As an emerging fashion brand, you might be familiar with a line sheet, or probably you have made it for someone. They say that a line sheet helps brands increase sales. Is it true or just an urban legend? Well, a line sheet is essential for all the product bases wholesale businesses as it helps them present their mix to the buyer in the best possible manner. If you are an e-commerce store owner and sell products, you need a line sheet to make a great first impression on potential clients.
Line sheet- A tool to present your mix:
A line sheet is an essential tool that contains all the information that a buyer needs to review before making a decision. It is presented to buyers and storeowners when developing their wholesale business.
The buyers take a look at the sheet and decide whether or not to place an order. In simple words, a line sheet is a one-page document that makes the buying process super easy.
If you are in the fashion industry and want to sell your products, how would you do that? It is impossible to showcase every item that you have in line with the potential buyers. No one has the time to take a look at every item you want to sell. Here comes the line sheet that consists of the information about the product line. The buyer takes a look at the sheet and places an order. That’s it! Things become quite easier when you have a line sheet representing your brand.
What information should you include in a line sheet?
Creating a line sheet is a time-consuming task, and if you are making it for the first time, then it would be even more difficult. You need to know what information should be included in the line sheet.
A line sheet includes general information, product information, and wholesale information, etc.
General information:
In general information you include:
- Business name
- Business logo
- Website URL
- Phone number
- Contact name
- Email address
Product information:
In the next step, you add information about the products in the line sheet:
- Product image
- Product descriptions (fewer words)
- Style name
- Colors available (if any)
- Sizes available (if any)
- Season (if applicable)
- Delivery date
- The order cut off dates
- Care instructions
- Material used
- Wholesale price
- Suggested retail price
Terms and conditions:
It is highly important to state all the terms and conditions in a clear manner to avoid miscommunication.
- Terms of payment
- Payment methods (PayPal, credit card, MasterCard, etc.)
- Shipping terms
- Cancellation and return policy
Get more out of your line sheet:
You understand that creating a line sheet is important for your brand to stand out from the crowd. But making a line sheet is not enough. You need to make a great line sheet that impresses the client and make him place an order. You need to know how you can create an effective line sheet that is fully functionally and brilliantly designed. In the international fashion apparel manufacturing industry, global players like “Wear Graphene” that designs and produces the GAMMA range of winter jackets, which is a battery powered heated jacket, also strictly and ‘religiously’ adheres to this Line Sheet mechanism. This is the basic technical norm to impress upon clients and buyers that want to deal with a mature fashion wear manufacturer.
Here are a few tips that can help you in this regard:
- Make it beautiful:
You add all the relevant product information in the line sheet; this is not enough. A line sheet must look aesthetically pleasing. In fact, you need to create a beautiful line sheet that makes a great first impression. A cluttered line sheet would not do the job.
Bear in mind that white space matters a lot. The buyer does not want to read the mountains of text in the line sheet. In fact, he wants to see thoughtfully crafted pages that lead him to the information he actually needs. So, your line sheet must be pleasurable to read.
- Categorize your products:
The line sheet you create must make sense. For example, if you are a fashion brand owner, then make sure that you categorize your products properly. Put all the t-shirts in one group and jeans in another group. It should not be like you are putting all the products in one group. It would create a mess, and the buyer may get confused. So be creative and make groups to make it easy for the buyer to decide. For example, if you’re into waterproof sneakers or formal shoe design, and manufacturing, place these two products in different groups, rather than in one. A company like ‘Loom Footwear’ which manufactures such quality sports sneakers and shoes, does the same. This is why they are so successful in retaining vendors and grabbing new customers.
- Let the best take center stage:
You sell multiple items, so you need to include all of them in your line sheet. But let the best seller take center stage. You should add your most profitable products at the top. There is no point in putting them in the last.
- Include imp details:
You need to be as precise as possible when making a line sheet. But it does not mean that you should skip important details. Do not forget to include the details about sizes and colors available, lead time, minimum orders and prices, etc.
- Add uniformity:
The images you choose should be of quality as low quality, unclear or blurred images do not leave a good impression on the clients. The images you choose should be of the same size and put all the products in identical boxes. The names of the products should be marked in bold script. Choose the font size and color that goes well with the images you have selected. In short, your line sheet must look aesthetically beautiful.
- High-resolution photos:
You do not want to look unprofessional in a line sheet, and blurry and unclear images would make you look like an amateur. Make sure you use quality images for your line sheet.
