Proposals are lightweight contracts you draft that proposes which Brand products you wish to sell along with the terms for the partnership. Brands will have a chance to negotiate these terms, meaning they are not final until they review and approve the proposal. The video below will walk you through how to draft a proposal!
Inbox Tab
Under Inbox > Proposals you'll be able to see an overview of all of your proposal negotiations. You can filter for proposals that are approved or pending and proposals that require you to take action will have a 'Your Turn' badge in the left hand menu. When you click into a proposal, you'll easily be able to find all current and past versions of a proposal. Any differences between proposal versions will be noted on the newest proposal. You can also send your partner a message directly on the proposal thread. Both Brands and Partners will get notifications about all proposals changes or messages via email.
Proposal Overview
There are three key parts to a proposal:
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Products & commission: Retailers can send proposals for any product Brands have listed on Catalog. We recommended you use Brand's default commission, however, you do have the ability to propose a new commission.
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Shipping: Catalog recommends selecting "Brand's shipping rate" which will use the default settings of the Brand's store. If this is not an option, we recommend "Fixed rate per order" where the average rate is ~$6.
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Promotional details: In this section, share details of how, when, and where you plan to sell these Brand products.
Proposal Workflow
- Brands receive an email notification when a Partner sends a product proposal. Brands can Approve, Counter, or Decline this proposal.
- If Brands have any feedback on the proposal, they are able to suggest a different commission, add or remove products, or change shipping terms. If a counterproposal is sent by the Brand it will be up to you to Approve, Counter, or Decline.
- After both parties agree on the terms of the relationship, you can add the agreed upon products to their store and start selling!
A note on commissions
We recommend all Partners request a commission higher than 15% to ensure you will be profitable with Catalog. When selecting commissions, Partners need to factor in fees and payment processing when paying suppliers. Payment processing fees depends on which method you choose for paying Brands, fees are (2.5% + $0.30 per transaction) for credit card or (0.4% transaction fee) for ACH.
Bulk Proposals
Want to quickly reach out to several brands you're interested in partnering with? You can easily send proposals to multiple brands at once using the Discover list view.
Here's how:
1. Navigate to the Discover list view: In the Catalog app, go to the "Discover" section. This is where you'll find a curated list of brands available to partner with.
2. Find the Brands You Want: Browse the Discover list view and select the brands you'd like to send proposals to. You can use filters to narrow down your search based on product categories, brand value, or other criteria.
3. Select Multiple Brands: Once you've found the brands you're interested in, select the checkbox next to each brand's name. You can select as many brands as you like.
4. Send Proposals: After selecting the brands, click the "Send Proposal" button. This will open a window where you can customize your proposal message and terms for all selected brands.
5. Review and Send: Review your proposal details and click "Send" to send your proposal to all the selected brands.
That's it! You've successfully sent proposals to multiple brands at once. Now you can sit back and wait for them to respond.