Welcome to the promo playbook, the podcast where
suppliers come to win in the promotional products
industry. We're your hosts, Lisa Faustic and
Adrienne Barker, bringing you insider insights,
expert strategies, and no fluff advice to help
suppliers navigate the promo channel like pros.
From marketing to distributors to mastering software
onboarding, we cover it all. Whether you're new
to the industry or ready to scale up, this is
your playbook for success. Let's get started.
Hey everybody, welcome back to the promo playbook
podcast. Last time we dived into finances, everybody's
favorite topic. Today we're going to focus on
samples and virtual mockups. So just to restate
the intention of the promo playbook, our group
is dedicated to helping boutique brands, retail
brands, and suppliers in the industry succeed
in the promotional product space. So it's a layered
industry. There's lots of different things to
know. So this is a small bite to dive into samples
and virtuals. Samples are a bedrock of the industry.
Distributors are your sales force. They are selling
to end users who often want to see the product
and your distributors often want to see the product
so that they feel confident selling it to their
end user client. So samples are an expense that
you really want to have on your radar when you're
launching and building your supplier business,
because it is important. And virtuals are a great
way to close sales. Virtuals really are, I think,
the engine of the industry when it comes to terms
of the most commonly requested sales tool for
closing a sale. I consider that a virtual mockup.
So I love this topic. I do want to mention that
it's important to figure out how you're going
to bill for shipping on these. We as a group
recommend that you get a shipper number from
the person requesting the sample. But Kim, I'm
going to put you in the hot seat first on this
topic. Share with us how your supplier that you
work with deals with samples. Yeah, so I think
when you talk about samples, they can almost
be put into two buckets, right? Only because
we define samples one way. Sometimes the end
user defines samples another. So, you know, I
think broadly a sample doesn't have to be necessarily
decorated. It's just a sample of the product.
They want to touch it. They want to feel it.
They want to know if there's quality to it. And
that's coming out of your general stock. I totally
agree that you want to ask for a shipper number
if you can, because you're already giving the
product at no charge. And if we didn't say that,
no charge for the sample. Because you're hoping
to get in order. So you don't charge for the
sample. So ideally, you don't want to charge
for the shipping and the sample because you're
giving the product for free. But you can use
your own judgment on that. Most distributors
are happy to give a shipper number. But then
sometimes people ask for samples. with their
logo on it, which is really not a sample. It's
more of a pre -pro sample. It's a pre -production.
And I think those, that's like a whole other
conversation, but that, I don't think those are
doled out as much as samples, right? I think
you really keep sort of those pre -production,
someone needs to touch and feel it with their
logo to those. A players, you know, a large order,
somebody's ordering 700, a thousand units of
something, but they really need to make sure
the coloring is right. Well, you don't want to
take the chance of running 700 to a thousand
units of something to find out that the color
was wrong. So gladly for that, we'll do a pre
pro. But if you are ordering 24 or 50 of something.
not necessarily time that we want to have our
production team do. So those are two separate.
I think sometimes the end user doesn't understand
that. They ask for a sample and they expect the
logo to be on it. But I would say 90 percent
of the time a sample should just be the basic
non -branded item going out at no charge, hopefully
with a shipper number so you're not paying for
the shipping. but there may be times that you
opt to send it anyway without that shipper number
and you have that expense. You do have to think
about that in the cost of doing business. That's
great. Before I turn it over to you, Adrienne,
I just want to set the stage of the language
because you got me thinking about that, Ken.
There are blank samples. which is, you know,
as it says, a blank sample that you might have
in your warehouse earmarked for sampling. Then
there are random samples where the distributor
might want their client to be able to see the
type of imprinting, whether that's laser, full
color, one color. So you want to be thinking
about having a stock of randomly printed samples
that you can send out. And what Kim was referencing
at the end of her comments are spec samples,
which are actual printed samples with the logo
on it. So three types of samples and two ways
those can ship. Those can ship blind to the end
user customer, meaning none of your information
is shown on that packaging as a supplier or you're
shipping to the distributor, in which case you
want your information to be included. You might
even want to print your ASI or your PP or your
SAGE number on the sample so that the distributor
might show it once and then put it in their sample
room or put it in their sample bag and forget
where it came from. So that gets a little complicated.
We're not going to dive too deep into that today,
but those are the types of samples you'll be
sending out. Blanks, random specs, and then will
you be shipping to the distributor or to the
end user customer? So Adrienne, I'm going to
send this over to you now for more thoughts and
comments. So suppliers, think of the sample the
same as the order itself. Have the same mentality.
So when you are talking to the distributor, get
all the information. How interested is the client?
Are they ready to see a sample that has a mock
-up in it? Are they like, where does that go?
So make sure that you have in your SOP, which
we'll be talking about, that you have that prepared.
Also make sure that you have already worked with
the distributor and got their credit lined up.
