When you’re contacting wholesale buyers, it’s a tricky balance of contacting buyers enough to stay on their radar without feeling desperate for the sale or appearing stalker-ish.
In this episode, I answer a question from a clothing designer…
“I reached out to Nordstrom via LinkedIn and the buyer responded with a message with her email and interest to check out my line sheet this past Saturday. I responded via LinkedIn the same day that I have sent her the linesheet and information via Gmail. It’s been five days but I don’t want to come off obnoxious or desperate. When would you say would be an appropriate time to follow up? Next Monday? Thank you!”
First of all, kudos to you for getting an actual response from this Nordstrom buyer! Just think about how many times she gets pitched in a week. The fact that you got her attention is a terrific sign.
I get it that you don’t want to seem sales-y or desperate for the sale, but waiting 5 days to contact her is not going to be enough. Most entrepreneurs give up way too early and easily and lose the sale because they don’t follow up enough. In fact, the author of Guerilla Marketing tells us…
“68% of Sales are Lost Due to Poor Follow-up” – Jay Conrad Levinson
68%! Ouch. I’ll explain the strategy I would use to contact a Nordstrom buyer in a moment. but first, you should probably understand something…
To be a retail buyer is to be in EMAIL HELL.
I was a buyer for 14 years and got pitched so often I became numb to cold pitches. I can only imagine what it’s like to be a big-box retail buyer like this Nordstrom buyer.
So what’s the fine line between stalker and a 68%-lose-the-sale quitter?
Let me explain…
You can also listen to this episode on iTunes and Stitcher Radio.
Mentioned in this Episode:
- Getting an Appointment with Anyone – Chet Holmes video part 1
- The Ultimate Sales Machine book by Chet Holmes
- Land Your Next 10 Retailers online course
How about you? Are you selling your products wholesale? What works BEST for you to get a retail buyer’s attention? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.
As always, thanks for listening (and reading),
Jane
Thank you so much for this Jane. My husband makes wooden ornaments, and a popular zoo likes to buy them occasionally for their shops. He gets frustrated because they will email him and say that they want something, and even ask for new designs. He’ll send them the new design mock-ups and then never get a response back. I’m glad to hear that this is normal behavior for buyers and that he should keep trying and continue to follow up.
Hi Bekah,
Unfortunately, this sounds like totally normal behavior for a buyer. Not that it’s Fessional or appreciated at all, but it’s kind of typical. I’ve been on both sides of this. I was the buyer who got excited and wanted to place an order but then got too distracted and overwhelmed with other priorities to follow up with the designer. I’ve been the designer who felt like I was getting yanked around as well. Absolutely just tell your husband to keep following up. They’re interested, they’re just busy and distracted!
Jane
Thank you for posting this. VERY helpful. VERY timely as I am having my whole sales person listen to it as well. Differentiation is SO important…yet trying to look like everyone else seems safe and “the right thing to do”….but it is not. You have to figure out a way to distinguish yourself from the competition. You have mentioned this many times….but this time it really hit me. Thank you so much for this uplifting podcast.
Thanks so much for commenting, Ruth. I agree that it’s easier to be a me-too brand than to take a risk on doing something your own way. At least it feels like a risk… But the truth is that doing things like everyone else is a path to failure.
JH