Discovery Playbook: Seller Program Manager

Who this playbook is for

Persona: Seller Program Manager (owns seller sourcing, seller experience, and payout clarity—often sits in Ops). Target reader: Ribbn SDRs Page goal: Qualify seller program requirements and route to the right payout model + workflows.

Ribbn value narrative (for this persona)

Ribbn in one sentence (seller-program angle)

Ribbn is a resale commerce platform + system of record that helps you source sellers, digitize one-of-a-kind inventory, run a consistent item lifecycle from intake → sold, and execute seller payouts with clear status-based controls (including manual payouts or seller self-pay in supported flows).

“Workflow map” talk track (30 seconds)

Use this when you need to anchor discovery in the seller program’s reality:

• Sellers submit items via Sell Requests
• Your team reviews each item, sets resale price, Accept/Decline, then clicks Confirm Selection to notify sellers in one consolidated update
• After drop-off, items move through internal status management (Draft → QC → Listed, etc.)
• Items sell in-store (POS) and/or online (often Shopify storefront with Ribbn as system of record)
• After sale, items move through post-sale statuses into payout (manual payout statuses or Seller Self Payout where sellers cash out after you approve eligibility)

Qualify fast: What you need to learn in the first 5 minutes

SDR “must-capture” fields (meeting notes)

Capture these on every call with a seller program owner:

1. Resale model: consignment payouts vs buy-out vs mix
2. Seller sourcing motion: digital inbound requests vs in-store drop-offs only
3. Decision workflow: who approves items + who sets pricing
4. Return/holding period reality: do they gate payouts until returns expire?
5. Payout model today: manual bank transfers vs “seller cash-out” expectation
6. Commission logic: default split vs exceptions (VIP sellers, high-value items, store-credit incentives)
7. Omnichannel: in-store checkout + webshop (Ribbn webshop / Shopify) and who is system of record

Route the prospect: Which payout workflow fits?

Payout model decision tree (SDR-ready)

1. Do they want sellers to initiate their own cash-out in an app wallet?

• Yes → Route to Seller Self Payout
• No / not required → Route to Manual payout workflow (Admin)

1. Do they require a return/holding period before payout?

• Yes → Ribbn supports gating payout readiness via sold/return-period statuses before moving items to payout-ready states
• No → They can approve payout readiness sooner (policy choice), but Ribbn still uses statuses to control when items become payout-eligible

1. Do they have frequent commission exceptions? (VIP sellers, premium inventory, etc.)

• Yes → Emphasize default commission + custom commission per product and bulk updates
• No → Default commission may cover most items

Workflow reference: Seller Self Payout (what to say on calls)

What it is (product-true description)

Seller Self Payout allows sellers to view a wallet balance in the Ribbn App and initiate Cash Out themselves after the merchant approves which sold items are eligible for payout.

What the seller sees (simple)

• Wallet balance in the app
• Clear indicators for items that are:
  • sold and in return/holding period
  • eligible for payout
  • already paid out

What happens operationally (high level)

• After a sale, funds are held securely in Ribbn’s Stripe account
• When the merchant approves payout readiness, funds are released to both merchant and seller
• Banking data is processed securely between Tink and Stripe; Ribbn does not store banking info; the flow is encrypted and PSD2-compliant (as documented)

Status progression (Seller Self Payout)

Timing expectation (documented)

• Funds arrive in the seller’s bank account within two business days (documented for this flow).

Workflow reference: Manual seller payouts (what to say on calls)

When sellers don’t self-cash-out (or the store wants manual control), Ribbn supports a manual payout workflow using post-sale statuses and admin filtering:

Manual payout workflow (high level)

1. Filter items in Sold – Seller To Be Paid (often by “To Be Paid Date”)
2. Confirm/collect seller payment details (in-app chat or bulk message in desktop)
3. Merchant sends payout through their banking platform
4. Update items to Sold – Seller Paid to keep records accurate

Workflow reference: Sell Requests (seller sourcing + intake quality)

Why this matters to a Seller Program Manager

Sell Requests are the front door to seller inventory. Ribbn’s workflow is designed so the store can review items, set pricing, and notify sellers once (clean seller experience, fewer “what happened to my items?” messages).

The one detail that saves deals: Confirm Selection

• Accepting/declining items updates internal state
• Sellers are not notified until the admin clicks Confirm Selection (single consolidated update)

Discovery prompts that map directly to this workflow

Use these verbatim:

1. “Do sellers submit items digitally today, or is intake mostly walk-ins?”
2. “When you accept or decline items, how do sellers get notified—and do requests ever get stuck in review?”
3. “Who sets resale pricing during review—and is that centralized or store-by-store?”

