Using a line sheet template can seem really confusing if you’re new to it and don’t know what you are doing. After all, not everyone is a design or computer whiz. But using line sheets doesn’t have to be difficult! With a little bit of time and practice on your end, you will be making line sheet templates like a total pro in no time. Thankfully, we are here to help you with everything you need to know about line sheet templates and how to use them. After reading this post, you will be able to make top-notch line sheet templates that really make your products shine.
Line Sheet Templates for Beginners
Before we get into how to use a line sheet template, it’s probably a good idea to talk about line sheet templates more generally so that you can gain a really solid foundation before you actually start making them. Once you understand what their purpose is and what they should include, you will be well on your way to making great line sheet templates all on your own.
Line sheets are a modernized and effective way for you to show off your products in an eye-catching format- think lookbook. Similar to a catalog but brought into the 21st century, a line sheet is useful in almost every industry that is looking to revolutionize their sales. It doesn’t matter if you are in the fashion industry, beauty industry, furniture, or food industry– line sheets are the best way to sell your products to potential buyers. But how do line sheets sell?
Line sheets contain different products that you are looking to market to a buyer and contain appealing photos, sizing and color information, suggested retail price, product descriptions, sku, pricing options, quantity requirements, and timing deadlines. You are able to organize line sheets in a variety of different ways. Some people have a line sheet that only features a single product, while others utilize larger line sheets that feature several different products or collections organized with dividers to make it easy to flip through.
Another way to sell and promote your company through line sheets is to add a separate section for your company information, usually near the front. This can give buyers a good idea about what your company is, how it works, and what you sell. This section is especially important to have if you will be sending line sheets digitally and not doing face-to-face meetings with potential buyers. Some information that you should definitely include in this section is your company name, company logo, sales contact information, phone number, email address, and website link so that the client can get more information if they need to. In this case, a line sheet can act as a starting point and an introduction to a potential client that can turn into a sale if you make a good impression.
Now that you know a little bit more about line sheets and how they work, it’s time to move on to how to actually use and make them.
How to Use a Line Sheet Template
It’s easy to see why many people are initially hesitant about using line sheets – especially if they aren’t especially design or technologically inclined. That’s why templates exist – to make your life easier and give you a better product at the end of the day. However, not all templates are created equally so you need to make sure that you find the best templates that you are able to adjust to your industry and your unique products to best showcase them as a sales tool to potential buyers. You need to look for high-quality templates that are easy to use and easy to customize with a wide range of options. Once you have found the right template for your business, it’s time to get to work! It’s easy – we promise.
The first step to making a line sheet is to upload all of your different products into the template so you can then pick and choose which ones you want to include. The exact process for this depends on the specific template, but the best ones allow you to link your website with the template so that all of the different products from your website are automatically uploaded into the system. However, if you don’t have a website or if the template doesn’t have this feature you can also manually input all of your different products as well. Sometimes there is another option for you to upload your product list in the Excel or CSV format that you already have it in.
Once you have everything uploaded, it’s time to start choosing which products you actually want to feature in this specific product line. Sometimes you will only want to feature a single product, and other times you might want to include a “catch all” line sheet that includes all of your different products. Based on the number of things you are including and the different categories, you can begin choosing the layouts of the different items in the line sheet. The best line sheet templates have dividers so that you can separate sections in the line sheet between things like shirts and pants, for example.
After you have decided which products you are going to be featuring, you need to input relevant information about all of these products that your buyers would want to know. Some important things to include here are wholesale prices and retail prices, sizes, colors, product name and product information, shipping costs and order minimums. You also might want to include a short description of the item, but it’s also important to remember to avoid over-using text in a line sheet. Instead, you should focus on featuring amazing pictures that really allow your products to sell themselves. It’s always a good idea to have professional photos taken of your products either with a blank background or a styled background. When choosing photos, remember that this is what will draw the buyer in – so they need to be good but also authentic and real.
