To
really get some sales going for your book you’ll need some bulk sale
purchases. What are they and how do you
get them, you ask? Read on.
Bulk
sales is a term tossed around by authors and publishers. There’s no clear definition, no set number of
books sold that makes something a bulk sale, but let’s say, for argument’s
sake, a bulk sale is when you move a bunch of books at once. If an organization buys 10 or more copies of
your book at once, that’s a bulk sale.
Some may buy 40 or 50 copies or 300.
All of them are bulk sales. The more you sell, the bulkier the sale.
Now
that we know what bulk sales are, how do we generate them?
Start
by identifying a profile of who will generally want your book. Let’s say it’s a book about using faith to
overcome cancer by a middle-aged woman.
Those who may buy this may be interested in:
·
Stories
of survival.
·
Those
who believe in the power of faith.
·
Those
who have cancer right now.
·
Those
who survived cancer.
·
Those
who know or treat cancer patients.
·
Books
– about strong women.
Now
think about the groups, non-profits, companies, schools, house of worship, and
professional industries that serve those people. Locally and nationally, you have all kinds of
associations that deal with cancer and survival. You can contact them and highlight your story
and maybe offer to speak at a gathering, donate some of the proceeds, or give a
huge discount so they can resell or give the book away to donors and new
members.
Since
faith played a role, based on her religion, she should contact houses of
worship of that religion. Again, they
may have her speak to talk about the power of faith to heal, and agree to
purchase a bunch of books for resale or to give out to certain members.
She
is a resourceful woman who can approach groups that support women. She can also try the medical community, from
oncologists and hospitals to drug companies and medical insurers.
What influences a bulk purchase?
·
Great
book on a timely, relevant topic for that group.
·
A
big fat discount and free shipping.
·
Your
personal appeal to touch the heart of a decision-maker.
·
If
the book educates/teaches members.
·
If
they can give it out to induce sales, donations, or some other favorable
action.
There
are many places to sell your book in bulk too – both in and out of the
country. Identify your targeted reader,
research the type of groups that serve such a reader, and put together a strong
offer to their decision-makers.
Who might buy in bulk that you should
think about?
1.
Schools
at-all levels, public and private.
2.
Houses
of worship.
3.
Non-profits.
4.
Corporations
of various industries.
5.
Trade
associations.
6.
Government
agencies.
7.
Hotels
and resorts.
8.
Museums
and gift shops.
9.
Festivals,
fairs, and conventions.
10.
Book
clubs.
Anyone
that you sell in bulk to will likely be approached by other authors for the
same thing – or by others in related fields, like toys, music, or
gadgets/products that appeal to the members of an organization. They will scrutinize your offer to see if it is
better than what others peddle. They
want to deal with a trusted partner that can deliver on their offer. Some may want the opportunity to make
returns. You want to avoid that at all
costs.
One
note of caution. Bulk sales generally
appeal to groups for non-fiction books. Poetry or novels are tough sells. These entities want your book because they
believe their members will benefit from the information and that they can
profit from giving them away or re-selling them.
Selling
in bulk is one of many ways to get your sales going, but bulk sales don’t come
easily. It takes hours of research and
outreach to get someone to say yes. But
once you generate a bulk sale, your increase your chances of success. Why?
Because
whatever you offered, worked. That’s
your model to use. And if the
organization likes the book’s response from members, it may re-order more. It can write you a testimonial that you can
use to sell to others. They may also
help connect you to other branches to sell to.
For instance, let’s say you generated a bulk sale to a church in
Atlanta. Maybe it can connect you with
fellow churches in other cities. Let’s
say it was a regional office for Verizon.
Maybe they can introduce you to other regional offices or their national
headquarters. Or maybe a local union, a hospital
that’s part of a bigger medical group or a city government agency can each
refer you to others in their group – statewide, nationally, or
internationally.
Some
of this is not straight forward as far as who to contact at a given
organization. The bigger the group, the
harder it is to pin down the right person or reach him or her. But it’s worth pursuing because the pay-off
can be huge. Plus it’s one of those things
that seems elusive but is within your power to make a sale. A big sale.
Bulk
up – and supersize your brand.
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