Greeting Card Designer

Pros and Cons of working with Rep Groups

This is an excerpt from Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps (Updated 2017 paperback) If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide. Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.

Rep Groups
Rep groups are a team of sales reps who all work together to cover a large territory. Usually there is one "principal", or owner of the group, and this person has "sub-reps," or people that work under them and get a smaller commission. I have worked with rep groups and they tended to be around 6-10 people.

On the surface, this might sound like a great opportunity to hire a team of reps at all once, but there are pros and cons of rep groups.

Pros:
-The group has already divided the territory, so you do not have to worry about overlapping areas.

-You only have to write one commission check for all the reps.

-They often have permanent showrooms.

-Then tend to exhibit at tradeshows.

-They generally have a uniform system and set of policies.

-They tend to have high profile accounts, and possibly work with store chains.

-You can do all your communication through the rep principle instead of each individual rep.

Cons:
-If they drop your line, you lose many reps all at once.

-The subreps have a high turnover rate. Some are trying new careers and don’t realize all the responsibilities involved in being a card rep. They may also be inexperienced in sales.

-My experience is about half of the reps in a group are great sellers and the rest I may never hear from. This can be disappointing if you have gone to the trouble of sending sample decks to all of them.

-Groups tend to carry many large lines and independent artists can fall in between the cracks.

-You cannot drop a poor performing subrep and replace them with someone else. Working with groups is usually an all-or-nothing package.

-Because rep groups tend to have high staff turnover, this can be frustrating for stores. Usually one of the first warning signs that a group is not working out is if a store calls you and wants to know who their rep is. Ideally, the store should always know this, or at least they should know how to contact the prinicipal (owner) of the group to find out.

Working With Solo Reps
I found my top selling reps tended to be solo reps and not rep groups. I'm not sure why they sold more, but I attribute it to the freedom to make independent decisions on what lines they carry and what stores they service. Members of a rep group do not have this authority.

Solo reps tend to have years of experience and long-term relationships with store buyers. This can also be true for the owner of a rep group, but less true for their subreps.

What do Reps do?

There are many benefits of starting small and getting your cards into stores before you look for a rep. If you rush to get a rep and then find out your card line has some problems, reps might tell other reps and then it can be hard to get a second rep. Even if you make dramatic changes in your line, you could still end up living in the shadow of outdated information circulating around about your cards.

I learned this after creating three lines. The first two flopped, and the third one succeeded. I am glad I did not try to expand my business early on because the reps would have experienced my failures with me. Then I would have been known as “the artist who has a crummy line”! However, because I waited until I had a good line before I expanded my business, my reps did not experience my first two flops!

On the other end of the spectrum, nothing travels faster than good news. If your line sells well, reps will start contacting you out of nowhere. When I got an account with a national bookstore chain, I had a dozen reps call me, asking if they could carry my line. I did not know any of these people, but they were aware of me because they saw my cards appear on the store shelves. They also told other reps about my line, who worked in adjacent territories.

What Reps Do

A rep’s primary responsibility is to sell cards. She (most are women) makes appointments with card buyers in stores and shows samples made by artists and publishers (collectively called “manufacturers”).

Besides your cards, she might carry dozens of other card lines by different artists, along gift products such as mugs, candles, magnets, or calendars. The store buyer selects items to purchase, the rep writes up order on the spot, and then sends the order to the artist (usually by U.S. mail, fax, or email). When the artist receives the order, he or she is responsible for shipping the cards to the store and collecting the payment. The store then pays the artist, and the artist pays the rep.

If a rep brings ten different lines into a meeting, and each line has one hundred card styles, a buyer could easily see one thousand cards in a single meeting. However, the rep does not want to overwhelm the buyer with too many products, so she may limit the number of items viewed in one meeting. She might bring Valentine’s cards one time and show new releases a few months later.

Other things reps do are: keep sales records, travel long distances, carries heavy boxes of products, and straighten display racks. A good rep builds relationships, is reliable, is aware of community issues and possesses a congenial personality. She is also extremely skilled at finding parking places!

An artist rarely sees all these qualities from a distance, yet they are vital skills that help designers grow a successful business.

There is no comparable advertising investment, online site, mobile technology, tradeshow or marketing strategy that can do what reps do.

It is nearly impossible to perform all of these functions without physically being in a store. Luckily, there are thousands of greeting card reps throughout the United States.

