Wholesale Checklist & Things To Consider
One of the questions I receive the most is about getting into wholesale.
Wholesale is 55% of my business and DTC is the other 45%.
It's a nice mix.
BUT….
Would you be surprised if I told you that the wholesale accounts that are my bread and butter are the ones you've never heard of?
That's right. It's not Nordstrom, Credo, or Free People that are keeping the lights on.
Big retailers have net payments terms and chargebacks. This means you are waiting to get paid for 2 months sometimes and then when you DO get paid, there are deductions. You don't get as much money as you thought.
I sell to over 300 boutiques nationwide. They pre-pay, there are no chargebacks, and they don’t require huge marketing support.
Questions for you:
1/ Why do you want to get into wholesale accounts and what kind?
2/ Do you have the operational backend to support fulfillment?
3/ Do you have a warehouse with a loading dock?
4/ Do you have the inventory to support your retailer demands?
5/ CAN YOU AFFORD TO SELL WHOLESALE?
#5 is the most important, ya'll.
You need to have strong margins to be able to AFFORD to sell wholesale.
So many brands do not and then they end up making no money.
I used to work in CPG and experienced first hand how brands can make no money selling into wholesale accounts. That experience is actually why I started teaching food/bev brands back in 2019 about the reality of grocery distribution. I’ve helped over 200 brands gain insight into that part of industry.
Beauty is different.
You don’t need to work with distributors to sell into boutiques or beauty retailers in the USA.
But you still need to have strong margins and understand retailer margins.
I offer the Margin Magic Masterclass on-demand for this reason.
Wholesale checklist ✅
1/ Have GS1 barcodes for all your SKUs
2/ Have case packs built at the manufacturing level
3/ Have your assets ready:
hi-res photos (from your website, on-white, and lifestyle)
product briefs for each SKU for retailer education
Training video for retailers
Founder bio + headshot.
4/ Hi-res digital sell sheet. Full color bleed. Product pics with barcodes, case packs, order contact.
5/ Order & fulfillment system. Create a company email for orders. Determine the workflow. Who will process, ship, invoice?
6/ Invoicing and accounting system (quickbooks)
7/ Inventory management system (who's tracking it?)
These are all the things you want to have in place before you start trying to sell into wholesale accounts.
Let's say you have all of that.
How do you actually get into the accounts?
This is a deeper question. There are no tricks.
You have to have a strong brand that is adding something unique to the store's assortment or category.
Think like a buyer. They get hundreds of submissions regularly.
What is your brand bringing to the table that is missing in the marketplace and can help the retailer make more money? Vegan and cruelty free are no longer unique identifiers.
I offer the Brand Building Workshop to walk you through the steps I took to build my brand foundation.
This part happens first, btw.
Did I get my brand into Nordstrom because my products cleanse the skin well?
Absolutely not. Lots of products cleanse the skin well.
I got into Nordstrom because I created a strong brand (visually) that stands for something beyond the products themselves.
There is a lot of competition. You need more than great ingredients to stand out.
As a former sales rep, I want to leave you with one piece of advice about pitching your brand:
It's not about how good it works (or tastes, if you have a food brand). Those are important, of course, but why is someone going to pick it up and try it for the first time?
The presentation & positioning is everything (translation: branding and value proposition)
How did I get into the 300 boutiques?
They came to me.
How?
Because I ran facebook and instagram ads and they saw them and applied to be a stockist. The advertising landscape has changed since I launched due to IOS privacy updates. But many brands are still seeing a return (including me).
I recommend working with a freelancer who understands how to create and manage ads. Marketing and Ads are not set it and forget it events. You are always testing and improving. It’s a part-time job.
Be ready. Have a wholesale application form on your website.
Discovery is a mythical unicorn. All of us like to feel like we discovered things but the reality is it was put in front of us.
You can also try wholesale platforms like:
Bulletin
Faire
Adit
If you have more questions, reach out.