And we have an episode that you can listen to
on the credit so that you have that. Here's the
thing. It is so important for suppliers to understand
that. There's no playing around with samples
you are offering a product and you are having
sales people they are hundreds of different sales
people out there that. May wanna sell your product
and they all have different ways of doing business
some are gonna be so organized summer gonna be
so sloppy. They're gonna send you the artwork
in so many different ways you're gonna think
yourself what they really literally just sent
me a picture that they took a logo and five colors
like just know that but. I want to go through
some of the things that you want to think about.
So nothing starts off without a paper proof.
But suppliers, you're going to receive from the
distributors, you're not probably not even get
something from Canva because they're going to
be using AI. Hey, ChatGBT, I want this picture
of blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you're going
to get some like artwork. I can imagine right
now that the suppliers are getting artwork in
many different ways. That is why as a supplier.
I would ask the question if I'm working with
a distributor, who is interested in my products?
Do you have a graphic department? And they will
tell you, no, I do it myself. No, I use like
whatever. But how you're going to receive the
artwork is going to be just like an M &M bag
of delicious M &M all different colors. You're
going to get them all different ways. So and
you're going to get mockups where the distributors
using one of your items. And the mockup doesn't
even make sense to you. You're like, that's not
our area. That's not our bleed. We like blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah. All that is crazy. So
first you need to be able to provide at no cost
a paper proof because that's kind of a sample
in itself. If you're not providing it and you're
charging for a paper proof, can you please call
us because we wanna tell you that you're like
stopping the orders right there on the spot,
right? You need to give the distributors something.
They need a paper proof. And distributors may
take days to get back to you. You're gonna need
someone to follow up on that paper proof because
you can't just think I'm gonna send the paper
proof out and it's a rush order. So honestly,
you gotta find a way to make sure that your emails
are not landing in spam and you got the person
on the phone. To me, the best way is to say,
hey, it's Lisa from, and I have your, a paper
proof is in your hand, need you to approve that
right away because they, a lot of times they
have to get their clients to approve it depending
on their relationship. And then from the paper
proof, in my mind, you would go to the mockup
on the virtual because they, and I agree with
Kim, like, Do a hundred percent of everyone needs
to see it. Well, it's insurance So to me if it's
an order valued at a thousand as a distributor
I used to say if it's a thousand dollar order
who wants to lose that you need to have To get
to follow the steps, but things are always rushed
and we know rushes are the enemy of all of us
It really makes the most expensive expenses.
So you're paper proof. You want to do a mock
-up then you go to your spec sample. Now what
you can do as a supplier is use that to move
it around. So I just want to, we'll get into
this in another episode too, but if you're doing
these proofs, you want to push it, right? So
like if you called me up, if Kim called me up
and I'm a supplier and you let me know that you
have an order for a thousand notebooks and you
want to print it, I may say, did you have the
artwork, Kim? Kim says, yes, I have the logo
all set. I got lucky. They sent to me an EPS
vector file. If you don't know what that is,
that's what the suppliers want. So you get the
EPS vector file in and then Kim says, and then
Kim says, and then I say to Kim, hey Kim, that
is fantastic. Why don't you send it to me? I'll
do a mock -up for you. Or boy, are you close
to getting this order? Why don't you not just
send it to me, but let's do a mock -up for you.
So the reason why I'm saying this is a lot of
times, As a supplier, you have to know if your
artist, most suppliers don't let the artist talk
to the clients, the distributors, because they
don't know really the lingo. They're just doing
the artwork. So I think your sales has to start
with a sample. So I mentioned that in the beginning
of when I started talking, but that also means
with a conversation, too. So if you want to like
get that business rolling off or something, do
the sales so that you can move it forward. Because
once you send it. Those are the times that I
wouldn't charge if I was a supplier, if I'm coming
up with it and I recognize that this is a big
enough order that I want to move forward. But
other than that, I wouldn't charge for paper
proofs because that would be unfair, but you
may want to consider charging, but have it clear.
A lot of suppliers will charge like 50 percent
less, 25 percent, they'll have something or half
off EQP. Those are some of the deals that you
want to have. I will also say to double -check,
Here is right now used to be that you could order
samples in and they would they would you know
punch it right and they will put the little card
in and they'd say sample for showroom Do you
guys remember that? Okay, and that was because
the sample so tariffs on commercial samples depend
on specific criteria as they are not uniformly
taxed what I'm thinking right now still works
But we have to keep an eye on everything is if
that sample has been some way reduced to just
that you can't wear it. So it's not for wearing,
it's for a sample. And I'm talking about that
for larger items that may have large tariffs
in it, or if you're talking to the supplier,
you want to know as a supplier exactly what's
taking place. And you want to look at everything
in the eyes of a distributor and a supplier when
it comes to samples, because I think that is
what would make a supplier successful. And that
may mean bringing in like the promo playbook.
Oh, cut it out. The producer said cut it off,
H. You shared so much amazing information. I
want to restate it so our listeners can follow.
