Do you want to start and grow your beauty supply business from home? If YES, here are 11 smart tips on how to sell makeup and beauty products fast to clients.
In today’s world, cosmetics have become a very basic human need. Everyone, including people without the requisite financial capabilities, will go out of their way to enhance the way they look, feel and smell.
Besides helping people with their personal hygiene, makeup and beauty products have become vital to our self-esteem and they greatly determine how other people treat us.
Why Start a Beauty Product Selling Business?
There are numerous potions, powders, balms, blushes and lots of other products available in the market, all serving one beauty or hygiene function or the other.
With a market this large, there are potentials for people to start their own makeup and beauty products business from their homes and make good profit from it. Selling makeup and beauty products as a home-based business can be very financially rewarding if you know the ropes.
When starting this business, it is usually advised to start with a few offerings and expand organically as your brand grows. You could begin with a brow pencil or powder range or even an uncommon shade of lipstick that offers something you’ve always wanted.
You need to decide how you want your makeup and beauty products line to be, as this would help you know what products to stock.
To get started, you need to properly research the products you want to stock so that you can answer any questions that arise from your customers. You do not need any qualifications to start this business, just the requisite market experience.
You equally have to look out for licenses or permits that you may be required to obtain by your state. This part is very important so you do not run into problems with the law.
When you are done with all that, you then need to approach the companies that need direct sales agents or multi-level marketers. The businesses that these companies carry out are fairly regulated by the law so you are not taking any business risks.
It should be noted that partnering with these companies would yield you more profit and bonuses than simply going to the market to purchase the products and sell.
There are a lot of companies out there that can help you with this business like, Avon, Become Beauty, Black Box Cosmetics, Aloette, BeautiControl, Mary Kay, Monat etc.
Asides this, you can also prepare your own makeup and beauty range and sell them from your home, but you have to take note of all the complicated permits you may be required to get.
Successfully selling makeup, beauty aids and other cosmetics from home requires a mixture of psychology, cultural knowledge and basic marketing techniques.
As the beauty product landscape is filled with an abundance of choices, cosmetics companies and sales personnel must learn to stand out and use sales techniques that individualize the purchasing process. That said; here are a few ways you can market and sell your cosmetics and beauty products right from home.
How to Sell Makeup and Beauty Products from Home to Clients
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Sell your cosmetics and beauty products online
The cosmetics industry has gone global in a big way, and you may be surprised that African and Asian countries are using more cosmetics and beauty products than Americans. The only way you can access this far flung market right from your home is through the internet. By selling your cosmetic products online, you put your company in front of more shoppers, thereby increasing sales and enhancing brand awareness.
To get started with this, you need to get an easy to navigate website where you can display your products, and equally get a secure online payment platform. Here are some tips and simple practices that can make your online sales/transactions smoother and may even increase the amount of money you make.
- Endeavour to set up a PayPal account before you get started. PayPal is one of the main platforms used for receiving payment online. It’s also a secure option that provides buyer and seller protection. Set up a Paypal account ahead of time and verify it to for smooth transactions.
- Set competitive prices: To set competitive prices, scope out your competition. Overpricing your makeup is a surefire way to drive away potential buyers. Setting slightly cheaper prices will ensure you stay ahead of the competition and effectively sell your products.
- Take photos in natural light or a well-lit area: You need to avoid editing your photos also. Giving potential buyers a good look at your product is a great way to close a sale. If you don’t have an area with lots of natural lighting, just choose a well-lit room. Take multiple photos from different angles, and make sure to show any defects or product usage. Most importantly, do not alter the color if you edit the photos. Alterations can come across as deceptive and you may get bad reviews or refund requests.
- Provide as much details as possible. Before someone buys your makeup products, they’ll want to get as much information as possible. You can make this easy for them by providing great detailed product descriptions. Be honest and thorough with your details to help your potential customers make a choice.
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Make good use of YouTube
YouTube is one online platform that can help you publicize your home makeup and beauty products business. You need to set up a YouTube account, then you create videos on how to use your brand makeup and beauty products and upload them on YouTube. Make sure you know how to create good make up execution video. Create a blog version of the step by step application process, and then post it on Instagram, twitter and Pinterest.
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Offer free makeovers
Offering complimentary consultations or free makeovers is a basic practice used by makers of luxury cosmetic brands sold at department stores. You too can make use of this practice to boost your home cosmetic business. Offering free makeovers to your clients breed an immediate connection between you and the client and this may lead to higher sales.
Customers are more likely to make a purchase when they use or experience a product for themselves. Transforming someone with a new foundation, blush, eye shadow, mascara and lipstick requires a small investment in products but may result in a higher per purchase total and repeat sales.
You can approach people in your neighborhood and offer them these makeovers so that they would be convinced of your claims. It should be noted that some cosmetic and beauty companies usually offer their direct sales agents complimentary products for situations like this.
