Selling My Crafts - Sudsy Surprises
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I did a lot of research and found a wholesaler closer to home. This meant I’d be able to replenish my stocks more easily when the time came and allowed me to make a fair assessment of what my base prices should be. Then I took a deep breathe and marked down my prices on the existing stock accordingly.
I realized that the home industry shops weren’t the ideal outlet, so I brainstormed with a couple of people. The major problem with selling my soaps to resellers was that the consumers felt that the end price was too high so I needed to relook at my end consumers. I listed all the places that I could think of that would possibly use my soaps as part of their daily business. I came up with specialty gift stores, florists and guest houses. I had some success in this area and the business slowly started picking up.
I then asked people I knew if they’d be interested in selling the soaps to make a little extra money. I soon had a few people very keen on selling the soap. I read up on the properties and taught my “staff” the selling points and how to approach the clients. I asked for feedback from my “staff”. The most surprising thing about this was that my cleaning lady, who lives in a poor community, became my best seller. I asked what her secret was and found out she was marketing the soap as a face wash.
I was initially taken back but found, on testing it on my own face, that it was mild enough to be used this way. So Vicky and I sat down and strategized some more. The people in her area cannot afford expensive beauty products. They liked the soap for its cleansing ability and didn’t care about looks so I started making plain soaps. (Frankly by this stage, the “artistic” soaps were getting to be a bit too much work – a hobby is great but when you’re doing it for a living, it takes on another dimension.)
Then we hit upon the idea of making a good quality but inexpensive lotion to go with the soaps. The money is spent on the cream and the packing is no frills at all. The mark-up is low and we even offer discounts if you provide your own container. With this product, volume sales are necessary but they are there. The little home industry has been going from strength to strength. I now employ one lady full time to help fill the orders.
What have I learnt from this?
Do your research!
Know your client.
Be adaptable and open to new ideas.
Think outside the box.
Be passionate about what you do.
Be honest – can you see yourself doing this full time?
Don’t ignore a potential market because its “poor” – I hit on the right product and my sales are still growing because a lot of people have ignored the lower income market.
People will buy the product if they see the value to them. If people aren’t seeing the value, you either aren’t explaining it properly or you’re targeting the wrong people.
And last but not least, never give up – adapt, reorganize and regroup but never surrender.
- Fifi
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