Ways to Sell Inventory Quickly
Most businesses don’t want to sell their inventory at a loss, as there’s always a possibility someone might be willing to pay full price down the road. However, if your shelves are lined with product that’s not moving, it’s time to sell and free up some space. After all, getting your money out of what you paid for the items gives you working capital you can use right now to order -- and sell -- the products your customers really want to buy.
Offer Heavy Discounts
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Heavily advertised discounts of at least 40 percent to 50 percent off help customers flock to your store to take advantage of the savings, allowing you to clear the floor of old inventory. Discounts might consist of two-for-one deals or a third item of equal or lesser value free with the purchase of two. Mail fliers to your database of customers and prospects about the sale, and place ads in the local paper. If you’re selling online inventory, create a colorful banner for your homepage that mentions the sale and the dates during which it’s valid. Post the sale information on your Facebook page, tweet the event to your followers and let pertinent blogs know about the sale so they feature it on their pages.
Bundle Products
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Bundle services with the products you need to move, such as selling five tanning sessions with a bottle or two of tanning lotion for one price. If you have items that sell quickly, bundle slower-moving products with one of the faster-selling products and offer the bundle for slightly more than the popular product by itself. You could bundle with a major item -- for example, selling a DVD player and allowing the buyer to choose two movies from a limited supply of old inventory for a few dollars each instead of at the regular price.
Hold Best Customer Events
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Create a special offer for your best clients -- the ones who buy the most product or send the most referrals your way -- and advertise it to just this group. The offer could consist of a coupon with a short expiration date as a thank you to your best customers for their referrals. Hold a special closed-door sale after your store’s regular hours, promoting it to your best customers. Ask them to bring their invitation in order to get into the event to create a feeling of exclusivity and excitement.
Liquidate
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While selling your products one at a time could take weeks, using a liquidation company to take a bunch of old product off of your hands all at once may work better. Liquidating excess inventory is useful for companies that don’t want to offer steep discounts on their merchandise due to branding issues or being perceived as a discount venture. This is also a way to quickly get room for newer merchandise without waiting for product to move off of the shelves.
References
Writer Bio
Nancy Wagner is a marketing strategist and speaker who started writing in 1998. She writes business plans for startups and established companies and teaches marketing and promotional tactics at local workshops. Wagner's business and marketing articles have appeared in "Home Business Journal," "Nation’s Business," "Emerging Business" and "The Mortgage Press," among others. She holds a B.S. from Eastern Illinois University.