For wholesale businesses having a line, the sheet is crucial. It is a document that the brand can hand over to the retailer. It presents the information needed to determine if the products are good fit for a retail location. Everyone talks about the importance of the line sheets, but no one actually tells how to make a great line sheet that could impress the potential buyers at a glance. If you want to stay ahead of the competition, you need a great line sheet representing your brand in the best possible manner. Let’s take a look at how you can make your line sheet dramatically better without putting much effort.
What are the line sheets for?
Historically, the line sheets come from the fashion industry. But now, every product-based business uses a line sheet to represent its brand and showcase its products to potential buyers. If a buyer is interested in your products, he will ask you many questions. It is not possible for the seller to answer the questions of every potential buyer. So, creating a line sheet can help.
A line sheet is a document that contains all the information needed to place an order. It is a sales tool that helps brands get recognition and boots sales. As a matter of fact, it helps both the buyer and seller by making the whole buying process easy.
In simple words, customers have questions about your products before they buy, and you put the answers to those questions in a line sheet.
How can you make your line sheet better?
A line sheet is an important selling tool that actually helps brands to increase their sales. But you need to make a great lien sheet that can impress the clients at a glance. Everybody talks about the importance of a line sheet and what they are made for. But no one tells you how you can make a great line sheet.
Here are a few tips that can help you improve your line sheet:
- Stay focused:
When you make a line sheet for the first time, you may get confused. You do not know what information to include and what to exclude. A lien sheet is a short document that contains information needed for the buyer to make a purchase. There is no need to include irrelevant information in the line sheet. Stay focused.
If you are confused while making a line sheet, it will make the buyers confused. Include the basic information only. There is no need to discuss the background stories in a line sheet. You want the buyer to immediately see what the product is and how much it costs. Tell him about how he can place an order. But deviating from these criteria is considered frilly.
- Make it simple:
A line sheet makes the pitching painless for both the buyer and the seller. Line sheets contain information about everything that is needed to make a purchase. As a matter of fact, the line sheet that actually makes selling easy is the lien sheet that makes buying easy. Since it consists of one or two pages, the retailer finds no difficulty reading it.
It allows the seller to answer the buyer’s question and make him place an order. It contains important details only, and the buyer can obtain the information at a glance. It saves his time, which makes him believe that your products are worth buying.
- Be clear in your mind:
If you are confused while making a line sheet, it will confuse the buyer too, which is not good for your brand’s reputation. Do not make their head confused. Retailers are busy people, and they do not have time to go through each line sheet they receive every day. Suppose your retailer opens a line sheet when he is busy on the phone or eating something. Make sure that your line sheet is crystal clear and answers all his questions at a glance. Simply put, don’t make him search for anything.
Make sure that you clearly stated what the products are made of and what it looks like. Tell him clearly if there are any colors and sizes available. Tell him how much each product costs wholesale? State clearly what your shipping and payment terms are. Tell your potential buyers how you pack and deliver your products. When you state everything clearly in the line sheet, it makes a great impression on potential buyers. When they have all their answers in front of their eyes, why would they not buy?
- Remove obstacles:
When you can describe everything in a catalog, why do you need a line sheet? The purpose of making a line sheet is to make the buying prices easier. So remove as many obstacles as you can and make it pretty simple for potential buyers to place an order. Some line sheets are so long that it takes forever to read them. Retailers do not have enough time to read long documents. Bear in mind that they receive many line sheets every day, and it is impossible for them to read all.
Do you provide limited payment options? Well, that will not be in your favor. Try to provide multiple payment options to buyers.
- Improve your line sheet:
Sometimes it can really feel overwhelming to consider improving your line sheet. You see dollars going into the photoshoot or paying money to the graphic designer. But you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars just on the photo shoot of the products. Just make sure that you use quality images, but it does not mean that you need to waste your money.
If you do not have time to make changes by yourself, then you can hire a graphic designer which is costly. Try to find a friend or a person in the family who can do the job. It will save you time and money.