Independent Reps versus In-house Reps

Another type of rep is called an “in-house” rep. In-house reps are usually full-time salaried employees who work for primarily for one greeting card company. They do not generally carry lines by independent artists. I am only discussing “independent reps”, and not in-house reps, but it helps to know about them just in case you hear the term and want to learn more about the card industry.

Larger publishers might have both types of reps. In fact, sometimes an indie artist and large publisher might have the same rep because the larger company cannot afford a full time sales person for a specific territory. Without knowing it, this rep becomes a great equalizer between large companies and indie artists. You can actually have the same opportunity to get your products into the marketplace, as a seasoned publisher does since the rep is carrying both lines.

Pricing and Profits: The Tale of Two Greeting Card Businesses

When growing a card business, I learned early on to purchase items that are only necessary, and avoid the enticement of pseudo business expenses, like tax deductable perks.
For example, imagine these two humorous scenarios. Which card business would you rather have?

Business #1:

You are sitting in your rented sunlit art studio with your new computer, loaded with the latest software, and you have just returned from the art supply store to see what fun things you could buy. Earlier in the day, you stopped by the Chamber of Commerce to buy a ticket to a networking dinner at a country club.

When you sit down to add up your monthly bills, you are surprised to find you are spending $2,000 a month, but all the receipts have nothing to do with making a greeting card. Rather, they are for rent, business lunches, a new drafting table, art books and business cards.

The next day, when you share this information with your husband (partner, kid, wife, mother, fill in the blank), they say, “This hobby of yours is too expensive. I think you need to give it up. We could have used that $2,000 to pay for the rent (braces, gas, insurance, food, fill in the blank).”

Business #2:

You just had coffee with a few neighbors who work at home. You learn that one neighbor needs invitations made for her daughter’s graduation and another neighbor tells you about freecycle http://www.freecycle.org/ , an online group where you can get free stuff like art supplies and furniture.

When you come home and add up your monthly bills, you learn you have profited $2,000. You share this information with your family and they are happy for you. Your husband (partner, kid, wife, mother, fill in the blank) suggests moving the exercise bike to the garage, and turning the workout room into your office.

Because your business is profitable, you decide to make a commitment towards growth and purchase larger quantities of supplies for bulk discounts. You have an inner sense of accomplishment from putting your art out into the world.

When I first started my card business, I had many difficulties when it came to sales. When downturns came, I was tempted to think my business was just something I dabbled in while working a full time job. Then I would stick it out, get more advice, make adjustments, and soon found there were more ups than there were downs.

If you feel like you are on a roller coaster, that is to be expected. Any good business generally starts that way, and things change as you go along. My biggest piece of advice for dealing with this is: If you start feeling disappointed, take action. Ask for advice; make adjustments and work on new ideas.

Pricing Your Cards

This is an excerpt from Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide. Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.

Pricing Your Cards

Selling to retail stores is very different from selling to individual customers at craft fairs. Stores usually buy cards in larger quantities, and for wholesale prices.

For example, if you normally sell your cards for $4 each at craft fairs, you cannot expect a retail store to buy them for the same price. Stores need to make a profit, which requires them to double the price at which they buy them.

It may be unrealistic to expect a store to just double your $4 price and sell your cards for $8. Unless your cards are very unusual or have detachable gifts, the average consumer may not purchase a card in that price range. Therefore, it is helpful to evaluate your costs, look at your profits and manufacturing processes so you can sell your cards at a good price. You and the store both need to make money!

Even though your profit per card is smaller if you cut your price half, in the end, you will actually make more money. One store might order two hundred cards at once and then reorder quarterly. Therefore, it is better to sell large volumes of cards to several stores for a lower price rather it is to sell a few cards at a higher price to people at a craft fair.

Sometimes artists get so excited about getting their cards into stores, that they neglect to look at their costs of making a card. It is important to know early on that you will make a profit. Six months down the road, you don't want to find yourself working for ten cents an hour. It’s not fair to you, the store, or the rep if you suddenly quit the business because you are not making any money. Therefore, I think it is important to make sure all your numbers add up before you look for a rep.

Determining Materials Costs

Like any manufacturing businesses, the greeting card business has different types of costs, but the most important one is the materials costs. Materials are the physica supplies used to make your cards. Examples might be: glue, paint, cellophane bags, envelopes, and paper. As a rule of thumb, if it cannot be “touched,” and is not a part of the greeting card, it is not a materials cost. For example, a shipping label is not a materials cost because it is not part of the actual greeting card.

