Tips for a New Prop House

Deciding on a Name and Web Domain

You'll have to say and type your name and web domain thousands of times, so aim for a healthy balance between short (few characters) and easy to say/communicate.

Longer names mean more characters which mean more opportunities for typos/spelling mistakes. We've seen some domains over 15 characters long and it's a struggle to type the whole thing out.

Shorter names and domains means staff and customers (and your friendly Propcart customer support agents) will have an easier time typing your domain into your browser bar or your emails into their email client.

Make your name and web domain user-friendly. Aim for short and easy to say.

Choosing Emails

We recommend getting a branded Google Workspace Gmail account as your email provider which starts at $6 per month per email for their Business Starter plan. We'll help you set this up if you're a Propcart Pro customer.

We recommend one email for all inbound messages using the format sales@example.com. This is the email that Propcart uses to send all system (i.e. "transactional") emails. Give your entire sales team access to this and let them use it to correspond with customers.

For larger businesses with separate sales and accounting teams, you'll want to segregate your billing emails from your sales emails. In this case, add billing@example.com, which will be used for all invoice, payment and statement emails.

If your sales email is somthing like myprophouse@gmail.com, your transactional emails will be sent from no-reply@propcart.com. These emails are more likely to appear in a recipient's spam folder or Gmail's "Promotions" tab instead of the "Primary" tab.

Choosing a Phone Number

Every prop house needs a Sales Phone in your Profile Settings. This is a required field because customers expect to be able to call you. It appears on your webstore, in your emails and on your quotes, invoices and other paperwork. We also recommend adding it to your Google Business Profile, since Google says a phone number can improve your visibility and build trust with customers.

Because this number is so public, don't use your personal phone number. Hiding it from your webstore won't keep it private, since it still goes out on every email and document you send. Instead, get a separate business number that rings on the phone you already own. You'll look like an established business and your personal number stays private.

In the United States

We recommend a free Google Voice number. Choose a local number and your calls and texts will come through the Google Voice app on your existing phone. You'll need a US mobile number to sign up.

There are two things to keep in mind:

• Use it or lose it. Google can reclaim your number if you don't place a call or send a text for 3 months. Receiving calls may not count, so make an outgoing call or send a text at least once every couple of months.
• The free version is meant for individuals. It works well for a small prop house, but as your team grows you'll want a paid Google Voice plan.

Outside the United States

Free Google Voice numbers are only available in the US, so you have a few other options:

• A second mobile number. This is usually the simplest choice. Add a prepaid SIM or eSIM to your current phone if it supports dual SIM, and you'll have a separate business line, often for just a few dollars per month. Check that the plan allows new numbers and not just transfers from another carrier. You can also use this number with WhatsApp Business.
• A local VoIP number. A VoIP provider can give you a number with your city's area code that rings through an app on your phone. These also tend to cost a few dollars per month, and they look like a landline to your customers.
• Paid Google Voice. Available in 14 countries, but you'll need a Google Workspace account on top of the Voice subscription, so this usually costs more than the options above. It makes the most sense if you're already on Google Workspace and need several people to share a line.

Using Your New Number

Whichever option you choose, use the same number everywhere, including your Sales Phone, Google Business Profile, business cards and social media accounts.

If you change your Sales Phone later, remember to republish your webstore so that the new number appears on your site.

Prop House Hierarchy of Needs

After surveying our clients about the software features they care about most, we generated this "Prop House Hierarchy of Needs":

We use this pyramid to inform how we prioritize new features and enhance existing ones.

1. Your most basic software need is a "system of record" for storing and managing your inventory, sales and billing data. You could run your business off spreadsheets and a word processor, but the right software will make this a lot easier.

2. Customers prefer prop houses where service is not just friendly but fast. They want quotes and availability checks right away.

3. Next, nobody likes wasting money. You'll want to minimize your labor costs and maximize every employees' productivity.

4. After your operation is organized and running efficiently, then you want to start scaling and increasing sales. This includes upselling, cross-selling, price optimization, inventory curation (get rid of what's not selling and get more of what is).

5. Finally, your branding and marketing will help build a stronger emotional connection with your customers. With the right brand identity, your company will be recognized and differentiated in the market. It helps your customers know what to expect and your products easy to choose. And with the right marketing, you'll be able to inform new and existing customers about new arrivals and what's trending.

Prioritizing your Time

Use the "Hierarchy of Needs" above to determine where you are in your business and what you should be focusing on. If you're a new business, investing a lot of time and money into your logo is probably going to hurt you more than it helps.

We've seen many prop houses survive and thrive with a basic brand identity and no marketing because they focused on getting the fundamentals right. This includes curating an inventory customers want and then making that inventory easy to shop on their webstore. Focus on serving customers fast before you worry about optimizing productivity and revenue.

Of course, every new and growing business still needs some branding and marketing. Our point is that investing a lot of time and energy into this should reserved for after you've built a strong foundation in the lower areas.