Do I Really Need to Give Product Samples to Reps?

Depending on what you are manufacturing you probably need to give a good sampling of products to your sales reps that will be on the road. It may help to look at what tools your competitors are selling with and how they are doing currently with those tools.

If you are showing at market, discuss the amount of room you have to show and what is best to show in that space. Think best sellers. Think anything new. 

Sales reps generally do not want to lug around a bunch of samples. However, they do want the newest, latest, greatest products to show. If that means sales sheets, catalogs, samples, you need to determine this. If you are lucky, you may friend some sales reps who give you good advice in this area. It is always much better to be perceived as being generous with your samples versus being stingy. If you are perceived as being too tight fisted, you actually might cut off communication from sales reps and customers that could potentially be big orders!

It is important to arm sales reps with whatever you can before they go to market. EDUCATE them with emails or letters directly to them. Once they get to market every other company will be trying to get their attention. If you can, consider Early Bird Specials before market for businesses that make appointments or place orders before market begins. If they order prior to market, allow them to continue at the Early Bird Rate when they get to market. Naturally, have a market special also.

If you do not show at market you definitely need to look at show dates anyway! It is even more important to be creative and get your "NO MARKET" specials out well before the show dates. Consider it a market before market. If you do not do this, those dollars will be spent on items shown at market.

In general, do not give one of everything you have to sell. Reps need best sellers. If those come in various patterns/colors, choose one pattern per style. Personally, I would get together a group of people in your home town to help choose the samples. Do not just do this yourself! Have a varied age and ethnicity group to choose. Best of luck to you!

Packaging, Think out of the Box!

Do not underestimate the importance of packaging.  It is what will make the consumer pick up your product... or not.

Visit several stores to see which products grab your attention first. Are you curious about them or do you pass them by? If you want to know more about the product, then its packaging design has somewhat done its job. Next, the packaging should fully explain the product. The packaging can be cute, beautiful, expensive or cheap but it needs to do its job. I am holding an Oil of Olay bottle. On the back it clearly explains how to use it and what your expected results will be. Their logo is clear and large on the front side.

Packaging speaks to perceived quality of a product.  If your packaging includes the vital elements then what you are left with is the image.

I have worked with a manufacturer whose product is beautiful but their packaging cheapens it. In addition, due to poor packaging you cannot tell what the actual product is used for or made of. 

Your packaging doesn't have to be the most expensive but it needs to be suited to your product. I have seen beautiful woven items placed in clear bags tied with beautiful expensive ribbon along with a custom design tag that make a beautiful statement. That is not expensive packaging. That company thought about consumers and what they would want to see. They considered the types of stores (boutique or mass) that would be stocking their products.

Let's say you offer unique bath products that have proven selling scents and you want to grow your company.