Wholesale Orders Know How

I did a little homework when it comes to selling wholesale to clients and ultimately, you have to come up with a structure that YOU are comfortable with.  It's always a good idea to take the time to calculate how much it actually costs you to make a bar of soap.  Everyone will vary in cost because we all use our own vendors for the oils, butters, fragrances, botanicals, colorants, labeling, packaging, etc.  So that's a given.  But as in all things relative to profit & loss, it's a good idea to have a baseline from which to work.  So after you figure how much it costs you to make a bar of soap, then you are ready to start designing a wholesale structure.  For me, I went one step further and created a line sheet.  Am I a super duper big soap company?  NO!  Do I have so many types of soaps that I need to have them catalogued?  NO!  This is something I did because it was the way I wanted to present my soaps to potential clients for wholesale ordering. 

I'm sure this is all a very simple in comparison to other's methods, but I'll share anyway.  This is just works for me.  I purchased a spiral bound presentation folder that had about 25 clear protective sheets inside.  On the outside cover, I put a sheet that has the name of my soap company along with my basic contact information.  On the first sheet inside the book I put a brief description of my soaps labeling the section "About our product".  I then put a photo & name of each soap I carry, usually fitting three soaps on each page, along with a description, ingredients, and MSRP.  You can (if you wish) stay true a linesheet format and also give the wholesale price next to MSRP, but since my structure bases the # of pieces purchased to a wholesale percentaage, I opted not to add wholesale pricing.  This makes a fine way for a customer to peruse their options.  [aside, arrange your wholesale line sheet in sections by soap type or scent or type (ex. cp versus m&p)]

One blogger article in particular jump started me on the idea of selling wholesale.  Here is a link to that article: Sell Big With 6 Tips for Product Materials  Be sure to read all the way to the bottom because she gives several nice links to material tracking worksheets that are free to download.

Soap Samples

I recently had a last minute idea prompted by a text from my son, Andrew.  Andrew is a pre-med major and has volunteered at our local surgical center for the summer.  When I  received this particular text from him, he was in his last week of volunteering.  He was asking to take some of my soaps to show some of the people at the surg. center.  I was flattered that my son thinks I have a neat hobby!  So, that night, I started putting a few bars together for his little 'show and tell' the next day.  Then it hit me!  Why not put some samples together for him to give as a gesture of his appreciation for all they did for him over the summer.  I went right away to Photoshop and made a label size adjustment.  Then I went through some of my end pieces and started cutting them down to an appropriate sample size.  I wanted there to be enough for all the staff so it took quite awhile to assemble everything.  Next day, he took a few full bars as well as a tray of samples.  It was a hit!  I started getting emails right away from the staff.  Several placed orders for soap!  I thought I'd share a few pictures I took of the samples in the event you have a similar opportunity.

The Start

Over the years, the internet has sparked so many new aspirations for me.  It's like suddenly my inquisitive side and my crafty side collide and I find myself thinking, "I must try this!"  And learning how to make soap is no exception.  I don't know exactly how I was on the topic of soap making or why I was reading about how to make soap, or even where I was when that little spark was lit, but at some point, it happened!  That was about a year ago.


So, while I'm not an expert, I thought I would share a few things that I've learned along the way and maybe give some help to others who are starting out.

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