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Utilize home-based beauty parties
Cosmetic sales rely on impulse purchases. Locating products where target consumers already frequent helps to spur sales. Potential locations include home-based beauty parties, social groups and job locations. Direct-selling companies have experienced success through home parties hosted by their sales representatives.
Create an event tailored to your target market that allows you to meet with a group of potential customers at one time to demonstrate your cosmetics and promote your company. During these events, which can be hosted at your clients’ homes, attendees learn about proper makeup application, sample the product line and bond with other attendees. After your demonstration, take sales orders from interested attendees.
You should be consistently booking appointments for shows, selling, ordering, packing and distributing merchandise. Call past hostesses every two or three months. Ask these hostesses if they want to host another party. Maintain a database or master list of all hostesses. You should never miss a party or event as these events would be avenues to promote or sell your products.
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Practice Link Selling
Tying or linking multiple products together produces a sales synergy and leads to higher profits. This sales technique works best during makeover sessions but it is also effective during general makeup consultations. The goal here is to encourage customers to purchase additional products that enhance an intended purchase or are needed as part of a set. For example, a customer interested in purchasing a foundation should be encouraged to purchase a makeup base to help prepare the skin, a powder to set the foundation and other makeup that blends with the foundation selected.
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Always learn to follow-up
Whenever you sell your products to someone, you should endavour to follow the customer up to see if they are having any problems with the product, or if they need something else. Obtaining repeat cosmetic orders would help you to grow your home business and it is easier than continually finding new customers. Establishing basic follow-up techniques helps increase the bond the customer feels toward the brand, allowing for new sales opportunities and develops a feedback mechanism.
Follow-ups may be established after a purchase to ensure the customer is satisfied with his or her purchases. It should be done at specified intervals based on general usage patterns or when you’re ready to introduce new products. These contact points may be phone calls, emails, post cards or in-person discussions.
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Create Point-of-Purchase Displays
To utilize this technique, you may have to partner with some local businesses around you, so that you can offer your services when they offer theirs. You can partner with local businesses in your area that your target market frequents such as clothing boutiques and hair salons. Work with the owners of these establishments to see if you can create a point-of-purchase display in their stores that features your cosmetic products.
A mutually beneficially deal, such as giving the store owner a percentage of your profits or promoting their products or services to your existing customer base, could encourage them to work with you to promote your product line. Your point-of-purchase display should include your products, as well as business cards and a marketing brochure, so customers can contact you for reorders or if they have questions about your products.
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Practice Giveaways
Giveaways are one practice that helps you promote your business to a large extent especially in social networking sites. Social networking sites are unarguably one of the most effective ways you can reach your customers. Host a product giveaway and promote it on your blog or on such social networks as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
To qualify for entry, customers can be told to write reviews about your products, name their favorite makeup artists or detail their worst makeup experiences. You can also ask them to tell a certain number of their friends about your social media page and request that they follow you.
Select a grand-prize winner, a first-place winner, and a runner-up. The grand prize winner can be given some of your coveted makeups or beauty products; and the other winners can get some lesser options. Have winners document their experiences with your products and post their insights to your blog, website and social networks.
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Host a “Week of Beauty” event
You can host a “Week of Beauty” event where you invite your clients and potential customers to visit you for a free makeup consultation. You can offer them tips on the best products and colors for their skin. You can either visit your customers at their homes or invite them to your location.
If they visit you in your home, you may have to make refreshments available. Give participants product samples to take home and encourage them to share their samples with friends and family. Distributing samples can help promote your business to potential clients.
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Offer free cosmetic consultations
If you are an experienced makeup or beauty consultant, then that skill can come in very handy to sell your beauty products from home. It is a fact that people would always have a problem with the numerous makeup and beauty products in the market, and as well as with their skin. You can give people free beauty consultations as a way to sell your products. A good way to do this is to attend beauty or related events where you can network with people.
If they have any beauty or skin issues, be very open to help them. You should never focus on selling your products at those instances, focus instead on getting the trust of the customer and getting their contacts, thereafter you can tell them that you have products that can help relieve their situations.
Alternatively, you could tell them that you also had such problems at so and so time, and that you used so and so product to alleviate it. Then tell them you can give them a link to such product. People would always trust someone that has gone through the same issues they are experiencing.
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Ask for referrals
It is a fact that some people might not be interested in what you are selling, but do not be daunted, and do not lose that market too. You could ask the person if he or she knows someone who the product can benefit. You never know, you could get a list people that may fancy your product. Another way to ask for referrals is from someone using the products, enjoying them and having success with them.
Ask them if they would be open to introducing you to people in their network who are interested in what you’re offering. A third way to work with referrals is to partner up with fellow entrepreneurs who would be open to a business exchange. For instance, they refer people to you and you refer people to them.
In conclusion, you have to know that product marketing is not for the faint of heart. You have to keep at it if you want achieve success in the long run. By choosing to sell cosmetics and beauty products, you are already onto a profitable niche, you only have to stick to the tips listed above and very soon, your home cosmetic business would start paying the bills.