There’s more than one way to sell a sink. In fact, when you think about it, hundreds of options exist–mail order, catalogue, retail store, and the list goes on. It’s up to you to explore every conceivable option for selling your product, so you can choose the one that best suits your business’ style, product type, budget, and, most importantly, will make you the most money.
Think about these questions:
- How will your product be delivered to your customers? Do you have factory, company-owned, independent, or order lead times distribution channels?
- Who will sell your product–your own salespeople, dealers, distributors, or jobbers?
- Have you made any formal arrangements with distributors?
- When will distributors start selling for you, and what areas will they cover?
- What are you offering distributors in the way of compensation or incentives?
- What margins will you give your retailers, wholesalers, and salespeople, and how to these compare to your competition?
- Do you have any special policies such as discounts or exclusive distribution rights?
- Can you use ready-made manufacturers’ sales organizations already selling products similar to yours?
- How many salespeople are you hiring, and how will they be assigned–by product or territory?
- Do you have an order or sequence in which you plan to penetrate the market, for example, starting local and branching out to farther marketplaces?
- Do any of your salespeople have a fantastic track record?
- How will your sales force be structured and at what rate will it be built up?
- How many sales do you expect each sales person to make each year?
- How many repeat orders to you expect to get?
- Do your salespeople need special training?
- What commission or incentive programs do you have lined up for your salespeople? How do your’s compare to others’?
- What sales strategies do you have on the back burner for future growth–international markets, franchising?
- What sales goals have you set for your first year of business?
- Are there any special or extraordinary procedures used by your customers for making their purchasing decision, for instance, a preferred source list, open competitive tender, or prior engineering approvals?
- Who are the people in your customer organization that will spend money on your product?
- Where do you usually meet your customers?
- If you’re involved in retail, why did you choose the site you did–demographics of surrounding population, accessibility, visibility, cost?
- How much inventory will you need to carry?
- What will investors like and not like about your site?