Home Fires Burning Spark nationwide success for your product with some sales fuel from your local neighborhood stores.
By Don Debelak
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Plenty of inventors start their companies without the experienceor financial resources they need to market their products. That canmake it hard to land major accounts. The best approach for many newinventors is to start selling their products locally, wherehometown ties can be a big selling point, and then expand intonational distribution.
That's how Dale Carsel and Bob Schneider did it. In 1995,the two partners got a job painting a large home in Beachwood,Ohio. When they discovered the owner planned to decorate much ofthe house with wallpaper, they suggested achieving the same effectwith faux finishing, the art of painting with a sponge, rag orother applicator to make the painted space look as though it hadbeen decorated in another medium. To handle the job, Carsel, 49,and Schneider, 47, made 6-by-6-inch pattern sponges that couldfinish a room at one-third the cost of wallpapering.
Charles Zuchowski, 49, a building contractor and the owner ofthe house, loved the look-and the tool. Together, the threeconsidered marketing the sponges under the name SpongePrince. Aftergetting rave reviews from a patent attorney and some local interiordecorators, they formed Wall Concepts Plus Inc. Their firststrategy? Focus on the local market.
Since then, they've introduced the SpongePrince nationwide,despite having no experience marketing a consumer product. Saleshave also been exceptional, rising more than 300 percent yearlysince the SpongePrince's introduction in 1996. This year, thepartners expect to sell more than 1 million units at $19.99apiece.
Getting Noticed
But growth came gradually. In the fall of 1996, Wall Conceptshad applied for patents, finalized product design and arranged forproduction. The company was ready to go, but it didn't have amarketing plan. Carsel and Schneider started by going to storeswhere painters buy supplies-in particular, Sherwin Williams,which sells to both retailers and painting contractors. They gottheir product into eight Sherwin Williams stores, which landed thecompany its first big break.
"The buyer for Jo-Ann Etc. [the store chain affiliated withJo-Ann Fabrics] just happened to be decorating her home during oursales test at a Sherwin Williams in March 1999," saysSchneider. "She noticed how our inventory kept going down anddecided to try our product in her stores." The test went well;today, the SpongePrince is in more than 60 Jo-Ann Etc. storesnationwide. The partners have also managed to sell to 22 HomeDepots in Ohio.
With success at brick-and-mortar stores under their belts,Zuchowski decided to approach QVC. "[SpongePrince] was thetype of item I thought would do great on TV," he says.
He was right. January 18, 2000, was the date of their first QVCairing, and the SpongePrince has run every six weeks since.According to Zuchowski, they sell $60,000 to $70,000 worth in everyeight-minute spot.
In fact, the product sold so well that in August 2000, Q Direct,the QVC division that sells to retailers, signed an exclusivelicensing and distribution agreement with Wall Concepts.
The Crown Jewel
With success on TV, Wall Concepts was growing. Still, its onlynational distribution came from Jo-Ann Etc. stores and QVC. In hissearch for more outlets, Zuchowski discovered that Lowe's HomeImprovement Warehouses, a 660-store chain found mostly in the Eastand Midwest, carried a line of Valspar Corp. glazing paints, whichare often used in faux finishing to achieve a translucent effect.Zuchowski believed the SpongePrince would be a perfect fit with theline.
Valspar agreed to test four of Wall Concepts' SpongePrincepatterns in several stores. The company also agreed to providein-store representation and training in the use of SpongePrinceproducts. At press time, Valspar had already agreed to carry themin Lowe's stores nationwide.
| Two key early accountsfor Wall Concepts Plus Inc. were Sherwin Williams and HomeDepot stores in Ohio. In both cases, the company's foundersused the same approach. First, they talked to managers of the localstores and solidified their support for Wall Concepts'SpongePrince. Then they asked those managers to set upmeetings with the stores' district sales managers, who arrangedfor the SpongePrince to be sold on a test basis. District managers are very important for inventors seekinglarge accounts. They have the authority to set up tests, approvelimited purchases and, most important, be an advocate for yourproduct with the companies' purchasing departments. Once astore manager tells you he or she likes your product, ask when thedistrict manager is coming to the store. Have the manager set asidea few minutes for you during the visit, and you just might be ableto line up your first customer. |
Secrets of Success
What can you learn from Wall Concepts' story?
Start With What YouKnow. Carsel and Schneider were painters who bought mostof their supplies from Sherwin Williams. When they and Zuchowskihad their product ready, they went to those stores first. Later,they approached Ohio Home Depot stores, then finally QVC. It'ssmart to start with customers you know, then move outward as yougain experience.
Keep Up theMomentum. Momentum creates a sense of accomplishment andmakes you look more appealing to potential customers. When youstart small, you can do demonstrations and make frequent storevisits. Inventors are frequently asked about their reorder rate(the percentage of buyers who buy the product more than once).You're unlikely to get reorders unless you make special effortsto help stores sell your product.
Keep Looking and KeepTrying. Zuchowski found a partner in Valspar Corp. justby visiting home improvement stores to see what was new. Youcan't afford to hope for orders from a few potentialcustomers-you need to search out every possible sales outlet andkeep asking those outlets for orders. "You can't expectanyone to give you an order on the first call," saysZuchowski. "You have to keep calling."
Be Open toPartnerships. "It's important to have someonecheck on your merchandise in every store," Schneider says."Most inventors don't have the resources for that. Theyneed partners to provide an effective retail interface at majorstores." That's how Wall Concepts' partners Q Directand Valspar Corp. helped make SpongePrince a national brand.
One Step at a Time
It's an age-old cliché that "every journey beginswith a single step." Unfortunately, many inventors try to jumpahead to the end of the road, when they might be better offstarting locally and building the momentum to sell to biggerretailers. Those initial sales might not make tons of money, butthey'll fuel future success.
| If you have agreat idea but don't know where to begin, try attending themeetings of your local inventor clubs. They often have workshopsand guest speakers and can put you in contact with the people inyour area who can help you succeed. Most also have members who canmentor you during the initial product development process. Find theclub nearest you by going to the United Inventors'Association Web site or by calling (716) 359-9310. Theassociation also has an inventor's resource guide available for$9.95. Another excellent resource for both new and experienced inventorsis Inventor's Digest magazine ($27 per year for six issues);subscribe at www.inventorsdigest.com or bycalling (719) 479-2290. Other Web sites to check out include:
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Don Debelak is a new-business marketing consultant. Send himyour invention questions at dondebelak@qwest.net.
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