When determining materials costs, disassemble your finished card, and make a list of all the parts, including things like a spot of glue, an envelope, paper and ink. Determine how much each item costs per card. If your cards are printed, you might only have two costs: The card and the envelope.

It’s easy to have your heart set on one specific type of paper for your cards, but if the cost is too high, try to be flexible. Sales reps have often told me that artists have a tendency to be overly picky about things that store and customers don’t really care about, such as how thick an envelope is, or what kind of paper the card is printed on.

Profitability Formula

As a rule of thumb, I have found that if you make 20 to 25 percent profit on each card, then you are doing great!

Use these guidelines below to evaluate your costs. If they do not match, look at where you can make adjustments by either using less expensive materials or changing the design.

These percentages are based on wholesale prices. For example, if I sell my cards to a store for $1.50 each, my goal is to make a profit of at least 20 percent (or 30 cents) on each card.

Aim for the following, as if it were a round pie with separate segments. If you want to sell your card at a different price, just substitute your number in place of the $1.50 and do the math.

15 to 35 percent of the 1.50 is for materials costs mentioned above (22-52 cents).
10 to 20 percent of the 1.50 is for labor of making the card. (15-30 cents).
10 to 20 percent of the 1.50 is set aside for overhead costs (15-30 cents).
20 percent or more of the 1.50 is your profit (30 cents).
20 percent of the 1.50 is for a sales representative (30 cents).

If you can only ask one question, ask this one: “If I sold as many cards as I wanted, will I make enough money to be happy?”

Alternatively, you can break this down into the following:
- After expenses are deducted, how much profit do I make per card?
- How much money am I making per hour?
- If sales doubled next month and I need to pay someone to help me, can I afford it?

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The Greeting Card Business

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Get Your Greeting Cards Into Stores: How to Find and Work With Sales Reps (Updated 2017 paperback) If you like to make greeting cards, this book explains how to get your cards into stores and sell them nationwide. Learn about changing trends in the indie card market and niche opportunities available for artists. Book includes detailed guidelines on pricing cards for a profit, getting professional feedback on your designs, finding sales representatives, pitching your card line to them, approaching stores, and the industry standards you should follow. Information is also applicable to gift items, such as magnets, journals and calendars.

Start and Run a Greeting Card Business From a British author, whose country has a long history of greeting card design, she takes you step-by-step through the process of starting and running your business with lots of useful practical advice to help you, including: - Deciding what type of cards to produce - Finding your market - Dealing with printers - Copyright and licensing - Pricing and profit. Kate's note: Some specs are different (card sizes) since it is UK standards.

Greeting Card Design This volume features a vast array of fun, elegant, simple and imaginative greeting cards designed by internationally-known artists, illustrators and calligraphers. With over 300 full-color photographs of creative, popular, and inspiring greeting card designs, this invaluable sourcebook showcases the very best of what is happening in the industry today. Accompanying text explores the history of the greeting card industry and examines the major contributions from the leading innovative companies.

Getting Professional Feedback on Your Card Line

When you are thinking about greeting card sales rep to carry your line, here are some things you might want to know about working with reps.

Every rep is different, but I have found these things to be common with almost every rep I've worked with.

1-The rep does not pay for the artist’s card sample deck.

2-Reps expect all cards in the sample deck to have a code, either preprinted or hand written on the card, that is unique for each design. So, for example, if you have a card line of 50 different kinds of flower images, the artist needs to assign a code to each one, so when the rep writes up an order, they know #45 means the red rose card.

3-The artist is primarily responsible for the cost of all promotional materials, such as brochures, catalogs, and store signs.

4-The most important thing you can do in your relationship with reps is to pay them on time.

5-Normally, the artist pays the sales rep once a month for all the prior months’ orders, independent of whether or not the stores has first paid the artist. This is referred to as “paying reps by ship date.” Some artists pay reps after being paid by stores, but I believe reps sell more, and are happier with artists who pay by ship date.

6-Reps sell cards in dozens and half dozens. A typical beginning order for an artist might be 12 dozen cards of 12 different card designs, or 144 cards.

7-Independent artists usually pay the rep a 20% commission on the wholesale price the cards. Therefore, if you receive an order for $200 wholesale (the price you sell it to the store for), the rep’s commission is $40. Some reps might accept 15%, but that is usually for larger companies that have high sales.

