Samples Pack

When interviewing for a job, you know to put your best foot forward knowing that your interviewer is going to assume that if ever you’re going to put your best foot forward, this is the moment.

Same goes for product samples.

If you show up late, your interviewer will think you’re not punctual. If you look disheveled, your interviewer will think you don’t have your sh*t together.

What is a Samples Pack?

If you’re lucky, a retailer will come across your product in the wild, fall in love with it, and not need to see samples before placing a first order. But more often than not, a prospective buyer will want to see samples.

Your sample pack is the box of goods and sales materials that you send to a prospective buyer. Your presentation must be impeccable, professional, and cohesive, and your sales materials must give them confidence that they’re reviewing a brand that will be a pleasure to do business with.

A samples pack should at least include your line sheet. If you’re confident that your pricing is in line with their other product offerings and that it won’t be a turnoff, go ahead and include pricing on your line sheet. If you’re sending samples to a store that you believe will balk at your pricing, leave pricing off for now, and wait until you have a follow-up phone call with them. Ideally, you have some powerful leveraging tools in your T&Cs that you can use to help ease the sticker shock: no minimum, free shipping, painless payment options, exchanges for SKUs that don’t sell in their store, etc.

If applicable, also include in your samples pack a catalog, handling info, product knowledge sheet, and display info. Have these materials professionally printed in color on nice paper. Include a handwritten note/cover letter for a personal touch.

Be Methodical When Sending Sample Packs

Samples are expensive, and there’s no sense sending them willy-nilly to every retailer in the world.

In a future post, we’ll talk more about vetting sales leads. For now, just understand that it’s important to be selective with who you’re sending samples to. Know who your target customer is and where they shop, and then pitch only to those stores.

Cold-sending samples is risky, since there’s a good chance that they’ll get lost in the shuffle and not find their way to the buyer. Try your best to first establish direct contact with the buyer, and don’t send samples before they’ve specifically requested them or given you the go-ahead to send them. Email the buyer the day that the samples ship so that they know to be on the lookout. Send the samples to the buyer’s attention, keep an eye on the tracking, and email the buyer when they arrive, letting them know who signed for them.

Last but not least, keep a record of all of your samples shipments, and keep careful notes so that you can quantify how effective they are, and what your return is on the investment.

What If My Product is Too Expensive to Sample?

What if your product is too pricey to give away as samples, or if production is so tight that you don’t have the product to spare?

If the shop is local, set up a meeting and bring them your product in person, so they can see and feel it for themselves, and envision it on their shelf without actually keeping it. If they’re not local, provide a return label with the samples shipment so that they can return it once they’ve had a look (this may not work with food products, since they’ll want to taste them as well).

If someone is inquiring after your product and requesting samples, you have extra leverage, and there are a few tricks you might use to increase the probability of converting them into a customer:

1. Charge for the samples and then credit them that amount towards their first order.
2. Charge shipping for the free samples. Require that they provide a credit card and a Resale Tax Number so that you have this information on file and there are no obstacles if and when they decide to place their first order.
3. Charge a deposit, and credit them upon return in salable condition.

Shooting the Moon

If you have the product to spare and you really want a particular account that is proving to be a tough nut to crack, consider sending them an entire case or two, and invite the buyer to put it on their shelf at your SRP and see how it sells. Follow up in a couple weeks and, assuming the trial went well, nab a first order.