Where and How To Sell: Getting Started and Going It Alone

Today, there are hundreds of sales channels available for creatives. So it's no surprise that both established and emerging designers often find it challenging to choose the right avenues to sell their products. However, choosing the right sales channel is crucial. Without them, it can be a fast drain on both your time and money. Thankfully, the design duo behind Francis Love, Deborah Lynch-Shyllon and Julie Middleton, are on hand to demystify the topic, with their introduction on how and where to sell. 

Deborah and Julie began their business with a bricks and mortar homeware store in 2014 and now run an interior design consultancy covering commercial and architectural design under the same name. They have incredible, first-hand experience of setting up a store retailing goods for the home using sustainable materials and working with independent designers and artisan.

With so many different business owners in The Sustainable Fashion Collective, we were delighted when the fabulous design duo from Francis Love agreed to impart their wisdom on their experience setting up an interior homewares shop in Surrey, England. There are some amazing gems of advice in this video so get your pens at the ready!

We dive into the world of setting up a bricks and mortar fashion retail store. Having already taken a look at the runnings of an interior home furnishing shop, Ilona Anthony gives us her insight into launching her beautiful fashion store in Melbourne, Australia. Ilona is a true inspiration as a granny entrepreneur and shares brilliant tips on how she set up her store and attracts her ideal client.

We had the pleasure of interviewing Wendy Batten, founder and director of Front Porch Mercantile, a retail store in North America selling beautiful, reclaimed furniture which you can buy fully upcycled with their own ethical paints, or, you can join in one of their workshops to learn how to do it yourself (among many other things). An incredible nose for business, Wendy is also a coach and works with two of the biggest ethical paint lines in North America. But even more impressive, is that just five years in, Wendy has franchised the business and is currently opening store numbers three and four! 

The fear of not being able to sell your product can be overwhelming. After all of the hours, money and love you've invested creating your product - the thought that your customer might not like it is scary! But, guess what - it's completely normal.

The key is to not let the worry paralyse you. To teach us how to combat anxiety around sales, we have this Masterclass from the brilliant Melanie Brooks!

This is an in-depth 37 minute presentation from Christine Knott, the founder of Beyond The Box. This retail training and field marketing business was founded in 1999, and by 2018, Christine's company was one of the top training businesses in the UK, enabling sales staff to sell more effectively (the business is no longer operating). The overall aim is to encourage more of those satisfied customers who leave stores having bought products or services - and to come back as loyal customers who can't get enough. Beyond The Box teaches businesses how to raise average transaction values and improve conversion rates, and inspires employees to become sellers rather than servers. 

This Lesson is specifically aimed at business-to-customer sales (whether in-person, online or over the phone), so if you are at all nervous about this type of interactive sales process and closing the deal - you will love this Lesson.