Authors On The Net

I found this article surfing around and thought I’d share. It’s a few years old, but very relavent still. What he says at the end is probably the most interesting for authors today.

Ten Rules for Dealing with Wholesalers and Distributors
A Saturday Rant 4-10-2004

First we need to define the difference. While there are some blends,
basically a wholesaler, like Ingram or B&T is an order taking warehouse and
fulfillment operation. They do no sales. They get around 55% discount and
pass 40% to their retail customers. A distributor is a different animal. You
can make the analogy that your distributor takes the place of your in-house
sales operation. Most book distributors require an exclusive right to sell
your product. They have sales reps, catalogs, and their mission is to go out
and hawk your book. They also warehouse your books and fulfill your orders.
Most take around 67% and pass 40% to the stores.

1. Don’t be afraid to negotiate the different discounts. Wholesalers and
distributors can be flexible on their terms. They don’t WANT to be, but if
they want your product line, they will make a few concessions here and
there. The exception is Ingram. It is either their way or the highway.
However with IPG, Midpoint, and others if you speak up you might not leave as
much money on the table as those who don’t.

2. Keep after your distributor to find “new” ways to sell your product. The
sales staff of most distributors are hard working, but are lacking in much
imagination. This is because they have a zillion books to hawk and it is
hard to have good ideas on how to hawk all of them. Fax or e-mail your
distributor contact every two weeks with an “idea” that their sales staff
can take to the field.

3. You still must be your own best salesperson. This is doubly true if you
only have a wholesaler. Remember, wholesalers don’t do squat to move your
product. That’s your job. If you have a distributor, they have lots of
publishers that they rep and are not going to give you as much “effort” as
they originally promised or as you might want.

4. If your distributor (or potential distributor) has suggestions about what
to price your book at, sit up and take notice. Most often they are close to
the mark. If you produce a little 4×4 book on inspirational sayings and you
want to sell it for $13.95 but are told by a distributor to price it at
$8.95 do what they say. These people have a good track record on how to
price books. Not always… but most often.

5. Don’t be afraid to question the reports you get. Many distributors have
terrible computer systems and poor data entry accuracy. Make sure you
reconcile the number of books you have sent against those that have sold
against those still in inventory. If they don’t “tick and tie” (and
sometimes they won’t) speak up and get an adjustment. You should have a good
back-office software product yourself to keep track of sales and inventory
both at your location and at your distributor/wholesaler(s). I can think of
a really good one that only costs $14.95 a month and does “it all.”

6. Don’t screw your distributor. If a store places an order with you, do the
right thing and send it on to the distributor. If they hear that you filled
it yourself they will be pissed and the last thing you need is a pissed off
distributor.

7. If Ingram orders a quantity of books over 20, only send them 75% of what
they order. This will save you the shipping cost when Ingram returns the
overstock (which they will re-order a week or two later.)

8. When you get one or two books returned by Ingram, call your rep and tell
them how upset you are. If it happens again, and you are a PMA member,
contact the PMA and demand that Jan Nathan look into it. It

9. If you expect some big publicity event to generate orders, call your
wholesaler and distributor and let them know that they should order some
more product. They will, and they will be glad you told them.

10. If Ingram is your only wholesaler AND you depend on the retail channel
for 80% or more of your business, never, never, never piss them off. If they
drop your account, you are out of business.

The real secret of this business is to find a way to by-pass the middle
channel and sell direct. Get a web site. Make Amazon and B&N.com your best
friends. That is where your future is. It is not with Ingram, IPG, or with
brick/mortar stores.

Alan N. Canton
Publisher/Software Developer
Adams-Blake Co.