Do you ever look back on pictures that you posted online and think to yourself “Whoa girl, why did you post that?!”
With bedhead, bangs, and no make-up, this picture I reposted on Instagram is probably one of those. But it started a great conversation around “What if my products don’t sell?” And that’s what we are going to dive into today.
In that picture, which is now 9 years old as I write this, I had just launched my first online store at 7:00 am on April 15th – Tax Day. I was quickly drawn away from my computer for mom duty to get a toddler out of bed and changed. Then it was off to make breakfast for the family.
It wasn’t too long later until we heard some dings going off in the background. But when you have 4 kids running around, you get used to random noises throughout the house. But these kept happening. Sometimes fast, then a pause, then a few more. I thought maybe one of their toys was dying or something – who knows? Jared went to investigate, and he came back a few minutes later and told me something that would change our lives forever.
“Alison, you are getting sales. Each time that ding goes off it’s a new order!”
Doubt and Insecurity
Those dings that were going off each time I got a sale were for my “products” that were headed to the trashcan just a few days prior. Looking back, I’m so proud of the younger version of myself for taking action despite the constant thought in my head about what if my products don’t sell. I was not ready to start a business.
In fact, getting those sales caused a ton of emotions both positive and negative. I was soo happy because it worked and then I was crying because it worked. Soon after the stress set in. I was like oh gosh, I’ve got orders and I have no idea how to ship them or what to do next to replicate those sounds coming from my computer.
After things kind of settled down, I was actually kind of mad that I hadn’t started sooner despite hearing about others making money online too.
The truth is, I’m no different than you. I was having all the same thoughts about what if my products don’t sell, and I was stressed because I didn’t know what to do next. I had zero experience with business, yet here I was starting a business. And I’m so thankful that I did. I just want to go give my past self a big hug for moving forward despite being scared and allowing me to live the life I do now.
Remember, these doubts and insecurities are normal. Have them – I know I still do. Just don’t let them consume your mind.
What If My Products Don’t Sell? vs. What If They Do?
Your mind is going to do its best to play tricks on you at the beginning of your journey into the world of entrepreneurship. In fact, it’s never going to stop, but you have to change how you think if you want to have any success.
Your thoughts have to go from “What if my products don’t sell?” to “What if they do?”
Before I launched that first store, I was sitting there thinking about why in the world someone would buy this from me. Walmart has it, Hobby Lobby has it, so why would they buy it from me? I had to push those thoughts out of my head and think – why not?!
If I would have been too focused on “What if my products don’t sell?” then I would have missed out on millions of dollars. This is what’s called the cost of lost opportunity. If I had been too focused on if it will sell and how much it cost to start, then I would have never reaped the benefits of actually starting. I would have never made those millions of dollars. I would have never been able to move to Puerto Rico. My opportunity cost would have been huge! It’s actually scary to think about how different things could actually be if I didn’t take that first step.
Practical Tips If Your Products Don’t Sell
Don’t buy a ton of inventory
As you’re reading this, grab your notebook, sticky pad, or whatever you’ve got and write this down. When you are just starting out, don’t buy too much inventory if you haven’t tested it. It’s better to sell out of your products than to be sitting on inventory that will never sell. Nail it first, then you can scale it.
Get the negative thoughts out of your head
If you focus on only the possible negative outcomes, that will fester in your head and take up your mental bandwidth. The bandwidth spent on “what if my products don't sell” could be used to figure out how you’re going to sell your products.
Stinky pictures equal stinky sales
It’s true. If your products don't sell, take a hard look at your pictures, because if they aren’t good, your sales will never be what they could be. And it if you don’t have the skills, then take a photography class or hire it out. For the sake of your sales, please please please don’t take product pictures on your counter under your dim-lit yellow lights. It won’t do your products justice, and people won’t buy them.
Evaluate your pitch
What’s your offer to get people interested in buying your product? If someone is scrolling through Instagram and they come across your product, and you’re offering a 5% off coupon – guess what’s going to happen? They are going to keep scrolling. What can you offer them that’ll get them to stop what they are doing and come spend $50 with you? It’s not a 5% discount. You’ll need to get creative with things like new releases or limited-time discounts. The key here is testing, testing, testing. Try different approaches and take note of how they are working, then double down on the things that work the best.
Is the platform the reason your products don't sell?
You can’t expect to sell your products on a garage sale-type site, and charge Nordstrom prices. It ain’t going to work. You need to understand where the people are who really value your products and make sure you’re there. For me, this was the difference between $30 in sales and $23,000 in sales for the same product.
Is your pricing over-priced or under-valued?
A lot of the time when people are getting into selling products online, they think that they need to be the lowest price. This can actually be bad. Bad for your margins and also bad for how the potential customers perceive your product. They might not buy if if you price it too low because they it's cheaply made. We’ve had several students of the $0-100k System that actually were able to charge more by giving their customers a concert experience. Be sure to check out this episode to learn how you can implement this in your business and get out of a race to the bottom.
Take a look at your product
Are they actually any good? Now, I’m a firm believer that anything can sell. Take a look at Chia Pets – if they can grow clay figures that things grow out of into a huge company, then just about anything can sell. And consider this: it might be time to give those products to friends and family if you’ve exhausted your efforts.
Don’t Be Scared About If Your Products Don’t Sell
When you have thoughts about “what if my products don’t sell” (because you will – I still do) then I want you to turn that around. You’ve got to think about the cost of lost opportunity that I mentioned above. What is the potential cost of you not taking action?
For me, it would have been millions of dollars. If I hadn’t pressed launch on my first store 9 years ago, when I definitely wasn’t ready, then I would not be able to live the life I live now and provide all the opportunities to my kids that I’m able to now.
Keep investing in yourself because you are your greatest asset.