Commission & seller incentives (pricing guardrails: claims-safe)

What you can safely claim

• Ribbn supports a default store commission that applies automatically unless overridden
• Ribbn supports custom commission overrides at the product level (and can be updated in bulk)
• Commission customization is commonly used to reward VIP sellers or attract premium inventory (examples shown in documentation)

How to qualify commission complexity (quick)

Ask:

• “Do you run a standard split for everyone, or do you have VIP tiers / brand exceptions?”
• “Do you ever incentivize store credit vs cash, or is it always cash payout?”
• “How often do you need to change splits—occasionally, or daily in bulk?”

Omnichannel angle (only as it supports seller program routing)

Seller program owners care because inventory + payouts break when systems aren’t aligned.

Safe positioning

• Ribbn can support in-store checkout (POS flows exist) and can sync products to Shopify when Shopify is the storefront
• In Shopify setups, Ribbn is positioned as the system of record for resale inventory and product data; edits belong in Ribbn first

Qualification question (system of record)

• “Is Shopify your storefront today? If yes, what’s your source of truth for one-of-a-kind inventory and seller-linked items?”

AI QuickList (keep it short, seller-program relevant)

When to bring it up

Bring up AI QuickList only if they mention:

• intake bottlenecks (“we’re drowning in intake”)
• inconsistent listing quality (“we can’t trust listings online”)
• time-to-floor / time-to-list is a KPI

Talk track (one line)

“Ribbn supports AI-assisted intake (‘AI QuickList’) to digitize items faster and improve listing quality—useful when seller intake volume is high and consistency matters.”

First-line objection handling (Seller Program Manager flavor)

“Payouts are a pain—we’re constantly answering seller questions.”

Response (workflow-true): “Ribbn supports clear post-sale payout statuses, so sellers understand what’s pending vs approved. And in supported setups, Seller Self Payout lets sellers cash out themselves after you approve payout readiness—reducing manual handling and payout confusion.”

“We’re worried items or requests will get missed.”

Response (workflow-true): “Ribbn’s lifecycle is status-driven—Sell Request review through Draft/QC/Listed and into sold/payout statuses—so teams can keep items moving and also do bulk updates when they’re processing lots of inventory.”

“We already use Shopify.”

Response (system-of-record framing): “Totally—Ribbn commonly complements Shopify. Ribbn stays the system of record for resale inventory and seller mapping, and Shopify is the storefront. The key is: create/edit products in Ribbn first, then sync/publish to Shopify.”

Meeting bar: When to book AE/SE (seller-program signals)

Book the meeting when you confirm 2+ of the following:

• They want or need Sell Requests (digital seller sourcing + review process)
• They have pain around status/lifecycle discipline (items stuck, inconsistent process)
• They have payout complexity (return window gating, seller expectations, manual workload)
• They need commission flexibility (VIP sellers, premium inventory, store-credit vs cash incentives)
• They run omnichannel (in-store + online storefront) and need one system of record

Call plan (SDR daily prep)

60-second pre-call checklist

• Identify likely route: Manual payout vs Seller Self Payout
• Pick 1 workflow angle:
  • Sell Requests + Confirm Selection (seller experience)
  • Payout transparency + return-window gating
  • Commission flexibility (VIP tiers / store credit incentives)
• Prepare 5 questions (below)
• Define your “win condition” for the meeting (stakeholders + current process mapped)

Discovery question set (copy/paste)

1. “Are you running resale on consignment payouts, buy-out, or a mix?”
2. “Do sellers submit items digitally today, or is intake mostly in-store?”
3. “Who reviews requests and sets resale pricing—and when does the seller get notified?”
4. “Do you hold payouts until after a return period? If yes, how do you manage that today?”
5. “Do you pay sellers manually, or do you want sellers to be able to cash out themselves once approved?”

Quick reference: Status language you can reuse

Compliance-safe statements (documented only)

Use these exact, limited statements when asked about payout security/compliance:

• Funds are held in Ribbn’s Stripe account after sale (Seller Self Payout flow)
• Banking data is processed between Tink and Stripe; Ribbn does not store banking information
• The flow is encrypted and PSD2-compliant (as documented for this feature)

Internal SDR handoff notes (what AEs will ask you)

Include these bullets in your handoff:

• Current payout workflow (manual vs seller cash-out), return period length, and who approves payout readiness
• Seller sourcing channel (digital requests vs in-store) and whether requests get stuck
• Commission strategy (default vs exceptions; VIP tiers; store-credit incentives)
• Tech stack: Shopify storefront? POS needs? any scanning (RFID/QR) expectations
• Primary pain + urgency metric (seller volume, payout volume, intake backlog, seller support load)