Selling Outdoor Sports Equipment

{Don Debelak’s new book, Turning Your Invention into Cash is now available on Amazon for $3.49. Go to Amazon.com and enter inventions Don Debelak to purchase. From the author of Entrepreneur Magazine’s Bringing Your Product to Market.}

Outdoor products include a wide variety of product categories. Typically the categories are not dominated by major manufactures and inventors with innovative products have a good chance of getting their products on the market. The drawback to the industry is that retailers are small and each category tends to have smaller trade shows. The industry does however have some key specific trade shows that can be helpful if you serve a market segment that has a major show. The good news is that independent sales reps are prevalent in the market and they sell to both large and small retailers. The list of reps sold by onestopinventionshop.net has over 400 independent reps, click here to buy. Inventors with a strong product category have an excellent chance to set up their own rep network.

Market Segments, Trade Shows and Trade Magazines

Paddlesports

Paddle Expo, http://www.paddleexpo.com
Paddle World www.paddleworld.com

Action Sports

Action Sports Retailer, http://www.boardretailers.org

Fishing Industry

Fly Fishing World Trade Expo

Fly Fishing Retailer , www.flyfishingretailer.com

Climbing / Mountaineering

Outdoor Retailer Trade Show
Outdoor Retailer, http://www.outdoorretailer.com

Snow Sports

Snow Sports Trade Show, www.siasnowshow.snowsports.org
Trade Association with many magazines, www.snowsports.org

Bicycle

Interbike, www.interbike.com
Bicycle Retailer & Industry News, www.bicycleretailer.com

Hunting / Shooting

Outdoor Retailer Trade Show
Outdoor Retailer, http://www.outdoorretailer.com

How to Start – Build Some Success

The outdoor retail market has many smaller retailers, and small local retailers are often open to you selling your product in their store, typically on consignment. They will also often let you set up a demo display on the weekends where you can show your product. Showing a pattern of success is important for getting reps and also for landing larger retailers. Ideally you would like to have at least two to three stores that successfully sell your product.

If you can’t get a store to start, try selling your product at local show, or trade show or other event, including community events in your local town. You may also work on a presentation at local organizations related to your type of product, for example there are many local clubs for canoe enthusiasts that might be willing to host a presentation for an inventor of a canoe related product. You must get some positive signs that people are willing to buy your product before going too far in the market.

How to Start – Finding Potential Industry Helpers

The best industry helpers are sales reps in the market, a regional sales manager, an inventor that has already succeeded or a retail store owner in your market. You want to try to find an industry insider to be a minority partner in your product.

Once you have some success you can ask the store owner for the names of some of the sales reps who call on the store that seem to be aggressive and on the ball. Tell the owner that you are looking to find a minority partner with plenty of experience in the market. Tell him that you are particularly interested in someone who has taken a new product to market. If the store owner can’t suggest anyone, then you need to get copies of the appropriate trade magazines. In most trade magazines, there is a section called new products. Start sending away for information on every item that is in your market area. Those companies will send you literature and frequently it will come with contact info for a sales rep. You can contact the reps and explain to them that you have a new product and would like to take them out for lunch or coffee and show your idea to them.

How to Start – What to Present a Potential Helper

1. A non-disclosure agreement or patent, patent pending or a provisional patent is OK.
2. A sales flyer for your product.
3. A summary of the competition and how your product is different and better.
4. Your target sales price.
5. If at all possible a “looks like, works like” prototype.
6. A list of other advisers or helpers, for example engineers, manufacturers, small business advisers and anyone else helping you.

The last item, a prototype, is important. One of the biggest mistakes inventors make is to assume others can see the final product from a drawing and description. They really can’t–plus industry people know that often a product that looks good on paper simply can’t be executed.

How to Start – What to Discuss with Potential Helpers

1. Tell them you are looking for someone to help you introduce your product. Don’t commit to any shares, etc., but say you are willing to reward people based on the extent of their effort.
2. Ask for their reaction to the product.
3. Solicit advice on what might be the best way to sell the product.
4. Ask for key contacts in the market for selling your product quickly.
5. Explore if they will help you. State you’d like to just get advice over the next 90 days and then when you are comfortable with each other you can work out an arrangement.
6. If they are not willing to help, then ask if they know anyone else who can.
7. If pressed for how you might want to work together, use these guidelines as a starting point:
   1. 10 to 20% commission on any royalty sales if you want to license the idea.
   2. 7 to 12% commission on their sales to retailers or end users.
   3. 3 to 5 % commission on sales through distributors or other sales reps that they set up.
   4. Possible a share in ownership if certain sales milestones are hit for the first 12 months. You can state what those sales would be, i.e $500,000 in the first 12 months.

How to Start – Without an Industry Helper

Without an industry helper you need to concentrate on attending the major trade shows (a list was provided at the beginning of the article) and promoting your product through press releases in the trade magazine.  Some of the trade magazines are listed at the start of the article.  You can also go to larger public libraries and look at the directory Gale’s Source of Publications and Broadcast Media. That directory has a list of all industry trade magazines and you should be able to locate at least two or three in your market. Subscribe to all magazines and you can look at the new product section and see how press releases are written. You can also use your local Small Business Development Center, www.sbdc.gov, a no charge service from the SBA, or SCORE, www.score.org, another no charge service to help you with your press releases. Your goal in the press releases and show attendance is to pick up retailers, distributors or manufacturer’s sales reps to sell your product.

If your press releases and trade show attendance don’t produce the volume of leads you need, then you can run a program to attract sales representatives on your own. Onestopinventionshop.net has a list of over 400 reps you can buy for $24.99 or you can try to assemble your own list through Internet searches, by contacting trade associations and trade shows, or by looking at the sites of other manufacturers in the industry to see if they have a rep list on their site.

Once you have reps, you can furnish them price lists, samples and literature and any other required assistance so they can successfully start to sell your product.

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https://onestopinventionshop.net/web-content-writing-services

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