- Be precise:
We stress on precision. The line sheet you create must be clear and precise. There is no need to include irrelevant information in the line sheet. How your brand started would be a fascinating story, but you cannot share it in the line sheet. It is necessary to include product descriptions, but long paragraphs and flowery language is not needed.
- Don’t forget contact information:
It would be a serious mistake and cost you sales if you forget to add contact information in the line sheet. Review and edit your line sheet before sending it to the client to ensure that everything you have written in the line sheet is correct.
- Customize your line sheets:
Once you have created a line sheet and included the key information about your product mix, you are ready to bring more and more customers into the business. But if you see a client who is desperate to expand his store’s collection, then it is the time to make a line sheet just for him.
Yes, you can make customized line sheets keeping the customer’s needs in mind. The buyer is only interested in getting answers to his questions, and a customized line sheet can help you do that.
A customize line sheet should buoy your branding and accommodate the potential client’s needs. If the vendor has stopped buying a few of your products, then exclude them from the list before sending the line sheet to that particular customer.
Can you make changes to a line sheet?
Well, yes, you can make changes to a line sheet at any time. But you have to give an expiry date for the information on your line sheet. It will save you from miscommunication. In a customize line sheet, you can delete and add something, but you cannot do this with a catalog. Many people get confused in a catalog and a line sheet. Both are different as you cannot include long paragraphs and lifestyle imagery in a line sheet, but in a catalog, you can. Save keep long details for your catalog and be as precise as possible in the lien sheet.
Tips for building line sheets:
Line sheet creating is not an easy task as you have to include all the necessary information at one place that too in fewer words. But without creating a line sheet, you cannot run your wholesale business. So, here are a few tips that can make things a bit easier for you:
- The line sheets should have a simple linear structure.
- They should not contain clean product shots to highlight the product’s appeal.
- The fashion line sheet sample works better with a landscape orientation.
- Use the “bestselling,” “Top picks,” and “new” headlines to grab the attention of the buyer. It may help direct sales.
- Set wholesale and retail prices according to your requirements. Make sure you set the prices in a way that you don’t bear any loss.
- Images with a white background are recommended. The colored background diverts the attention, and the buyer may easily get carried away. So, keep it simple!
- If you do not want to lose them to indecision, then direct them to what they need to do next. A call to action approach!
- A fashion line sheet template may include a cover shot, but the products should be linearly structured.
Why create a line sheet?
When you have a business catalog, then why do you need to make a line sheet? This is the question that may arise in your mind when turning to a wholesale business. Your business and retail clients require a more technical product brochure. A line sheet is a document that gives an overview of your product specifications to the clients. It consists of all the product details, including item number, style, SKU number, color and sizes available, and shipping and payment terms.
In a catalog, you can add lifestyle imagery and long paragraphs to describe your products and tell your brand story. But in a line sheet, you include only relevant information that too is minimum text. A line sheet is basic and less marketing rich than a catalog. You only present your product mix to the customers. You do not do the marketing of the products in the line sheets.
Most buyers do not go through the long text to learn about your product line and brand. They want a single page document that contains only the relevant information. So, creating a line sheet is essential for a fashion brand or a product based wholesale business to showcase its mix to potential buyers.
Line sheet templates:
Well, if you want to save time, then hire a graphic designer to create an effective line sheet. He is an expert, and better know what information a line sheet must contain. When you hire a graphic designer, you become better able to focus on other tasks.
But not every business can afford to hire a graphic designer. It can be costly. So, make your own line sheet and make a great first impression. When you download the line sheets templates available online, things become a bit easier as this software are specifically designed for this purpose and guide you to the information you need to include. You do not have to start from scratch.
You should not think about anything else while making a line sheet. Just concentrate on your product line and what information your line sheet should include. If you are making a line sheet by yourself, you should make it in the PDF version because PDF file is easy to print and send through email. Here on Cutelilkitty8.
Creating a line sheet using templates is much easier as it saves time, and you become better able to focus on other important matters related to your business. But the choice is yours. All you have to do is to build a great line sheet to impress clients.
Summing up:
It is said that the first impression is the last impression and line sheets give brands a chance to make a great first impression. It helps businesses present their product mix to potential buyers in the best possible manner.
The best part is that you can create a customize line sheet keeping the customer’s requirements in mind. The sole purpose of this document is to impress the target audience, so craft it in a way that the buyers place an order.
When you have a line sheet ready, the buyers think you are professional and places an order. So, what are you waiting for? Start your wholesale business and create an effective line sheet that could increase sales.
