The Wholesale Question You’re Not Worrying About Enough
In the one-on-one coaching I do with makers, we hash out the questions that keep them up at night. There are always threads around wholesale strategy, the product line itself, pricing, and the million tiny decisions involved in creating a line sheet.
There are a lot of aspects to running an indie product business, it’s true.
But if you’re trying to grow wholesale, there’s one question you should be obsessed with, especially in the beginning:
How will my product sell itself on the shelf — and why will the customer buy it?
Tony Robbins says, “The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself.” And for wholesale, this is a high-quality question.
It’s also the question store owners are asking about your line — whether they say it out loud or not.
Because many indie product companies are run by craftspeople, artists, and idealists, it’s incredibly easy to fall in love with how you make your product and what makes it special. Those things matter. But if a store owner can’t picture how your line will look on the shelf… and if that presentation won’t basically sell itself… they simply won’t have enough confidence that the risk of buying your product will pay off.
@shopursa
“Wow” isn’t enough
A maker I worked with had a beautiful line of hand-poured candles. Each one came in a glass vessel with an intricate sculptural lid. They were stunning — the kind of objects people pick up and say “wow.”
But when I looked at the line sheet, the buyer part of my brain immediately had questions:
How would these stand or stack on a shelf without looking messy or unstable?
Do they come in any packaging — and if so, what does that look like?
What makes this candle different from others at a similar price?
Who is the most likely customer and how would they use it in their home?
Candles are familiar. And yet, even with a familiar product, the context for how it fits into a store — and into a customer’s life — wasn’t obvious.
The good news: this is fixable
In this case, there was an easy fix. I suggested the maker add a few full-page photos showing:
The candles displayed exactly as they’d appear in a shop.
(You can create this at home using props, risers, or other products.)Simple lifestyle shots that show the product “in use.”
Not complicated — even a styled table with the candle lit in a cozy scene communicates who it’s for, when it’s used, and why it matters.
Those visuals answered almost every question before it was asked. They told the story the store owner needed to see and the story the customer would feel on the shelf.
The point isn’t perfection, It’s clarity.
You don’t need the world’s fanciest photography. You don’t need retail fixtures. You don’t need a big brand budget.
What you need is to show, not tell:
What the product looks like on a real shelf
Why someone would pick it up
Who will love it
How they will use it
Because when a product can “sell itself” on the shelf, something shifts. The store owner isn’t gambling anymore. They’re investing. And they can see exactly how that investment will come back to them.
So before you tweak your pricing, rebuild your website, or redesign your logo, make sure it is crystal clear:
How will my product sell itself on the shelf, and why will the customer buy it?
If it’s not clear yet, that’s not a failure. Do the small things to make it so: add the photos; clarify the story; make the shelf work harder.
It’s one of the highest-leverage changes you can make in growing wholesale, and it doesn’t have to be hard to do.
How We Can Help You Grow Wholesale:
Wholesale In a Box
Our beloved comprehensive course and coaching is your all-in-one way to grow wholesale fast, steady, and long-term. Learn more here.
Getting Started With Wholesale
A free 4-part email course covering the basics of how wholesale works, keys for success, whether it’s right for you, and how to get started. Sign up here.
The Wholesale Reset
Our free email course for more advanced brands — we’ll help you reset your approach to wholesale and take concrete steps forward to change your results. Sign up here.
Line Sheet In an Afternoon
Our minicourse that gives you a 39-page comprehensive line sheet template to mix, match, and modify — along with the guidance, motivation, and help you need to make a great line sheet fast. Sign up here.