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So, you've ordered your
loaves of soap, cut them into bars, labeled with with your company
name - now what? Now comes the time when you have to get out
there and start selling your soaps. The very first thing is
to start with people you know. If your day job has a relaxed
work atmosphere, pass out your new business cards with a
soap sample. To make a soap sample, take one bar of soap and
cut it into at least six pieces. Slide the soap sample down
into a small ziplock bag (found in craft and hobby stores) along
with your business card. We have some customers that order
an extra loaf of their favorite soap solely for cutting up into
samples. I know from personal experience that the soap
samples I have given out in our store over the years almost always
resulted in the customer coming back for whole bars. And,
since we usually run a special price in the store when you buy 3
soaps, they usually bought three, sometimes six bars. You
may also include a business-card-sized piece of paper talking
about the benefits of using handmade soap. Or, perhaps a
coupon with sample and business card. Tell the potential
customer to just TRY your soap sample - to take it home and use it
for three straight days (without using their old products) and
they'll feel a difference in the way their skin feels.
MARKETS
Okay, we've covered sampling.
Now onto WHERE to sell your soap. When you're first starting
out, word of mouth is the very best sales tool. But there
are other ways to reach new customers, people that you don't
already know. Festivals and flea markets are a great way to
do this. Usually, the booth rental is affordable and you can
get your face (and your product) out in front of the public.
Besides your soaps, make sure to take plenty of business cards
with you. Give them not only to the customers that purchased
soap, but also to the ones that seemed interested but didn't make
a purchase. See our DISPLAYING YOUR SOAP page for ideas on
how to set up your flea market or fair table. (we plan to make a
video this spring, showing you how to set up a easy display table
for markets)
When you do a festival or flea
market, be sure to take plenty of product. I always pass up
the table that look anemic. Twenty bars of soap on a table
can send mixed messages to the potential customer, the first being
that you are not a serious supply for them. Poor stock may
make them think, "This is just a hobby for them. If I like
this soap, I bet they won't be back next month and I can't get
more. I'll just try the lady a few booths down. She's
here every month and has plenty." See what I mean? You
never know what potential customers are thinking when they look at
your table. Make sure it gives off a good first impression.
Post your soap prices on your table
or in a stand up picture frame. Sometimes, customers are too
shy to ask the prices, thinking they may not be able to afford
them and walk away. If you have any specials such for
3-for-price or buy-three-get-one-free, post that too.
Don't forget all the little things
you need when selling at a craft fair or flea market -
- cash box
- plenty of change, lots of ones
- business cards
- inks pens, notepad
- paper bags for customer
purchases
- calculator
By all means, stand up when a
customer approaches your table. There's nothing more
unprofessional than a seller that just sits there behind their
table, heaven forbid they just read a book with customers at the
table! Unless you have a health conditions that prevents it,
just sitting there send the signal to the customer, something like
this "Buy something. Don't buy something. I don't care.
I can't even be bothered to get off my lazy behind and help you."
Doesn't sound like a very nice sales pitch, now does it?
Most of these types of events last
all day. Remember to pack lunch, several small snacks and
drinks if the venue allows you to. Some events also have
food vendors. But, try not to bring a lunch with a very
strong odor. The scent of your soaps usually makes the sale
so don't ruin the experience with the strong whiff of onion bagels
behind your table.
Just remember to be friendly and be
yourself. And keep in mind that sales usually increase over
time, especially if you continue to go to the same market every
month, preferably in the exact same spot. Customers will
begin to look for you and many times bring friends with them later
on.
BED AND BREAKFASTS
Have any bed and breakfasts in your
area? They usually love to offer their visitors handmade
soap. To create b&b sized bars of soap, cut the loaf in half
long-ways first. You now have two, long and narrow loaves of
soap. Now, begin cutting these thinner loaves into thin
bars. 1/2 inch thick makes a good "hotel size" bar of soap.
With the two loaves you've made out of one regular sized loaf,
cutting the bars 1/2 inch thick should give you about sixty bars
of soap. Pricing is up to you. Charge what you feel
the market will bear. Double what you paid for the loaf is a good
starting price.
STORES AND BOUTIQUES
pay close attention to your pricing
if you are going to sell wholesale to stores and boutiques.
Don't give such a huge discount that you are only making a quarter
off of each bar of soap. You'll get bored and tire of that
profit margin pretty quickly. If you really want to get your
products into other stores be sure to ADJUST YOUR PRICES FROM THE
VERY BEGINNING. In other words, don't sell your soap for
$4.00 a bar at the flea market and tell the boutique on the square
in town that the retail price is $7.00 a bar. Price your
bars so that you can take 30 - 40% off of the retail price and
still make what you feel you need to make per bar. Don't
forget to include the cost of your labeling when figuring up your
pricing.
BY THE SLICE
Some of our customers who buy soap
loaves don't cut them into bars at all. They keep the loaves
in solid form and sell them at markets by the slice. Most
often, pricing is somewhere around $1.00 - $1.50 per ounce.
To sell using this method, purchase a digital scale so that you
can weigh the soap right in front of the customer. You may
want to pre-slice a few different sizes, weigh them and have them
on display so that customers can see what an ounce, a two ounce
and even a five ounce slice looks like. Over time, you'll
immediately know where to cut to get pretty close to the weight to
customer wants.
SELL ON YOUR WEBSITE
The title is pretty
self-explanatory. Wanting to sell your soaps on your own
website? See our page on
BUILDING A
WEBSITE FOR YOUR SOAP BUSINESS.
I hope this article on the
different ways to sell your soap has inspired you to try a few
that you haven't thought of. You may have even thought of a
few new ways. Good luck with sales.
Gregory
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