Once you have included all the information that you need, you can start fine-tuning the final layout and details of your line sheet. You can make tweaks like changing fonts and font sizes, adding company logos, changing the background color, adding dividers, rearranging things, etc. While you want your line sheet to be clean-looking, it also should be interesting enough to hold the potential buyer’s attention and not bore them to death while they are flipping through. That’s why it’s important to strike a balance between too much detail and too little detail – so that they have everything they need to know and nothing more.
When your line sheet looks good you can move on to the preview stage. If the preview looks perfect, you can complete the product and save it to your computer to email to potential buyers or physically print and send out! And just like that you have created an invaluable product that will help you make more sales in no time.
Why You Should Use a Line Sheet Template
We have kind of touched on some of the reasons why you should use a line sheet but we want to cover them all so that you really understand all of the different beneficial effects that it can have on your sales and your business in general. The most obvious reason why you should use a line sheet template is that it helps you sell your products more effectively, increasing revenue and helping you to grow and scale your business as a result.
Another reason why you should use a line sheet template is because it allows you to project a professional image of your company to potential buyers. Many people are using line sheets these days and you need to use them too in order to keep up with the crowd. Having a presentable line sheet product will show to your clients that you are a legitimate company who wants to earn their business by presenting them with the products that they want to see. Line sheets allow you to customize your product based on who you are sending them too, or have a one-size-fits-all option as well. An organized and easy to read line sheet will stand out to buyers who can get easily bored or overwhelmed with flipping through pages and pages of boring catalogs.
When you travel for pitches, there’s nothing more important than making a good impression. And while you may want to nail that meeting and get a commitment from a buyer on the spot, that doesn’t always happen and oftentimes people need time to think it over and consider other options before they commit. There’s nothing wrong with this, but having a line sheet to give a buyer after a meeting will give them something to remember you by and ensures that you stay relevant even as they take other meetings from competitors.
Line sheets are also awesome things to have when you aren’t able to meet with a potential buyer in-person. In these cases, you can send over a hard-copy or digital copy of your custom line sheet to them so that they can learn everything they need to know about your products and your company. You can also use line sheets when you attend business-related events like conventions, tradeshows, boutiques, or conferences. By handing out a high-quality line sheet with real information about your products instead of giving out a basic business card with just your name and phone number, you are able to better promote your company and hopefully get some real sales out of it! After all, networking is super important in any business and you never know who you are going to run into. Plus, carrying around a line sheet that is only a few pages long is way better than someone having to lug around a huge catalog for the rest of the day during a conference or convention. So not only is it convenient for you, it’s convenient to them too! Not to mention all the money you will be able to save in printing, paper, and mailing expenses. These expenses may seem small but they can really rack up quickly especially if you are giving out a lot of them! And of course you want to give out a lot because the more exposure you have, the more likely you are to get a sale as a result from that exposure.
At the end of the day, there are so many reasons to use line sheets that go beyond increasing sales and revenue. It can help promote your company’s brand and image and help you earn a good reputation within the industry. That way, you can really compete with some of the bigger players in the field with your superb products.
What to Look for in Line Sheet Templates
Using a line sheet template in your business is an investment like anything else, so you need to make sure that you get what you need in a product before you buy. Some things that you should look for in line sheet templates include:
- Simplicity and ease of use even for those who aren’t the best at using technology
- Customization and versatility so that you can create the best products that will work well for your industry
- Templates that are easy to tweak and edit so that you can quickly make any updates about colors, sizes, or products that are no longer in stock
- Easy importation of existing products either through your website or through your existing product list templates
- Templates that give off a high-quality look with high resolutions, fine lines, and clean colors
Using this information combined with your unique needs, you are bound to find the best line sheet templates for your company that will help you reach your sales goals and grow your company in no time!
Line Sheet Templates: Conclusion
In conclusion, line sheet templates are super easy to use and are definitely well worth any initial investment in time and money. This is because they can quickly make that up by helping you reach more buyers and make more sales as a result. In order to really bring your sales strategy into 2020, you need to be using line sheet templates to really impress buyers and convince them that they need to buy your products. Line sheets will help bring sales and growth to your business in 2020!