8-Reps expect the artist to discontinue slow selling cards and replace them with new designs. A good plan is to add new designs 3-4 times a year: January, May and August, and seasonal items approximately 6 months ahead of the holiday.

Once you create your first assortment of cards (maybe 24-36 cards), it is important to have a professional look at your designs. You can probably find someone in your community, such as a store owner.

Here are some of the best ways I got feedback on card designs. They are all from people in the local community:

Met a Store Chain Manager
I asked a manager of a greeting card store if she would be willing to advise me and other artists, because we wanted to learn how to make good card designs. She met with us after closing time, looked at our cards and answered our questions. She told us which occasions sold well (birthday), what colors to avoid (black and white) and why we should design in a vertical format instead of horizontal (more cards fit on a shelf).

We were grateful she was willing to spend her free time helping us, but our meeting was just as important to her. She did not realize her knowledge and skills were valuable to artists. Normally she spent most days managing staff, unpacking boxes and stocking card racks. Just by doing these daily tasks, she learned a lot about greeting cards.

Approached the Grinch
I hovered around a tiny bookstore for weeks, trying to get up the courage to go in and ask the owner to look at my cards. He looked a little like the Grinch, which was intimidating. It turned out he wasn’t the Grinch, but he did offer brutally honest advice, explained to me why no one in his store would buy my cards, and then proceeded to place an order for several dozen!

Went to a Class
One day I saw a class advertised in the Learning Annex publication http://www.learningannex.com/ about the greeting card business. I thought it would be a great way to get advice on my cards, so I signed up.

The teacher told a story of how he left his corporate sales career and started a card business with a partner. Since he came from a business background, and not an artist’s background, his view of the card business was numbers and formulas.

After his lecture, I showed him my handmade cards and the first thing he said to me was “you need to change these designs so other people can make them. You cannot grow a card business if you are the only person making your cards.” That was a great piece of advice. After that, I completely changed the designs.

Attended a Meeting
One day I opened my mail to find an invitation to a paper seminar sponsored by a local paper company.
When I arrived, I was amazed to find that in our group of twenty attendees, there was a nationally known, well-respected greeting card designer. It was a great opportunity to get feedback.

Wrote to an Artist
One day while shopping, I bought a handmade card by a local artist and I liked it so much, I sent her one of my cards asking for her advice. Since her cards were a completely different style from mine, I thought it would be OK to contact her. Not only did she help me, but she invited me to her studio!

Asked a Sales Rep
I went to a local wholesale gift show that exhibited many wares by different artists and manufacturers. I met a sales representative in an exhibitor’s booth, and asked her if I could take her out to lunch in exchange for giving me feedback on my cards.I thought: What is the worst that can happen? All she can do is say ‘no’. Luckily, she said yes.

Greeting card sales representatives are a great resource for feedback. They see a variety of products and often have a gut sense of predicting trends and knowing what will sell. Since reps are often approached by artists, it is nice to offer them something for their time, such as taking them out to lunch or a consultant’s fee. They usually have a very busy schedule; so, tell them up front you will limit your meeting to an hour. If they decide to stay longer, then great, you can too. Alternatively, if they only have 5 minutes, that is still enough time to get some basic advice.

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On-the-Spot Feedback

If you are unable to get a formal appointment for feedback, try to visit at least six stores and ask for “on the spot” feedback. Here is how to do this:

Visit a store during slow times, such as a weekday morning. If an employee is not busy helping a customer, ask them if the “card buyer” would be willing to give you five minutes for some honest feedback on your designs. Explain that you are not trying to sell anything; you just want to improve your cards to make them more marketable.

Remember, there are different kinds of staff people in the store. The person running the cash register may not be the person who buys cards or is qualified to evaluate designs, so always make sure you ask for the “card buyer.” More often than not, they will come onto the floor to assist you.

If the card buyer has a positive response to your cards, also ask for a price recommendation. Perhaps they know what the standard pricing is for cards like yours. If all you do is walk away with a page full of notes and information, that is a complete success.

In a situation like this, you only want feedback, but there is a possibility a store might want to order your cards, so bring an order form, brochure or business card along just in case.

If the above scenario sounds scary because you don’t like walking up to strangers and asking for things, I assure you, it is very easy. I have done this many times and not once did anyone treat me rudely or act irritated. I consistently had good experiences, and people were happy to help me, but I also made sure to respect their time and not interrupt them if they were assisting customers.

