Oct 26, 2016
In todays episode we will be discussing the topic of Getting
etsablished in a new territory. This topic came to my
attention from an inquiry by John Gonzalez whom you can find on the
social feeds @probies_treasures on instagram as well as his
business page on Facebook Facebook.com/probiestreasures.
Have you ever moved to a new city, state or country and felt
lost when it came to reestablishing yourself in the local market
place? This episode is going to cover some simple ideas
to introduce yourself to your local retailers, figure out what your
local market is like and create long lasting relationships that
will help support your business now and in the future,
even if you move again.
As an artists we have the ability to pick up and move to
almost anywhere in the world. Having a bag of tools to use when
getting yourself reestablished is the key to
a successful transition. Many times the idea of having to
become re established can cause many to not want to move at all due
to the fear of having to start all over.
Having a clear understanding of where your business is now and
where you'd like it to go will make it easier
to approach your new territory with
your product line in a confident, proud manner. You dont
want to be cocky and over confident as this can turn off a
lot of shop owners. Having a humble, proud
attitude will pay dividends for years to come as your
line of work grows with your techniques. With todays
technology its easier then ever to promote and sell your work
internationally, however the relationships you develop on
a personal level with your local retailers and their
customers will be a more rewarding experience both spiritually
and financially. These 5-steps will ease the stress that can
lead to sales paralysis. These can be implemented now to begin the
process of establishing and selling in new territories whether
your new to glass, new to the area or just new to selling your own
work.
before we begin
lets remember first and foremost that you much
know your local and state paraphernalia laws.
Every city and state has different laws when it come to
cannabis and this is crucial to not only help you fine
tune your product lines but also to keep your ass out of
jail.
1- locate at least 6-smoke shops in your
area..
Try to keep these shops under an
hour drive, time equals money. Not every town or city has
a bundle of smoke shops so this may be
a challenge however if this means you need to
travel further then an hour do it.. once you get a
good relationship with a smoke shops you can always take
orders over the phone or through email. this i why its
important to have a consistent, well developed line of work.
Once you have located your local smoke shops its time to
go on a re-con mission.
2- the re-con mission
Step 2 will give you the chance to visit these
shops and get an idea of what type of shops they are. Not everyone
is going to be high end or low end. This will help you to figure
out how to fine tune the needs of each shop. Take mental
notes. as well as create a note in your phone... before
walking in the door you should have prepped a note for each
shop you're visiting with the name and location
written down. ask to see products and take notes in your
phone of pricing with being obvious about it
and don't let them know you're an artist. This
may seem deceptive at first but of you walk into a
new smoke shop and start talking
about yourself you'll more then likely cause
them employee or shop owner to put up
a mental block and not be as "open" to show you prices.
BY finding out the retail of their items you can do the math
and figure out the wholesale most shops will
mark up their items 2-2.5 times. some mark up 3 times
but don't let this discourage you. If for instance you
see a bubbler priced at $55.00 then you can assume that the
wholesale was around $22-$25.00. Really take notice of what
the shop carries and if customers come in while you're there pay
attention to what they are asking for and potentially purchase.Ask
questions about the artists they purchase from and
jot their names down. this leads us to step 3..
3- talk to other local artists.
The local artists in your area that have
been their for a while will be able to give you a heads
up about sops that they've dealt with. not every artists
is going to be willing to spill the beans so take their input
lightly bit still pay attention. ask about what they sell and how
the owner or mgr of the shop buys.. DO they haggle prices? do
they buy in bulk? discounts for bulk? are they a higher end
gallery/retail that isn't afraid to drop god money on
great glass.? if you're a newer artist ask other
artists in the area if they collab if so the
artists you collab with cold sell the piece to the local smoke
shop and help introduce you to the area through your work.
ask your local artists f they ever demo at the shops? etc..
Most artists in your community are willing to
share info compared to 10-years ago so don't be
afraid to reach out.
