The Big Outreach Mistake Most Makers Make

In the last few weeks, we’ve shared a bit about how to reframe rejections and what that bewildering email from a store owner might actually mean.

And this week we want to share the big outreach mistake that most makers make. When it comes to outreach to stores, many people take “no’s” simultaneously TOO seriously and not seriously enough. On one hand, most people are way too emotionally reactive about getting no's. Each silence or negative reaction causes a tailspin of fear and desperation.

And this week we want to share the big outreach mistake that most makers make. When it comes to outreach to stores, many people take “no’s” simultaneously TOO seriously and not seriously enough. On one hand, most people are way too emotionally reactive about getting no's. Each silence or negative reaction causes a tailspin of fear and desperation.

On the other hand, some of our customers persist in doing the same thing over and over again without pausing to reflect on what’s working overall and what could be improved overall. 

A good rule of thumb is: be less concerned with the individual results of your efforts; be more concerned with your overall results and shifting your approach to improve them.

The key is to interpret results over a period of time -- and change your approach based on thoughtful consideration of all the data. 

You can do this in a few ways: 

• experiment with different subject lines

• ask for feedback from stores you trust (they are often happy to give it)

• overhaul your line sheet

• send a “capsule” line (a subset of your full set of products) to some stores.

• spend some creative time (even 30 minutes will do the trick) just brainstorming around what’s working best about what you’re doing in growing wholesale, and what’s working the least. Then choose one way to do more of what’s working and pick one thing that’s not working to stop completely.

• refine your wholesale line to only include the pieces that sell the best and work for you, in terms of production

• grab a maker buddy and give each other 30 minutes of honest feedback on each others’ line sheets (to get that fresh pair of eyes.)

• try sending actual “snail mail” as part of your outreach, to all of your stores or just to some of them.

• use social media to engage meaningfully with stores (not for pitching but just so you can get to know each other better.)

It’s a balance between persistence and change, between staying the course and changing things up. We’re here to help as you go.