Control Direct Selling Expenses

Reduce Direct Selling Expenses

1. Cut catalog creative expenses. Minimize version changes and take advantage of re-mails — for example, make cover changes only.

2. Reduce printing and paper costs. Get at least three competitive bids from different catalog printers once every year or two. Change always is difficult, but you should be willing to do so for a difference of 5 percent or more. Following are some ways to reduce your printing costs:
- Ask your printer for alternative trim sizes that can reduce paper and postage costs, especially if your catalog exceeds the Standard A piece rate minimum.
- Prepare your disks correctly. Send them to your printer with all of the necessary files.
- Leverage longer print runs. Use multiple covers and a re-mail strategy to maximize economies of scale.
- Buy your own paper. Caveat: Do this only if your company is of the size and scope to deal with results such as what to do with butt rolls, paper-quality issues, etc.