Visits from sales reps are not always the most welcome part of a boutique or store owner's day. That is why it is SO important to call ahead, be respectful and do your best to briefly develop some sort of preliminary relationship. You arrive and think: "Ok, what am I doing in this store? Why do they need my toys? Am I in the way of their customers? Are there better stores near here that won't carry my toys because I sold here first?" Be calm as these questions swirl around in your head, questions for which you should already know the answers, and be open to possible changes and additions to what you know about the stores and area.
If this whirlwind of questions is not enough, the moment you greet the store owner or buyer you will be bombarded with their questions and even unsolicited advice: "Is this really good for dogs? This is clearly a quality toy, but is it selling well in similar demographics? What do you mean you use this for training? How? Wait, hold on, I need to talk to this customer. Now, what's this about training? Why don't you have a sales rep? Let me give you some advice..."
Keep your head on straight, be patient and LISTEN. As long as you do these things and respond slowly, with confidence in yourself and your product and are sure not to become defensive, you'll do just fine. Don't ever feel like you are being attacked. These are just questions, for which you surely have intelligent answers and if you don't, it's OK, don't lie, just be calm, honest and confident that even though you don't know everything, you know enough to close this sale. Just answer the questions the best you can with confidence and know that whatever they ask, in the end, you are selling a great product and that there is no one thing that is right for everyone!
I used these techniques and I sold to exactly the stores I wanted to and developed relationships that will surely lead to re-orders and/or invaluable information about the product.
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