These “on the spot” requests for feedback are also a great way to meet local buyers who can often refer you to reps, vendors and other professionals in the industry.

Getting Your First Greeting Card Account

If you get positive feedback on your card line, then you can start thinking about selling cards to stores (versus just test-marketing).

Getting store accounts is an important step on the way to getting sales reps. Reps want to know the cards already are in stores. It’s kind of a catch 22 because you need reps in order to get into stores in the first place.

At this point it is helpful to know some basic business skills. There is a false stereotype that artists are bad at business, and I like to joke that there are a lot more business people who are bad at art. Therefore, you are actually ahead of the game.

I believe that if you can do the following tasks below, you will be good at running a business. These might sound like common sense, but stores have often told me that many artists neglect them:

Ship orders on time.

Send the correct items.

Charge the correct price.

Do not add excessive shipping charges.

Make sure the cards are packaged so they arrive undamaged and without bent corners.

If cards arrive damaged, replace them immediately at no extra charge. Add some extra free one to offset hassle.

Make sure the cards match the quality of the samples. If the samples had yellow envelopes, make sure all the cards shipped also have the same envelope.

Include a packing slip in the box (a list of all the items that should be in the box).

Mail an invoice (bill).

By performing these simple tasks, it shows that you are a reliable, responsible, and action-oriented businessperson.

Adding Stores

When adding more store accounts, add them slowly. This will help you ramp up your manufacturing and deal with problems that might arise down the road.

For example, when I started selling cards, I kept envelopes in the garage and soon found out the dampness caused the flaps to stick together. I also discovered that packing cards tightly caused the cellophane bags to stick together because they could not “breathe.” Later on, I also discovered the special Japanese paper I relied on was discontinued, and I needed to find a new supplier.

It is easier to deal with unexpected supply problems when servicing just a few stores than if it were a hundred stores. Otherwise, you will get complaints and returns. You especially need to be careful when using unusual supplies that are hard to find. This is why starting small with a few stores is a good idea.

If you can handle growth, consider working towards having at least fifty good-selling designs and removing the slower sellers from your card line. I think it is better to offer fewer cards with great designs rather than a hundred cards of questionable quality.

When you feel you have a solid line and several store accounts, you are probably ready to approach a rep, but don’t be surprised if one hasn’t already contacted you first, especially if your cards are selling well.

This points to the best way to find reps: Create a product that sells, and everything else will fall into place. Reps will just magically appear!

Getting Reorders

To evaluate card sales, I believe reorders are more important than first orders. A reorder means that customers are walking into the store and buying your cards, which requires the store to restock the shelf.

However, first orders only mean the store bought your cards and put them on the shelf. This does not guarantee customers will buy them. This is referred to as “sell-through” rates, meaning the percentage of cards you ship, that actually end up selling.

For most reps, knowing that one store reordered your cards ten times is more impressive than knowing ten stores bought your cards, but did not reorder.

Test Marketing Your Card Line

Test Marketing
Another way to get feedback on your cards is to test market them in a store. Don’t dismiss the possibility of giving cards away for a limited amount of time in exchange for temporary shelf space. All you really want to do is to see if customers buy your cards and how much they are willing to pay.

If a store is hesitant to experiment with your cards because they don’t want to give up retail space to an untested product, agree to remove your cards after a month. There is no harm in asking. All they can do is say “no, thanks.”

If you feel shy about walking into a store and asking, “Hey, can I put my cards in your store as an experiment?” you do have some other options:

You might talk to your friends or relatives to see if they know anyone who runs a retail store. Tell them you are willing to give away cards in exchange for shelf space to test market your cards.

I found my first store this way. My friend’s mom ran a health food store and she offered to put my cards in a basket on the counter. She took an interest in my success and reported to me about her customers’ comments.

What makes this a great deal for the store is they get free cards, 100 percent profit, and they don’t have to keep track of invoices or set up an account with you.

I suggest offering at least fifty free cards. If that seems expensive to you, remember that when you grow a business, you will also need to give out free samples to sales reps, so giving away cards is reasonable thing to do.

Remember: Stores like artists. In my experience of approaching card buyers, I found them to be generous and helpful. They like giving feedback and usually prefer carrying local artist’s products, rather than mass-marketed items available in store chains.