You Missed That Product Launch-Now What?

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Your business launched a new product! The excitement is tangible! The FOMO is serious with this one. The new product or line will be what everyone wants, right? Your brain starts doing that downward spiral of self-pity. This is going to kill your business. No one will want to shop with you anymore because whatever was released is exactly what they want. Friends, I’m going to tell you the hard truth with some love. Missing this product launch will not kill your business. Now, if you’re in the downward spiral-state of mind, you might want to pour a glass of wine before you read this.

First off, don’t freak out.

Yup, I said it. Calm down. Getting upset that you missed out on this product launch won’t be productive. Ok, let me clarify that. You can get upset for a short amount of time. I’m giving you permission to drive the BMW for a few minutes, but you don’t get the keys permanently. What’s the BMW, besides a type of car? It’s the vehicle for you to bitch, whine, and moan it out. But after every drive, you have to put on your big girl panties and suck it up.

Ask yourself, is this going to to make or break my business? Will it matter in 5 minutes? 5 months? 5 years? Go ahead, answer those questions, but you have to be honest. In the moment, it would be easy to say yes but chances are you’re still having a pity party. You need to think about this with a level head. If it was this much of a game-changer, I bet your company wouldn’t have done a crazy release. And if was that much of a game-changer, I bet they will issue a “Mea Culpa” and schedule another launch to happen in the future.

So, now what?

Once you’ve given me back the keys to the BMW, analyze your situation and the release. What could you learn from this launch? Was anything in your control that you didn’t use to your advantage? If there was something you could have done, what was the reasoning that you didn’t? If you could have a Mulligan, what would you do differently?

Now, after answering these questions, let’s think about what you can do going forward. If you are an inventory-based seller, you could highlight the inventory you already have. I missed out on LuLaRoe’s Noir launch of 2017. You betcha I had a pity party with a bottle of wine, but after I got out of the BMW, I decided that this behavior was not going to help my business. I had about 1700 pieces of beautiful inventory. While having some black pieces might have helped me move some older pieces of inventory, I still could create some amazing outfits with the pieces I did have. And that’s exactly what I did. And I sold the most that I had in a long time.

What can we learn from missing the product launch?

I know it’s easy to feel like the world is plotting against you, but you can turn this experience into a moment of learning. So, here’s what I took away from missing out on more than one launch.

1. This will not make or break my business. Repeat this over and over again. The only thing that will truly make or break your business is you (yes, that is a hard truth).
2. Be hesitant of announcing a launch until you have actually placed your order. It’s easier to announce it late versus coming back and saying “My bad”.
3. Focus on what you already have going for you. If you are not an inventory-based seller, push the main-line items you know will be available regardless of a launch. If you do carry inventory, highlight the items you have in stock.
4. Hype what you do have going on. When I didn’t get the first Noir capsule, I created outfits “Living in Color” for the next week. I hyped this hard and had a fantastic return.
5. Here’s another tough love nugget: You are accountable for your reactions. If you let this get you down and keep you down, your business will suffer. I could go into some anecdotal story about how someone famous failed X number of times before hitting it big, but I’m sure you’ve read that already. This is just a step in your journey. So, don’t let it keep you down permanently, friend.

Want to talk through missing this product launch? I can be that level-head you might need because I’ve been there, friend. Feel free to send me a message HERE. I know this post might be a lot of tough love, but I really do have a giant heart. So, reach out if you need to. I’m here. I promise. Oh yeah, and if you’d like to see some examples of hyping things, click HERE to join my VIP Shopping Group. I promise, we like to have fun, cause some shenanigans, and I have super cute clothes!