284 | 4 Common Wholesale Mistakes and How to Correct Them with Katie Hunt

How did you decide that it was time to start wholesaling for your business? This is one of my favorite questions to ask my coaching clients, our Paper Camp students, and even our guests here on the podcast, because even though there are a lot of similarities between our stories, everyone's journey is so different.

In some cases, like mine, deciding to sell wholesale was a very intentional and deliberate choice. I knew when I started my stationery business, that wholesale would be the best business model for me. I had already dabbled in custom design and I didn't love it. I had an Etsy shop that was bringing in a decent volume of orders, but it felt like a slow grind. They were small orders one by one.

I was intrigued by wholesale, although I was a bit naive too! The idea of selling in higher volume, building relationships with other business owners—that felt right for me and it felt right for where I was in the season of life that I was at at the time.

Today on the podcast, I want to share some of the biggest mistakes that I see new product brands making when they enter wholesale. And I will share our four part wholesale framework that we teach at Paper Camp so that you can avoid making these common wholesale mistakes and ultimately sell more of your products.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Paper Camp. This is our signature program where we teach you how to scale your wholesale program through four weeks of live coaching calls, videos & community connections. Paper Camp has run 40 times in 11 years & we've coached 1000s of brands whose products are sold in Target, Nordstrom, Container Store, Barnes & Noble and independent boutiques all over the world. Make sure you’re on our waitlist!

If you are listening to this episode the week that it airs, we are currently accepting scholarship applications for our 41st round of Paper Camp. The deadline is Friday, February 17 at 5PM PT! Learn more and submit your application today!

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4 Common Wholesale Mistakes and How to Correct Them

Some people get into wholesale because they feel like they have maximized their retail direct to consumer sales channel and they want to diversify.

Other people got into wholesale because they were approached by stores and asked if they sold their products wholesale, so they figured out what that meant and how to sell wholesale on the fly.

Whether it is an intentional or an accidental decision to move into selling wholesale, the most successful brands are those that have a strong wholesale foundation, meaning their product sales, marketing, and operations are ready for wholesale.

Whether you’re just beginning your journey to selling wholesale or you’ve been doing it for a while, you know there are so many things to figure out. You may even make a few mistakes along the way—let’s dive into four common wholesale mistakes new wholesalers make and how you can correct them!

1. Products are not priced for wholesale.

Most people are pricing their products too low and leaving money on the table that could be invested back into the business or providing you with a higher salary. This throttles your growth!

When your products are priced below industry standard, it raises a red flag for wholesale buyers, forcing them to question why you’re below market:

Is your product quality inferior?
Are you new to wholesale?
Do you know what you’re doing?
Will you deliver on promises?

These are legit questions that buyers will ask if they notice that things are priced too low in your online shop or in your wholesale catalog. Pricing your products takes time and can feel difficult! When you’re just starting out in a new area, there is a learning process.

To help overcome this common mistake, we kick off the first week of Paper Camp talking about your product line!

We want you to have a strong, cohesive product line that is priced right, is packaged for retail, and you have appropriate SKU numbers! By the end of week one, your product line will meet industry standards and get you on a release schedule for when buyers are primed to buy!

2. Brands have incomplete or incorrect wholesale terms and conditions.

After reviewing hundreds of wholesale catalogs and Faire shops over the years, the thing that sets seasoned wholesalers apart from new wholesalers is their terms and conditions. Many brands new to wholesale either don’t have terms and conditions or they are incomplete or incorrect.

Your terms and conditions are the guardrails with shop owners that you establish when selling wholesale. These include rules around:

payment terms
minimum order requirements (high and low)
return policies
opening order amounts

In week two of Paper Camp, we focus specifically on this topic and how to craft appropriate wholesale terms and conditions for your business, your products, and your price point.

We talk about why you need a wholesale catalog and what to include in it. During this week, I also do audits for the class—if you have a wholesale catalog already, you can submit it for critique! This second week also includes dedicated time to discuss third party sales platforms and how to build out your sales team.

text graphic: "whether is an intentional or an accidental decision to move into selling wholesale, the most successful brands are those that have a strong wholesale foundation." Katie Hunt

3. Wholesale pitches are done incorrectly.

As you begin to sell wholesale, you’ll need to start pitching your product line to buyers, yet there are two common issues with the pitches:

Some brands pitch too early. If you’re pitching before you have a strong product line in place or are prepared with the right wholesale tools, you’re pitching too early.
Wholesale pitches are missing critical information that a buyer needs. The more common issue is not including the information your pitch needs—which when you’re new, you simply don’t know what these things include!

In week three of Paper Camp, we take the guesswork out of how to build your lead list (specifically a lead list of stores that are a good match for your product line).

You’ll get access to our sample pitch templates and my wholesale outreach process. You'll know what to say, when to send, and how to best follow up so that you're building solid relationships with your wholesale customers and writing more orders.

4. Jumping into wholesale trade shows without knowing more.

Back in 2009, I was attending my first trade show just 7 months after opening my business. I spent hours googling, chatting with peers, and preparing for this show. A few wholesale mistakes I encountered were:

My products were priced too high.
I had an amateur-looking line sheet.
I got shut down by the fire marshal 18 hours before the show started because our recycled cardboard furniture that we had brought didn't meet fireproofing requirements.

After investing $7,000 into that first show, I learned a lot of hard lessons the expensive way—I don’t want this for you!

In week four of Paper Camp, we break down everything you need to know about exhibiting at wholesale trade shows—the good, the bad, and the ugly, so that you can make an informed decision for your business.

You’ll learn what questions to ask your management so that you get the best neighbors and placement at the show.
You'll know how to design a booth that mirrors your brand, highlights your products, and ultimately fits your budget.
We’ll tell you what you can expect to spend.
We’ll provide you with vendor recommendations for tried and true service providers that our community loves.

Our alumni spend 3-4 months preparing and $10-12,000 on average to exhibit at large-scale wholesale trade shows.

In Conclusion, Preparing Your Business for Wholesale

To recap, in order to prevent some of these common wholesale mistakes and be successful, you need four key things:

You need a robust, innovative, and cohesive product line with strong profit margins.
You need wholesale sales tools, specifically terms and conditions, wholesale minimums, and correct pricing.
You need strategic marketing. This includes building relationships with accounts through thoughtful touch points and multiple marketing channels, having a solid pitch process, and a follow up process to keep your customers coming back for more.
You need processes and systems with standard operating procedures for things like order processing, shipping and fulfillment, wholesale outreach, and follow up new product releases and more.

Quick links:

We shared a lot of great resources in this episode, here is a quick recap of all the links mentioned:

If you want wholesale to be a prominent revenue stream for your product business, Paper Camp is for you. This is our signature program where we teach you how to scale your wholesale program through four weeks of live coaching calls, videos & community connections. Paper Camp has run 40 times in 11 years & we've coached 1000s of brands whose products are sold in Target, Nordstrom, Container Store, Barnes & Noble and independent boutiques all over the world. Make sure you’re on our waitlist!

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Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct