Trade-show-ready catalog
Seven steps from the catalog you have to a digital booth on a phone.
OpenPoly9 AI · Guide for exporters, makers and showrooms
One link instead of the PDF
A 12-product collection costs 13 sales actions to build, from the pricing page, and sends as one link on WhatsApp or email. This guide is the five steps from the meeting to the reply, and what to read when the buyer opens it.
Published 18 September 2026 · Cost facts from the pricing page
A buyer collection link is one URL holding the pieces a buyer looked at, with a cover note in their words. Each piece carries its finish and size options and a certified price or price on request. Send it the same day instead of a PDF. The buyer opens it on a phone, forwards it, asks in the chat, and you see when it was opened.
Why the PDF loses the follow-up
Three things happen to a catalog attachment that never happen to a link.
- 1It waits for a laptop. The buyer reads the follow-up on a phone between meetings. An attachment gets a "will look later"; a link gets opened on the spot.
- 2It answers nothing. The first reply to any catalog is a question: "does the console come in walnut", "what is the MOQ on the set of three". A PDF sends that question back to your inbox. A collection answers it in the chat.
- 3It tells you nothing. You cannot see whether the PDF was opened, so the second email is written blind. A collection link shows you when it was opened and what the buyer asked.
The five steps
From the end of the meeting to the buyer’s reply. Each step ends with what it is in a Poly9 collection.
A collection shared by one link, with the open receipt. Real screen.
- 01
Pick the pieces the buyer touched
Eight to fifteen products, chosen from your notes of the meeting, in the order the buyer saw them. The anchor piece first, the accents after. Leave out the rest of the line; the buyer can ask for more and you can build a second collection in ten minutes. A collection of 40 pieces is a catalog again.In Poly9: Add products to a collection from the catalog. Each product carries its options, so the buyer taps a finish instead of asking for a photo.
- 02
Write the cover note in their words
Two sentences. The first repeats what they asked for: "walnut dining for a coastal store, delivered before March". The second says what the pieces share. Use the buyer’s nouns, not your category names; the note is what they forward to a colleague who was not at the meeting.In Poly9: The cover note is the first thing on the collection page, above the products, under your logo.
- 03
Check every option and price line
Open the collection yourself before sending. Every finish, size or colourway the buyer mentioned should be on its product. Every price line reads certified, from a rule you approved, or price on request. If a line shows a number you would not sign, remove the rule and let it show price on request until you can.A product in the collection: photo, quantity, ask about this product, price on request. Real screen.
In Poly9: A product with no approved rule returns price on request, never an estimate. The quote shows the rule behind every certified line.
- 04
Send the same link everywhere
One link, in the email and on WhatsApp, the same day as the meeting. Put the buyer’s name and the piece they liked in the first line. Do not attach a PDF next to it, because the buyer will open the attachment out of habit and never tap the link. If procurement needs a PDF later, send it later.In Poly9: Copy the share link from the collection, or print its QR code for the stand. The link opens as your storefront on any phone.
- 05
Read the activity, then reply with the number
Three days later, look before you write. Was the link opened? What did the buyer ask in the chat? Replace every price on request line they touched with a certified quote, and answer the questions in the collection so the whole buying team sees the answer. The second email is short: "your questions are answered on the link".In Poly9: The dashboard shows when the collection was opened and what was asked. A quote request lands in your Projects inbox with the lines already chosen.
Photos, PDF or collection link
What each one does for the buyer on a phone the evening after the meeting.
| What | Photos or PDF | Poly9 collection link |
|---|---|---|
| Opens on a phone | Photos yes, PDF after a download | Yes, as a web page |
| Finish and size | One photo per finish, if you sent it | Tapped on the product; the piece changes |
| Price | Typed into the message, or missing | Certified per line from your rules, or price on request |
| The buyer’s question | A reply in your inbox, answered on a laptop | Asked and answered in the collection chat |
| Forwarded to a colleague | A thread of photos with no names | Same link, same cover note, same options |
| Changed after sending | A new message | Update once; the link stays live |
| What you can see | Nothing | When it was opened and what was asked |
Four times a link beats an attachment
01
After a fair meeting
The buyer saw twelve pieces at the stand and photographed four. The collection holds all twelve with the finish grid, so the four they remember are next to the eight they forgot.
02
After a factory visit
They walked the floor and pointed at samples. Build the collection from what they pointed at, with the lead time they were told, and send it before their flight lands.
03
On the showroom floor
A designer picks eight pieces across three brands for one client. One collection, one link, each piece priced from its own brand’s rules, sent before the designer leaves.
04
A seasonal preview
Five colourways of a guest-room linen program for the buyers who asked last season. One collection per buyer type, the same products underneath, a cover note that names the season.
The storefront every collection link opens on: your logo, your categories, price on request until a rule exists. Real screen, demo tenant.
Before you press send
Eight checks, two minutes
- Between 8 and 15 products, in the order the buyer saw them, anchor piece first
- A two-sentence cover note that repeats what the buyer asked for, in their words
- Every finish, size or colourway the buyer mentioned is on its product
- Every price line reads certified or price on request; no estimate anywhere
- The link was opened on your own phone and every option tapped
- Your logo and storefront address show at the top of the collection
- The first line of the message names the buyer and the piece they liked
- No PDF attached next to the link
Questions sellers ask
What does the buyer see when they open the link?
Your storefront on their phone: your logo, the cover note, the products in order, and on each product the finishes and sizes they can tap. Each line shows a certified price or price on request. There is a chat where they ask about a piece or request a quote, and the link stays live after the meeting.
What does a collection cost to build?
One sales action per product plus one for the cover, so a 12-product collection is 13 sales actions. The free start includes 250 sales actions for 30 days with no card, enough for several collections and the quotes that follow. The pricing page lists everything one sales action buys.
Can we send the collection before pricing is loaded?
Yes, and you should. Products without an approved rule show price on request, and the buyer still taps finishes, forwards the link and asks questions. Load the rules after, and the same link shows certified prices. Buyers trust "the exact figure on Monday" more than a number that moves later.
What can we see after sending?
When the collection was opened, what the buyer asked in the chat, and any quote request they made, each in your dashboard. Read it before writing the second email. Answer the questions on the link itself so the whole buying team reads the same answer, then send a short note that says so.
Does the link carry our brand or Poly9’s?
Yours. The collection opens on your storefront address with your logo, colours and company name, and Poly9 stays out of the buyer’s view. The buyer bookmarks you. The same address carries your digital booth at the fair and every collection you send after it.
Can a showroom build one collection across several brands?
Yes. A designer picks pieces from any brand you carry, and the collection prices each from that brand’s rules or marks it price on request. One link, one cover note, one quote at the end. The designer’s client sees your showroom, not five supplier catalogs.
Send the first link this week.
Add the pieces from your last meeting, write the cover note, share the collection the same day. 250 sales actions free for 30 days, no card, and the account stays yours.