Selling Your Products Through Catalogs

Mail order firms look for the unique, the photogenic and the easily shippable
By Matt Alderton, Writer, Editor and Media Consultant Logolepsy Custom Content and Communications When it comes to putting great ideas on paper — and innovative products in customers' hands — few things are as effective as mail-order marketing. Catalog companies, including big guns such as SkyMall, Spiegel and Sharper Image, represent a $75 billion market, and enterprising small-business owners are ideally positioned to win a piece of it. The keys to successful catalog sales are:

1. Perfect products
2. Extended exposure
3. Reliable relationships

Choose a catalog-worthy product

The best products for catalog sale are those that are unique, photograph well, have a year-round market and can be easily shipped.
Try:  Download the U.S. Small Business Administration's "Selling by Mail Order" for an extensive checklist of what makes up the ideal mail-order product.

Price your product

When pricing your merchandise, be sure to account for the advertising, freight and photography costs that some catalogs might ask you to pay. Consider offering discounts, too, for high-volume purchases.
Try:  Subscribe to Catalog Surf for access to a how-to guide that describes how to price merchandise for maximum profits.

Promote your product

Get noticed by making news with your new product. Display at trade shows and send out press releases in order to generate buzz around your merchandise.
Try:  An independent sales representative can help you get your product the attention it deserves; hire one by consulting the Manufacturers' Agents National Association (MANA), which has an online directory of its members.

Find — and pitch to — a catalog

Contact buyers at selected catalogs and send them a written proposal that includes pricing, pictures and a detailed product description.
Try:  Catalog Surf's searchable database lists more than 11,000 catalogs, complete with buyer names, contact information and submission guidelines. Google Catalogs is a searchable database with thousands of catalogs.

Make a deal

Once you've secured interest in your product from a buyer, negotiate a deal to include it in his or her next catalog. Make sure your lawyer looks over any contracts you're asked to sign.
Try:  Before moving forward with a sales contract, consult your peers for best practices. The National Mail Order Association (NMOA) can connect you to industry experts capable of offering advice and guidance.

Protect your bottom line

Catalogs often withhold payment until many months after placing their order. Consider offering a small discount to clients who issue prompt payment — the slight loss in profits might be worth the huge gain in speed.
Try:  Guard against late payments with a system for issuing, organizing and tracking invoices; software such as Quick Invoice can help you easily put such a system in place.

• Some companies charge for product placement; catalog-based advertising will cost you, but generally results in greater returns, too.
• Make sure you can produce enough supply to meet demand; catalogs typically order only 25 percent initially of what they plan to sell.
• Be sure to give customers a toll-free number they can call with questions or problems, along with instructions for returning faulty merchandise to you.
• You may be asked to pay a small percentage of a catalog's printing costs; offer to pay with free goods — a larger order than was made — instead.