You have such an amazing, brilliant mind, Adrienne,
that sees all the aspects of things. So I thought
maybe we should just bring it into a way for
folks to take it in. So, paper proofs and virtuals.
Paper proof, in my mind, has become synonymous
with the idea of a virtual mock -up. I think
we're dating ourselves, Adrienne, when we say
paper proof. And I totally get that because I
think of it still that way. But they're really
virtual mockups now. And that's often the first
in the process. Then you might go to random sample.
Then you might go to spec sample. And what I
love about what Adrienne brought up is the cost
of the samples. Because when you have tariffs
involved or it's a more expensive item, Then
the price tag goes up for the supplier and you
may end up having to pay $20 for a $50 sample
and so on. So I just wanted to sort of weave
those pieces together, Adrian, for the audience
and support your comment of an SOP for order
sample processing. So you need a virtual mock
-up slash paper proof. How are you going to shepherd
that through your system? You have an order for
a random sample. How are you going to shepherd
that through your system and provide a tracking
number? A spec sample should go through your
production facility, just like a regular order.
So those are all great insights. And I think
that's a lot for our audience to take in. Blank
samples, random samples, spec samples, and virtual
mockups. all things to keep in mind. So I'm just
going to offer some closing comments to Kim and
Adrienne, and I'll turn it over to you, Kim.
Yeah, Adrienne, I think you did nail a really
important point. As a supplier, be helpful to
your distributor. You're right. It takes very
little time to create a mock -up. And so if you
are working back and forth to the distributor
who has a customer who's like they don't know
if they want a blue item or a pink item, if they
want the large water bottle or a stemless wine
glass, right? Mock all of those up because when
the customer can see it, they can make a decision.
And so don't wait until you have a firm order
because that firm order may or may not come because
the customer can't visualize it. So it's easy
to have your team for a pretty short time, do
that mockup of multiple ideas so that the customer
can actually say, the distributor can take to
the customer and be like, here are your options.
And they can go, oh, I like that one. And now
you have a firm order. you already know what
item, you already know where the placement of
the logo is going to be, you already know if
they want it in color or laser, because all that
little prep up front dictated and got a really
solid order. So I think I can't stress enough
the importance of those mockups, but really being
a partner in that pre -sale process with your
distributor. Yeah, and asking all the right questions,
like Adrian brought up. Make sure you know who's
the customer. What are they using it for? Is
there a theme? When is the ultimate in hand state?
We could go under layers of do you need to check
inventory to make sure that that thing you're
doing the mock -up on is actually going to be
available. Exactly. There are layers to it. Adrian
and Kim, you illustrated that so beautifully.
Adrian. Oh, Adrian is one more, but not the one.
It's my time. I didn't want to interrupt you.
You go, you go girl. Okay. Okay. So two things.
One is we're going to have another episode on
why your customer service should actually be
slash sales. Okay. And not just strictly. They
all should be true. And here's the big thing.
Invoice your sample, no matter what. It doesn't
matter even if you're gonna narrow it down zip
it out and it's gonna be zero so give the supply
give the distributor and invoice. Clearly with
the product clearly with the item number clearly
with whatever it was blue whatever that is with
you can give like just the general cost of it
this the distributors cost like whatever that
looks like and then you could say. because you
could also do memo billing, which we didn't really
talk about either, where you could say you could
have this sample for 30 days, but I'm going to
want it back. Otherwise, you're going to be paying
for it. So that's an option that works. But invoice
your supplier no matter what it is gives you
the paper trail you need. And it adds value to
the sample. I don't really care if it's a luggage
tag or a little pencil. You don't do it. It's
going to bite you in your butt. So trust me.
I love that insight, Adrienne, because if you
don't have a CRM system, customer relationship
management system, invoicing those samples is
the way that you're going to tickle your team
or yourself to follow up and see what happened
with that sample. So another piece of this, suppliers,
is how are you set up to follow up? I mean, I
know with some of my supplier clients, We're
a super small team. We're not set up properly.
We don't have the organization. We don't have
a CRM. So, you know, using Excel spreadsheets
and going back through your invoices might be
your only tools for follow -up. So great, great
point, Adrienne. Give value to the sample even
if you're sending it free. Have a way to follow
up. And that tracking is so super important for
distributors. after you send the sample. You
need to be able to track that sample yourself
to be able to follow up or send it to the distributor.
So they're not stressed about, did my client
get that? Eliminate that extra phone call, that
extra email. Make sure you're able to provide
the tracking. So I think that's a lot for a nice
segment to end this segment on, the importance
of samples. Onward wishing all of our supplier
listeners success and our distributor partners
success. We'll look forward to our next segment.
Thanks for tuning into the promo playbook. If
you found value in today's episode, be sure to
subscribe and leave us a review. Got a topic
you'd love us to cover? Connect with us on LinkedIn.
We want to hear from you. Until next time, stay
smart, stay strategic, and keep growing your
supplier success.