Sales-Driving Tasks for your Handmade Business

Sometimes business feels a little overwhelming right? The time you so desperately want more sales seems to be the same time you feel stumped on how to get them.

This is a worksheet I use that helps me get back to basics.

Business is not complicated.

We tend to over-complicate things when we’re not seeing the results we want.

What am I missing?

Which new sites can I join?

What type of product do I need to make next?

WHO HAS THE ANSWERS I NEED?!

You do.

You have all the answers. Sometimes you just need to be asked the right questions.

 

>> DOWNLOAD WORKSHEET FOR FREE HERE 

Here are the questions you’ll answer on the worksheet and some more information to help you answer them effectively.

 

1) What are your Revenue Streams?

Revenue is the money you make, before any deductions (such as expenses, wages, taxes, etc.).

A stream is a way in which money flows to you.

What are the different ways you make money?

Don’t list of all the products you sell.

If I sold jewelry, my revenue streams would NOT be:

• Revenue stream #1 – necklaces
• Revenue stream #2 – rings
• Revenue stream #3 – bracelets

But rather the different ways I make money. For example, my revenue streams may be:

1. PRODUCT
   • Selling my necklaces, rings and bracelets is one way I make money.
2. SERVICE
   • I earn money when I teach others how to make jewelry through workshops.
   • Another service option may be offering to consult as a personal stylist.
3. MEMBERSHIP
   • A membership portion of my website where I charge $10/month to gain access to exclusive information, products, promotions, etc.
   • Another option may be creating a subscription box; people pay a monthly fee to be sent a curated box of handmade jewelry and other accessories.
4. ADVERTISING
   • I may have built a large following through my blog, which covers topics on jewelry making. Placing ads on this blog makes me money when people click the ads.
5. AFFILIATES
   • I make money when other people sell my jewelry through my affiliate program.
   • Another option may be that I sign up for another company’s affiliate program and get a portion of their sales when I sell one of their products (such as jewelry boxes, jewelry cleaning supplies or something else related to my business and products).

List all the ways you earn money through your business.

It’s fine if you only have one revenue stream (selling your handmade products).

You can fill in this worksheet based on the revenue streams you currently have, or list ones you can add to generate more money.

If you have several revenue streams, you may print more copies of the worksheet and use one per revenue stream.

 

2) What are your Sales Channels?

Think of your sales channels as the platforms that allow you to sell your goods or services and collect money.

In my jewelry business example, my sales channels for each revenue stream may be:

• PRODUCTS
  • Where I sell my products:
    • Website
    • Craft Shows
    • Retailers

• SERVICE
  • Where I offer my jewelry-making classes:
    • At a local jewelry supply store
    • Online through Skillshare

• MEMBERSHIP
  • Where I sell monthly memberships to my exclusive content:
    • Website

• ADVERTISING
  • Where I make money from people clicking ads:
    • Blog
    • Newsletter

• AFFILIATES
  • How I make money by other people selling my products:
    • Since affiliates are responsible for generating sales, I’m not in control of where and how affiliate sales are made. What I am in control of is getting affiliates signed up (which would be considered the “sales channel” in this situation). I may increase affiliates through:
      • My website
      • Craft shows
      • Home shopping parties

List all the places consumers can take an action that puts money in your pocket.

 

3) What are your Marketing Channels?

Now you must think about how people get to your sales channels so you can make money.

WHERE do people hear about your business?

When they land on your website, in your Etsy shop, or find you at a craft show, where did they come from?

Let’s look at the places where someone might discover my jewelry/business.

We’ll focus on just my PRODUCTS revenue stream in this example. But you would list the marketing channels for each sales channel under each of your revenue streams.

 

REVENUE STREAM: PRODUCTS

• SALES CHANNEL: Website
  • Marketing channels may be:
    • Search Engines
    • Email Marketing

• SALES CHANNEL: Craft Shows
  • Marketing channels may be:
    • Social media

• SALES CHANNEL: Retailers (Although you may want to advertise the fact that your products can be found in certain retailers, the perk of selling your products at wholesale prices to retailers, is that they do most of the work to get people into their stores and get your products sold. Therefore, you want to focus on getting more retailers to carry your products (i.e. driving retailers to your order forms) rather than driving traffic to their stores.)
  • Marketing channels may be:
    • Mail
    • Email

You’ll find more examples of online and offline marketing channels in HOW TO SELL HANDMADE BEYOND FRIENDS & FAMILY.

Again, start by listing the marketing channels you currently use for each sales channel listed under each revenue stream. Then consider other marketing channels you can begin using if you want to generate more money.

Don’t try to think too far out of the box here though. Marketing channels are pretty basic for businesses across the board. A few top examples are:

• THE best marketing channel is email marketing (which many businesses aren’t using, if that’s you, make it a priority this year…here’s how.
• A social media platform
• Craft fairs are a great sales AND marketing platform; shoppers you don’t sell to, you must market to (get them on your newsletter list, hand them a postcard, get them to follow you on social media).

You may not need to add many more marketing channels but rather choose more effective ones (e.g. which is better for your products: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or YouTube? Choose one or two).

Or, use more effective methods…explained next.

 

4) What are your Marketing Methods?

Take a look at each marketing channel you listed. How do you use those platforms?

Also list ways you could use each platform.

