Starting a New Business: How Do You Go About Finding Suppliers and Wholesalers in 3 Easy Steps?

OlufisayoMay 2, 201901,161 views

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Running your business all by yourself can feel like pulling teeth. There’s a lot to stay on top of and it’s not easy. Finding a supplier or wholesaler to provide you with inventory at a reasonable price is an even bigger task to handle.

So where do you even start? Word of mouth? Picking a random name out of the Yellow Pages? We’re here to show you that it doesn’t have to be a hurdle to find a wholesaler who can work within your means.

Step 1: Look Within Your Niche and Shop Around

Not everyone business is going to be selling the same product, so different products have different needs when it comes to transportation and storage. Look within your product niche and see which suppliers and wholesalers are available. It’s a competitive market so you’re going to be spending a great deal of time comparing costs. Thankfully, the realm of online shopping makes it easy for you to compare prices and see what works best within your budget.

Write down the names that you find and go to their websites to see if they have dropshipping as an option. Dropshipping is where you, the retailer, doesn’t actually keep any inventory. Instead, when an order is made the wholesaler ships directly to the customer instead. This is a great option for those who are running a mostly-online business.

Step 2: Create Contact Spreadsheet of your Choices

You want to keep this information on hand instead of picking just one; shopping around will make it easier for you compare prices and see which suppliers are willing to work with you. Write down the contact information for each, including phone number and e-mail, so that they’re readily available to when when you’re ready to contact them.

Step 3: Give Them your Pitch

Here comes the hard part: reaching out to suppliers and wholesalers. You’re going to have to do a lot of e-mailing and cold calling before you find just one to settle with. And you can only do that by having a good sales pitch. You have to convince them that you’re a good choice to work with. Provide detailed background information about your business, such as long it’s been running and roughly how many customers you have. Explain what you have set up for handling returns, working with customer issues, and how you’ll organize inventory levels. By showing them what you’re talking about, they’re more likely to take you seriously.

And don’t forget to add your contact information at the end.

Don’t shy away from getting involved, thinking that it won’t work out. You won’t know until you try. Going through trial and error will only work out for you in the end because you’ll figure out what works from what doesn’t. And you’ll have a reputable wholesaler who understands your needs. Putting in the research and tweaking your sales pitch should get your foot in the right door eventually. Just exercise patience.

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