Lights, camera, action: airtime on home shopping networks gives your product a big boost

Entrepreneur, April, 2003 by Don Debelak

3. Have a persuasive demo tape ready. Products that sell well on TV are ones that can convince consumers with only a brief demonstration. You should be able to demonstrate your product in 10 to 15 seconds. The focus of the tape should be the product "selling itself" rather than having the narrator pitch the product's benefits.

4. Test the quality of your product. Home shopping networks are concerned about returns, and they won't sell a product they believe isn't reliable. If possible, you should try to document any product testing you or others have done before approaching the networks.

5. Approach another home shopping network if you get turned down by the first one. Networks plan products around themes, such as gardening or lawn care. So even if your product has the potential to sell well on TV, it may be turned down if it doesn't fit into the network's plans.

6. Expect the network to order just like a store. In other words, they'll typically pay you the listed wholesale price and offer you net 30-day terms.

7. Be prepared for some returns. The shopping networks order enough of a product to ensure they won't run Out. But part of your agreement with the network states that the vendor may need to send products back to you if they don't sell. If your product doesn't sell, you could get stuck with substantial returns.

8.The network will be in charge of how your selling time is used. Don't try to dictate how your product will be sold, as the networks have much more experience in what approach will sell best.

Most Likely to Succeed

Does your product have what it takes to sell well on TV? Products with the following characteristics are most likely to be successful:

* Visual image: You need to create a clear visual image that lets people immediately connect, to your product. This can be a picture of it or of the problem it solves. For example, people can easily understand from a product picture the dispensing racks that hold multiple soda cans in the refrigerator. But they may need a visual of a weed remover in action to understand how it works.

* Immediate customer response: Customers have to decide to buy a product quickly if it's going to succeed on TV To generate an impulse order, products must satisfy a need or desire that's important to the consumer. If people have trouble with gophers in their yards, they'll buy a product that promises to solve that problem quickly You can also get an immediate response if you tie your product to a customer's self-image. People who want to appear sucessful at the office will not hesitate to buy a product that helps them project that successful image. Among the strongest-selling products on TV shopping networks are beauty and fitness aids--two categories that meet well-known consumer desires.

* High demand: The TV shopping networks sell to a broad spectrum of people, and they look for products that appeal to a broad spectrum of their target customer group--primarily women who spend time caring for their homes. Cleaning products, jewelry, cooking products, home decorating products, crafts kits and yard products all appeal to a wide range of target customers and will generally sell well.