Everything that you do in your business should lead towards making a sale….that is off-course If you agree that the goal of your fashion business is to sell products.
If you are looking to sell wholesale, one of your main selling tools is going to be a GOOD line sheet.
I’m emphasizing the word GOOD because a not so good line sheet will greatly hurt your sells efforts! Not only jeopardizing a specific sale but also leave a bad impression on the buyer who will doubt how professional or experienced are you!
What is a line sheet?
Line sheet is a sheet that lists your products (pictures + product info) as well as all the ordering info a buyer will need in order to place an order.
Not to be confused with a look book which is normally an editorial book meant to showcase your line, the line sheet means business!
It is more straight forward and to the point than a look book, and it has one goal in mind - providing all the necessary product details so buyers can place an order.
What makes a good line sheet?
A good line sheet should answer all the questions that a buyer might have. Making it as easy as possible for them to write an order with no room to think twice or to hesitate.
Just like you want to covert your website visitors into sales, when a buyer shows interest in your line/product, your goal is to convert that into an actual order!
Therefore anytime a buyer has to stop and ask a question (re: what is the delivery date, what sizes do you offer etc.), or wonder about a look, color, fit etc. it will steer them away from the main goal which is writing the order.
Obviously, this is not what you want.
What should be included in a line sheet?
General info about your brand:
Name and address of the brand
Logo
Contact info (very important)
Product info for each style:
Photos of the product - photos should be clear, so it is easy to understand what the product looks like. You can use your look book photos or a simpler version with the product on a mannequin or even aid flat, with a white background, as long as the quality is good and clear.
Style number
Short description
Fabric info/content
Colors/prints offered
Sizes offered
Wholesale price
Suggested retail price (SPR)
General ordering info:
Season
Delivery dates - you want to give a window with a start and cancel (cxl) dates (normally about 15 days room)
Cut off dates to place an order – depending on your production calendar you will need to have all your orders in to meet your production dates. The last thing you want is someone placing an order after your production started and you can’t accommodate the order.
Minimum order – this could be a dollar amount or a number of units, or both. You want a store to have a decent representation of your product otherwise it will not have any impact on the selling floor and will be pushed out to the back of the store and will not get sold.
How does a line sheet being used?
Anytime you present your line to a buyer in person you must have the line sheet with you and hand a copy to the buyer. Many times buyers will write their notes on the line sheet and take it with them to either write the actual order later or simply to keep aa a reference along with a copy of the order. The line sheet will than also help them merchandise all their buys for the season.
For out of town buyers you can always email the line sheet. Here, it is even more important for you to have a very clear and straight forward info on it since you will not be there in person when they write the order and as mentioned above you want them to have all the info and answers so they write the order in one shot.
Tip: In order to make things super easy for your buyers, you might want to include your sales order sheet with the line sheet, this way the buyer have everything they need to place an order. More so, in our line sheet template we included room for the buyers to write their orders right there on the line sheet, this makes things even easier for them since they can see visuals of the styles as they place the order as oppose to using a different sheet that only include text and no pictures to write the order on.
When you meet with a buyer for the first time, there is a lot of info they will try and asses about you and your brand (especially being a start-up), therefore your presentation tells them a lot about how professional you are, if you know what you are doing, do you have all your ducks in a row, can they trust that you will deliver, your quality, etc. a GOOD line sheet can put their mind at ease!
Want to have a good line sheet?
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Now that you have your line developed, sampled and ready for buyers lets make it a great one and help you get some orders!
Buyers will want to see how professional and organised your business is, They want to know that they can trust your business. Best tool to help put their minds at ease is with a good line-sheet.