Friday, September 10, 2010

Wish Me Luck!

I've seen several soapers put together "stacks" of samples, and I've decided to make my own version. My mother-in-law was kind enough to pass me a sales lead...a local store that seems interested in my products...so I'm heading there in a few to drop this off.

I've separated my samples with the waxed tissue that I use to line my CP molds...just to keep the fragrances separate. Sometimes my stronger bars tend to alter (albeit temporarily) the scents of their more subtly-fragranced cousins! Since first impressions are of the utmost, I'm hoping the paper helps avoid this "fragrance mingling."
Which leads me to a questions for my fellow soapin' sisters: Where do your soaps sell the best?

Mine seem to do best in shops, rather than online. Maybe it's because they're ugly...er, RUSTIC! ;)  In person the fragrances seem to hypnotize the unsuspecting buyer! LOL!

I'll keep you posted on what happens at the prospective shop...

8 comments:

Deb said...

Best of luck!

How many shops are you in already? Are they all right in your area? How did you get in.... they asked you or you asked them?

I'm not in any shops yet and I don't do craft fairs or farmers markets yet so almost all of my sales are from Etsy.

~Deb

janice said...

They are beautiful soaps! Good luck!! !

thesoapsister said...

Hi Deb!

Thanks, I'll be leaving in 10 min. or so. :) Well, lets see...8 shops so far. They're all within 50 miles so far. I have 1 good prospect in Springfield, IL about 100 mi. away, and one in Ohio.

I've asked them to be in their stores...but I was a corporate sales rep. for 9 years, so the in-person sales call doesn't bother me. I've had folks who aren't interested, too, of course. I have to know that the folks I'm dealing with are genuinely nice folks....it's so nice to be able to choose the folks you work with!

I've had success with craft fairs in the past, but REALLY burned myself out in '08. I haven't done one since! I want to be able to spend weekends with my "guys"...I figure that little man will be grown up all too soon, and then I'll have lots of time on my hands for fairs and such! :)

I'm sure your stuff would sell at shops, too. It's just a matter of deciding that's what you want & going for it! :)

thesoapsister said...

Thanks Janice! I'm off to sell! :)

Maggie said...

Well, I have to say my soaps sell the best at Hubby's work place - he's my number one sals rep!! :) Love him!

thesoapsister said...

Wow! Great to have a sales rep like that! Probably pretty handy around the house, too! :)

Michele said...

Well, how did it go? Did you get your soap in? Sooo excited for you!

thesoapsister said...

Hi Michele, Actually it went pretty well. They are nice folks, and are getting ready to move their store to a new, nearby location. They liked one product in particular (which I may blog about soon, so I don't want to spoil the "surprise") and want me to stop by next month (after their move) to talk about my products. I'm optomistic, and think they would be good folks to work with. I'll keep you updated as the sales cycle churns on! :)