What is the single most significant thing you can do for building your book sales or business? If you answered, “Have a website,” then you are spot on. I am always amazed at how many people jump into building their website without any knowledge of what it involves. Especially when they know how important a great website is to their business or book sales. And although design is important, that’s not really what I’m talking about. Instead, I’m talking about the goals, the mission, and understanding the principles that go into creating something that isn’t about you. Yes, your website has information about you and your books, but it’s ultimately about your users. In the end, they are the single most important aspect of how you sell your books.
Non-bookstore marketing is identical to selling through bookstores, yet vastly different. How can that be? There are two pieces in the special-sales pie: retail and non-retail. In retail sales (airport stores, supermarkets and discount stores) books are sold off the shelf, each person buys one book, there is a formal discount structure, you work through a distribution partner and unsold books are returned. Non-retail sales (to corporations, schools, associations) are the opposite. You find the people who can use your content to solve a business problem and you sell directly to them. One buyer can purchase thousands of your books. Terms are negotiated and books are not returnable. This is the more profitable alternative.
Making a large-quantity sale (5,000 or more) of your books to corporate buyers typically entails a formal presentation describing how your content can help the company in some way. You can improve your chances of making the sale with an analogy to the game of baseball. In any one game there may be several different pitchers used, but the same catcher is always there.
How does this equate to selling books? There may be several publishers pitching their books to corporate buyers -- the people catching the pitches. The buyers have business issues they need to resolve, and the pitchers who demonstrate how their content eliminates those pain points get the win.
For example, let’s say you have a book with content that helps to motivate employees and you are making a presentation to a Human Resources (HR) manager. This person wants to reduce absenteeism and increase productivity for the company’s 10,000 employees.
The National Park Service turns 100 on August 25, 2016. It seems appropriate to talk about how publishers can sell books through gift shops in parks and historic sites.
There are two major ways to sell to buyers at gift shops. One is to work through independent sales representatives found at http://www.greatrep.com. This site provides several entry points. Contact salespeople directly under “Lines Wanted,” or list your book in the “Reps Wanted” section. There is also a list of upcoming wholesale trade gift shows at which you can exhibit and/or network.
Second are third-party operators that buy for gift shops in parks and historical centers. They work in partnership with the retail outlets to ensure that their guests have a meaningful experience and can extend their experience by discovering relevant products in their stores.