Selling a product on TV isn’t an easy thing, nor is it the best route for every product. With 30 years of experience in the field, Tom Wise gives us his One Big Tip on how to best create, design, and market new products to successfully be sold on major shopping channels.
Selling in the Spotlight
Tom has worked for many years selling products on the channels HSN and QVC, which specialize in televised home shopping. This method of advertising can sometimes be overlooked if you are not selling women’s products such as perfume, but it can actually be useful for a wide variety of products.
It is also a great source of exposure, as these channels have access to millions of households. One of the items Tom has created and sold this way is the Kerry Kart, which is a multifunctional cart that has been selling quite successfully on HSN.
However, not every product is suited for this kind of TV advertising, and Tom has One Big Tip to break into this market. His advice is to “find a product that solves a problem for a 50-year-old woman.” This is the main demographic watching these shopping channels and it is where you will want to find the most success.
This is not the only type of person you should focus on though. Tom also mentions that “if you can have a product that solves that problem for everybody, whether they live in a condominium or apartment or a ranch, that type of item is the item you should be looking for.” If your product has a wide age range of use, then it will likely sell extremely well through this medium.
The Product Process
Before a product goes on air, there are many steps that must be taken in terms of design and marketability. Sometimes, old products can be brought back and revamped into new usefulness. Other times, you may want to create something that is your own or similar to an existing product.
No matter the product, Tom’s advice for getting into this medium is to find a quality representative that can provide you access to the bigger companies as well as their consumer base. To accomplish this, he recommends sellers to “go ahead and find something in China, private label it, and then test it on Facebook or Amazon with a very low cost of entry.”
At this point, you will need to determine if your product is showing signs of success. According to Tom, “if you’re consistently getting regular orders…in business on an item that nobody else is really selling, or you’ve got a unique selling proposition…look for a rep.”You can learn more about Tom and his TV advertising tips and experience by reaching out to him at [email protected]. Additionally, you can visit his website www.kerrykart.com to check out the Kerry Kart and take advantage of a special $50 discount.