4-Meet the buyers
Once you introduce yourself to
your local artists and have a decent idea of what your local shops
offer and what their prices are like its time to
introduce yourself as an artist to the shops
This can be intimidating and keep you from even
leaving your studio. The fear of rejection can be
debilitating but just remember that if you make this part
of the process fun, not only will you find that your fears can
actually fuel your fire but also that few every"no" you
get you will be one "no" closer to a bigger "yes". Learning
how to deal with rejection is going to be key to your
success as a sales person but it will also create a confidence in
yourself that will lead to other successes in life. heres how you
can make this a ton of fun... Give Your Glass Away!!
yep thats all you have to do.... make samples
of all your work.. no mater how big or small your line of work is
make up a case full of samples.
Now if you've been following
the podcast for sometime you'll remember that
as part of figuring out your base line calculations for your lines
of product one step is creating a timed sample which you should
keep for a reference. These samples are ideal to carry with you
when you go to shops to show them what you make. Along
with the sample make sure you have a price list with a high quality
colored photo of each item next its respective price.
That way you can leave this with each shop so they can call you
when they need to reorder of when you call they have a reference to
know what you are talking about. Now as far as the giveaways
go heres what you can do. Make Pendants and spoons.
These will be your freebies. When introducing yourself make
sure you keep the names of these contacts in the note
file you originally created during your re-con mission.
If the shop is a franchise or is run by a manager and not the owner
make sure to get their name and contact info. They may be
open to give you their personal cell number which will
make it easier to get in contact with them
but don't abuse this. If upon your visit you only have an
employee working make sure to still get the info of the buyer but
also create a good repor with the employee,
they can be your best advocate when it comes
to getting your work in the shop. If you
do just have a employee then bring them 1- pipe
sample and 2- pendants. 1 for them and 1 for the
mgr/owner. If you can give the shop owner or buyer one of each it
will give them a physical reference and a gift to boot.
tell them the pendant is for them to have and the pipe is for
them to sell and give them your MSRP for both. The MSRP
is the manufactures suggested retail price which if you did your
research of that shop, your pricing will fit right in with other
items that are similar in style and pricing. Try to keep
your prices consistent across the board but yo will
fin that some shops that r higher end and have a higher
end demographic in their area will be willing to pay more
for your work then say an area that isn't a financially
wealthy. Along with your glass gifts and samples,
its important that you also have marketing material which
leads u to number 5..
5- stickers, fliers and business cards
Along with your
gifted pendant and sample hand pipe you will also need to bring
along your marketing material This is the
best way to spread the word through out your community that
YOU HAVE ARRIVED. When it comes to
stickers one thing I recommend you get made is a larger
sticker that the shop can put on their front door or cases. Besides
smaller stickers for the shops customers the
larger stickers have the ability to become a semi-permanent
marketing strategy giving you a longer advertising effect when it
comes to branding yourself. If you don't have a logo or
brand yet just a simple sticker made using a high quality photo of
your glass and add your artists name will suffice. There's
many outlets for purchasing custom stickers which as aways
I recommend going local but if you cant ill
post links to several companies you can choose from That
I recommend an use.. along with your stickers make
sure you have business cards made. This is a cheap and simple way
to give the shops and their customers a way to get in
touch and follow you on your social platforms.
its important to include your website or marketplace(if
you have one)contact info including email.. if your on a
social platform
don't forget to include everyone of them
from your titter handle to your IG acct.
this will give your followers a chance
to stay up to date with you and your newer items along
with a personal side to you and all your wackiness. In
a past episode I discussed why you should use
your social media platforms as tool and to not rely on
them to sell your work.
If you follow these tips you will find
that you'll create a strong foundation in
your local community and these relationships will be ones to
nurture and grow. These can lead to demonstrations at the
shops and even the ability to sell work that is experimental as you
learn and develop new techniques. Make sure to stay in touch
with these shops monthly If you set a call schedule
to check in with these shops in a
rotation you'll be able to
keep consistent orders flying out of your studio and help
you grow as an artists while increasing your profits!!