For example, under my revenue stream of selling products:

• SALES CHANNEL: Website
  • MARKETING CHANNEL: Search Engine
    • Marketing methods are:
      • SEO (using keywords in my listings, writing blog posts, improving user experience (UX) by speeding up my site, making it mobile-friendly, etc.)
      • Ads (e.g. Google Ads)
  • MARKETING CHANNEL: Email Marketing
    • Marketing methods are:
      • Weekly newsletter
      • Creating new opt-in offers to build my list
      • Free email challenge (e.g. “Style makeover in one week” sharing tips on what to keep, what to donate and what to implement, clothing and accessories wise, to be “on-trend”. More email marketing ideas like this found in here.)

 

• SALES CHANNEL: Craft Shows
  • MARKETING CHANNEL: Social Media
    • Marketing methods are:
      • Getting featured on event organizer’s social media pages
      • Sharing photos on Instagram of products people can find at an upcoming event you’re preparing for
      • Using Facebook live at the event

 

• SALES CHANNEL: Retailers
  • MARKETING CHANNEL: Mail
    • Marketing methods are:
      • Mailing lookbooks to retailers
      • Follow-up phone calls
  • MARKETING CHANNEL: Email
    • Marketing methods are:
      • Cold emailing retailers with a digital copy of my lookbook
      • Follow up emails
      • Restocking reminder emails

 

List the methods you currently use and/or ones you could test.

It’s important to find your best marketing methods and focusing on a few best practices.

For example, on Facebook, I may try the following methods:

• Posting photos
• Posting videos
• Running Facebook ads
• Commenting on other business’s posts
• Creating a Facebook Group

But if I find Facebook useful as a marketing channel, only a couple of these methods will likely appeal to my audience. They may prefer seeing a video of a model wearing my jewelry, as opposed to a photo post, so they can see how it sparkles in the light. I may find that commenting on others’ posts is a waste of time and no one interacts with my Facebook Group.

 

FINAL STEPS

Based on ONE revenue stream: selling my products, I have a decent to-do list:

• Improve SEO
• Run Google Ads
• Increase newsletter signups
• Send weekly newsletter
• Create an email challenge or a freebie that promotes my products
• Tag craft shows in social media posts
• Regularly post to Instagram before an event
• Use Facebook Live leading up to and at an event
• Create and mail lookbooks
• Send emails to new retailers
• Send follow-up emails to new retailers who didn’t reply to the first email
• Send restocking reminder emails to existing retailers

Before you dive into working on these tasks, first analyze and consider whether or not they deserve your time.

Calculate ROI

Take a look at the revenue streams, sales channels, and market channels you currently use.

How much time and money do you currently spend on them and how much money do they earn you?

If you’re spending several hours a week on Facebook marketing but you haven’t generated one sale because of it, it’s a low-value task and should get less of your time and money (or none at all).

On the other hand, if you put several hours into Instagram marketing each week and generate enough sales to cover your wages and earn a profit for those Instagram marketing hours, you’re getting a good return on investment. Dedicate more of your time and money there.

Highlight the streams and channels that give you a good return on investment and focus your efforts there.

For the streams and channels that don’t give you a good return on investment, consider dropping them from your list or altering your techniques (e.g. stop posting product links to Facebook and try posting content your audience will find helpful (e.g. a jewelry business might post a Spring jewelry trend guide)).

 

Create Projects

Set a goal for a revenue stream or channel.

For example, I might want to add 5 new retailers this quarter. This would become a “project”.

For each project, I break it down into steps. Then break each step into tasks.

To gain a new retailer I may have a system of:

1. 1. Find retailers
      • Research retailers in a new location that would be a fit for my jewelry.
      • Create contact list with address, phone number, email address, and store details.
      • Ensure retailers are spaced out and I’m not contacting 2 retailers that are on the same block.
   2. Contact retailers
      • Call a retail store and ask to speak to the buyer
      • Send an email to the retailer if I can’t get through on the phone.
      • Track who I have and haven’t contacted from my list and make notes (e.g. not interested now, try back in the Fall).
   3. Email a lookbook and line sheet
      • Send an email directly to the person I spoke to on the phone
      • Include something detailed and personal in the email (e.g. I love the whimsical vibe of your retail store and think my jewelry would be a fit).
      • Attach my latest lookbook and line sheet.
   4. Schedule a follow-up phone call
      • Call the retail store during non-busy hours to ensure they received my lookbook.
      • Close the sale.

Schedule Tasks

Now that I’ve broken down each project into steps and tasks, I can simply schedule each task on my calendar and as I work on those tasks, I know I’m working toward my goal and making progress on my project.

This is why determining the return on investment is important. You don’t want to fill your schedule with tasks that don’t provide value to your business.

 

If you need help determining what your business’s tasks are, calculating ROI, planning projects, creating a schedule, etc. you may find The Success Planner helpful.

Each step in The Success Planner is required for a profit-making system is thoroughly explained and worksheets are provided to help you carry out that system throughout the year.

 

IN CONCLUSION

Print the Sales-Driving Tasks worksheet and fill in:

• • Revenue streams
  • Sales Channels
  • Marketing Channels
  • Marketing Methods

And then organize that list; either on your own or with the help of THE SUCCESS PLANNER.

 

Which sales channels, marketing channels, and methods are you going to stop using this year (they weren’t profitable last year) and which will you try this year? Please tell me in the comments!