Conventional business wisdom supports the premise that a start-up company, with no track record and no customers, needs to grow slowly and first reach for the "low hanging fruit." My actual experience says—"it depends." My first cold call was to Saks Fifth Avenue's main purchasing office.
As a single parent, I knew that playing tennis on the weekends would give me an opportunity to meet people. Although I was an avid tennis player, I couldn't stand the pre-game "mirror check"—all my tennis dresses were stick straight, clingy, and short.
My "Rubenesque" figure had its share of curves, and I knew I could design a dress that fit my body better than those available in the marketplace; flaring out at the waist, ample in the bust, and slightly longer. My design covered all my curves and I added two new functional improvements —pockets (which avoided having to stuff the second tennis ball in my underwear while serving), and a breathable fabric that held its shape and was wrinkle free.
"I absolutely love that dress!" said the chorus of women at the tennis club the first time I wore my design. "Where did you buy it?" That was my "focus group" and I immediately knew I had something marketable.
Although calling Saks Fifth Avenue would be considered a gutsy move for someone with a brand new, unknown product, it seemed to me that the quickest way to find out if my company had something unique was to take my sample tennis dresses to one of the most prestigious and well-known department stores in the country and one that sold women's high-end tennis clothing.
My initial surprise was that the buyer came to the phone. An even bigger surprise was that he agreed to see me the following week!
I arrived at the Saks New York store for the meeting, was directed to the back of the sportswear department and instructed to set up the garments in a dressing room. Most sportswear lines have about a hundred samples and take more than an hour to arrange. Arranging my four sample dresses took less than a minute.
The appointment was scheduled for 4 pm. By 5:15 I was still waiting for the buyer and was beginning to think he had heard about my piddling line and was going to cancel the showing. However, at 5:30 the buyer came into the dressing room. Without saying a word, he walked over to the long silver rack where my sample dresses were displayed.
"Where's the rest of your line?" he asked.
"This is it," I said, hoping he wouldn't laugh and walk out.
He didn't laugh. He didn't walk out, and for the next 10 minutes, he looked critically at my dresses, one at a time.
I didn't need to point out the hidden pockets or the fine workmanship, as I saw the buyer nod slightly as he turned each dress inside out—seeming to approve of what he saw.
Just when I thought the buyer had finished his inspection, he went over the selection again, lingering on one in particular—a white dress with a large rhinestone butterfly on the front. Finally, he turned to me.
"Can you produce 500 of this one and ship them to me in New York by the first of November?" he asked.
"Certainly" I said, having no idea if the contractor that made my samples could fill the order.
The dresses were delivered and sold out; my company was launched!
Selecting potential customers for my product line was obvious—women who played tennis, were in their 30's and older, and were able to afford an outfit that was pricey—and who better than Saks to showcase my dresses?
Yes, this was a bold strategy. Yes, I took a calculated risk that I could be embarrassed and turned away by the Saks buyer, and yes, reaching for the ultimate, the buying office headquarters of Saks Fifth Avenue, to sell my first creation, was a daring move.
But it worked!
The best guidance I can give you is this—toss out your MBA handbook and do what I did.
Thanks to Susan T. Spencer / Blogs Forbes
http://blogs.forbes.com/work-in-progress/2011/06/03/successful-start-ups-use-bold-strategies-to-kick-start-sales/?partner=alerts
No comments:
Post a Comment