343 | 5 Tips for Creating an Effective Wholesale Catalog with Katie Hunt
A wholesale catalog’s purpose is to sell your products, tell your story, and build a relationship with a buyer when you can’t be there with them in person. Ultimately, the goal of your wholesale catalog is to sell your products, and it’s important to build your catalog with your retailer in mind. Today I’m going to go through five quick tips for creating an effective wholesale catalog.
Today’s episode is sponsored by our Unlock Buyer Secrets Interview series. To make a strong first impression with wholesale buyers, we need to do a few things really well:
We need to make it easy for stores to purchase from us
We need to have clear pricing and terms & conditions
We need to clearly communicate and add value at each touchpoint
We need to focus on building strong relationships with our customers.
And all of this becomes infinitely easier when we actively listen to our customers. This on-demand interview series will give you a competitive edge by providing an exclusive window into what buyers want and need from you. And, the best part, it's only $27 bucks.
5 Tips for Creating an Effective Wholesale Catalog
First, let’s define what I mean when I say the word “catalog.”
When you sell wholesale, you may have buyers asking for a sales sheet, a line sheet, or a catalog. They tend to use these terms interchangeably, but what they want to see when they ask for these items is a digital or printed booklet that includes product photos, pricing, your terms and conditions, and any other details they need to make an informed and educated decision about purchasing your products.
Your wholesale catalog is the most important sales tool for selling wholesale.
They are also time-intensive and costly to produce. The purpose of your catalog is to sell your products, articulate your brand story and values, and build connections with your customers. But, the ultimate goal of a catalog is to sell your products.
Let’s run through 5 tips for creating a strong wholesale catalog that serves as a sales tool.
Make it easy for your buyers to reach you. Include your contact information on every page of your catalog. A great place to do this is along the footer by the page numbers. Be sure to include your email, website where they can purchase and a phone number so that retailers can easily get in touch with you if they have questions or want to place an order. I know a lot of people are resistant to including a phone number… but I can’t tell you how many buyers have thanked our students for having phone numbers listed in their catalog. We want to make it easy for them to reach us and including all modes of communication does that.
Be thorough with your product descriptions. You want your product descriptions to not only tell the story about why you created the item and who it's for, but most importantly you want to provide the tactical information that a retailer needs to determine if your products are a good fit for their store. Things to include here are the size, price, minimum quantities, how your products are made, where they are made and materials used. You can do this in an organized way that still leaves lots of white spaces on the pages but draws the buyer in.
Excellent product photos are essential. Great photos are a critical piece of your catalog. If you have the budget for a professional photographer – hire them! It will be well worth your money. But if not, DIY photos are fantastic, too. You want to use a mix of white background photos for your individual product images as well as styled photos weaved throughout the catalog. The styled photos show the retailers how your products will look on their shelves and how they may merchandise with other products you sell. And, remember that these photos can be used across all your marketing materials – email blasts, social media, and press inquiries.
Extend the life of your catalog. I’m a big believer in having a printed catalog, yet I know first-hand that they cost a pretty penny to print. You can extend the life of your catalog by dating it across two years. For example, 2024 – 2025 rather than just 2024. Most manufacturers reprint their catalog every 12 – 18 months, adding slip sheets into the printed catalog as they release new products. Digital catalogs, however, should always be up to date. This tip gives you more longevity with your printed catalog.
Function over fashion. Remember that your wholesale catalog is a sales tool first and foremost and should be built with the retailer in mind. Your catalog needs to be functional and include all the pertinent details that a retailer needs to make an informed decision, and then place an order. Create a section dedicated to your sales terms and conditions. Include your minimum order requirements, turn-around times, payment methods accepted, shipping options, and refund / exchange policies. The back page of a catalog is a great place to put your terms & conditions.
If you’re building your first catalog or updating an existing catalog, don’t forget to include these must-have details.
Ultimately, we want to make it as easy as possible for our wholesale customers to say yes to purchasing from us, and our wholesale catalog is one piece of that puzzle. It does the job of selling our products when we’re not there.
Whether you have a digital catalog or a printed catalog, you want the structure, style, and content to make your buyer’s life easier so that they buy from you over and over again. If you want to get a fresh set of eyes on your wholesale catalog head to http://prooftoproduct.com/audit and sign up for one of our catalog audits.
As I shared in this episode, your wholesale catalog is the most important sales tool in your toolbox, yet simple mistakes may be costing you serious money.
Since 2011, I’ve done thousands of catalog audits. I know what buyers are looking for. If you want to optimize your wholesale catalog for more sales conversions, snag one of our catalog audit spots.
I only offer 5 per month, so head to http://prooftoproduct.com/audit to learn more and save your spot. I know that lots of people are in the process of working on their summer product releases and new releases are often a time to refresh and update our wholesale catalogs — so I hope today’s episode was helpful for you.
Connect with Katie Hunt
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
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