullets. You just need to start firing the gun (= pick up the phone and try selling it to stores).
Again, find out who's been successful in this market, and copy what they did if you have no ideas how to proceed.
I agree with everything that has been said and interested to know who has bought it thus far? How did they find you? It will be good to know who exactly is the market so we can brainstorm more ideas on who/how to sell!
You might want to look for good distribution channels where there are communities built in parenting or making food fun for kids. Teaming up with them (think mommy bloggers, educators, etc.) to review your plates might provide an additional boost if you can offer them some sort of small incentive.
Additionally - have you contacted the 100 who have bought and asked them 1) how they found you 2) What about the product enticed them to fork over their cash for what you have created? Finding this out can lead to ways to offer your plates in areas where your target customers go/visit online as well as if they would recommend their plates to family and friends.
For paid traffic options -- you would want to be mindful. For example the CPC on google for, "melamine plates" is over $5 a click but you might be able to play around with keywords so that even low traffic terms would a) cost you less b) might provide a better conversion because it could be a feature or benefit of the plate that peeks their interest.
I hope this helps as a push off! More than happy to dive in if you can provide more specifics.
The very first thing you need to do is have your “brand” figured out. A lot of companies go right to marketing before they have their brand established. Marketing is tactical and it is what you do. Branding is who you are. Your brand should define what you do – marketing – and what tools (social media, websites, partnerships, PR, etc.) are the best vehicles to communicate your brand with. You will also need to define your audience personas. There is a process in doing branding correctly. I would be happy to discuss with you if you want to set up a call. Thank you.
You need a good sales rep that had the connection into the retail markets that you want to be in. A soild pitch deck and sales sheet for each SKU is absolutely necessary to get noticed. The sales rep getting you in there is only half the battle. Getting them to actually get interested in the product is all based on your deck and dollars. There is a lot more that comes with retail. Getting in the door is one thing. You will need marketing dollars to get there. If you want a connection to a great sales rep I can help you.
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This is not my specialty, however, I have been in your position many many times -- maybe this will help. If the product is in-tangible, then look for JV partners on the Internet. Try to find an expert that deals with these JV opportunities (like me). If the product is physical, then look for sales organizations that have networks of sales people across the country. You do the deal with the organization and the independent network of sales people sells your product. It's a sweet setup if you can negotiate a margin that works for everyone. Hope that helps - Cheers - NickNP
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