Mistakes you should avoid while making a line sheet:
Every wholesale and product-based business needs a line sheet, but is making a line sheet that simple? Well, there are many things you need to keep in mind while making a line sheet. do not include irrelevant information in the line sheet, but it does not mean you can omit the necessary details.
Following are a few mistakes you should avoid when making a line sheet:
- Using the same line sheet:
most businesses make this mistake of using the same kind of line sheet for every wholesale strategy. It is important to understand that the purpose of making a line sheet can be different based on the fact for whom you are making a line sheet. Bear in mind that different retailers have different requirements, so make a line sheet keeping the audience in mind.
If you are making a line sheet to visit a trade show, then your line sheet should not bear the responsibility to sell. The visitors will come to visit your booth only. However, if you are trying to pitch a retail store owner, then your line sheet should bear the responsibility to sell. As a matter of fact, it should be a true representation of your brand.
So, a line sheet can do different jobs. You should determine the purpose of making a line sheet for your brand. Is it to convince the buyers or sell the products? Or is it just a reminder?
- Overlooking the design:
Some people think that including relevant information only is enough. But if your line sheet is not visually harmonious, it would not make a great impression on potential buyers. Your line sheet should be well-organized so that the buyer can find the information at a glance. A cluttered line sheet would do nothing except costing sales. So, make a line sheet that looks aesthetically pleasing.
- Low-quality images:
Images speak louder than words. Do you believe it? Well, in a line sheet, your images play a vital role in impressing potential buyers. If you use low-quality bad images, it will not make a good impression on the buyers. It makes your brand look unprofessional, and no retailer wants to work with unprofessional people.
Getting perfect photos for your line sheet can be expensive and time-consuming, but it is worth it. So, make sure that you use a quality image in the lien sheets. Use colorful images to grab the attention of the buyer. But the background of these images should be white or material so that the buyer can better focus on the products only.
- Being confused:
You should make everything crystal clear in a line sheet to avoid any dispute in the future. You should state your shipping and payment policies clearly in the sheet. Tell the customers about your return policy. The buyers are interested to know what materials you use in the making of the products.
They want to know how much each item cost wholesale. You should set the prices carefully if you want to earn profits. Tell your customers about how you pack and ship the products. You are supposed to answer all the buyers’ questions in a line sheet in a clear manner. There should be no confusion at all.
- Not telling your story:
You cannot use flowery language or long paragraphs in a line sheet, but it does not mean that you cannot tell your brand story. You need to understand that people buy your products because the aesthetics and brand weave a story that inspires them. Most brands fail to tell their true story in the line sheet. Many brands tell their story inauthentically. You can tell your brand story in a few words too. So, craft a bio that is concise but illuminating:
- Not thinking from the buyer’s perspective:
A line sheet is a sales tool used by businesses to boost their sales. It helps them represent their collection to potential buyers in an efficient manner. The line sheet indeed makes the buying process easy. But to make a great line sheet, you should put yourself into the buyer’s shoes. You cannot answer the buyers’ questions unless you think from his perspective.
- Do not make the buyer search for anything:
Again, the line sheets are made to make the buying process easy, so do not make the buyer search for anything. You should bear in mind that they are busy people, so send them a single document so that they can review it at a glance. Do not send them a big file that can crash their email. If you make the buyer create an account or sign anything to see your line sheet, it will not make a good impression at all. In fact, the buyer will simply ignore your request.
How to make a line sheet using the software?
There are many software available not there that are designed specifically to make a line sheet. They guide you about the information you need to include in the lien sheet. All you have to do is to choose your plan, pay the money, download the product line sheet sample and send it to the potential buyers. It is highly suggested to review and edit your line sheet before sending it to potential buyers. Double-check the contact information to make sure that you have provided the correct phone numbers and email addresses.
The benefit of using software is that you can make a customized line sheet as well. It helps you efficiently cater to the needs of that buyer. If you do not want to print it out, then send it directly to potential buyers through email.
Starting a wholesale business is an exciting step, and making a great line sheet can take your business to another level. There is no denying that it has become a bit difficult to survive in today’s fierce competition. So, stay ahead of the competition by creating a compelling line sheet that has the capacity to make a great first impression on potential buyers.
