Do you
realize that Christmas is just a little
over 4 months away and Hanukkah is less
than 4 months away? If you sell
creative products either retail or
wholesale you know that the Fall/Holiday
season can be a make or break season for
many businesses.
But are
you ready?
Here are
7 ways to get yourself prepared this
summer so you are not scrambling when it
comes time to market, sell and ship
whether you sell wholesale, retail or
both:
1. 1.[Retail
& Wholesale] Overhaul your website NOW.
Get it ready with photos of your new
products and a layout ready to go for
when you want to start the HOLIDAY
season. Jazz it up so people will want
to see what you have AND place an order.
With the economy the way it is and
people wanting to spread out their
paychecks you can start the HOLIDAY
season early with a “Christmas in
August” promotion so orders come in
early. I have a site where I am taking
orders NOW for delivery starting in
October – they are lining up, paying in
advance and know they will receive the
merchandise in plenty of time before
Christmas.
2. 2.[Wholesale]
By August you should already have the
Holiday line complete and already
shown it to your wholesale accounts. If
they have not placed their orders yet,
now is the time to follow up with them.
Make sure you have line sheets and order
forms that are easy to follow and are
worded correctly so your sales are
higher – this is a critical part of your
wholesale selling process. Create a
Marketing Plan so your goods are in
front of buyers. TIP: Set up a
wholesale password protected page for
wholesale only so they can have easy
access and place wholesale orders online
FAST!
[Retail] By the end of August you should
have your line’s decisions made for
the season with prototypes complete and
photographed for your website and
marketing materials. Obviously things
can change but you will want to have a
plan put together so you can start your
early bird marketing plan.
3. 3.[Retail
& Wholesale] Place orders for raw
materials and component parts such
as yarn, fabrics, buttons, notions,
trims etc. for manufacturing your
products, if you have not already.
You will never be taken seriously in
business again if you burn bridges by
not being able to deliver goods ordered
by stores. Remember that
manufacturers will not even start a
project unless all the materials are in.
So if you are missing buttons or zippers
– your order is held up – period.
4. 4.[Retail
& Wholesale] Order shipping supplies
or at least take an inventory of what
you have on hand. If you ship via USPS
they frequently run out of shipping
supplies so place your order early. And
in general manufacturers are not making
up as large quantities as they have in
the past – so you want to make sure your
order is in. The last thing you want to
have happen is run out of packaging
materials and have to scramble at the
last minute.
5.
5.[Retail
& Wholesale] Are your systems in place?
I cannot stress this enough – the key to
your business is in your systems –
Regardless of whether you are a one man
show or a big company. Building your
systems is critical to your success as a
company. Systems can change, but you
must have a platform from which to
build. Put together your holiday system
NOW with all your steps from product
development; manufacturing; inventory;
picking & packing; shipping & receiving
– you will thank your lucky stars that
you did it! Systems over everything else
will give you the freedom to grow,
create and thrive!
6.
6.[Retail & Wholesale]
Schedule your manufacturing: Make
sure you a time line and put together a
Schedule for everything that needs to be
completed. If you manufacture your own
products you will need to carefully
schedule your time for doing production.
If you outsource you need to inspect
what you expect with manufacturers
making sure they are on schedule with
their completion of your goods and have
followed your specifications correctly.
Do not leave this to chance.
7. 7.[Retail
& Wholesale] Put together a Holiday Mini
Business Plan with your estimated
sales projections, cash flow, marketing
plan, pricing spread sheets and
schedule. It doesn’t have to be perfect
and you may have to adapt for today’s
market. When you write out a plan it
forces you to think things through.
Remember one thought leads to another
For More information about this subject
and much more about creating your
Design 2 Market Success business
we invite you to join our INNER CIRCLE
which you can test drive for $1 or $7.
To take a look at all the help for your
creative business click here:
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Success Inner Circle
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