The Wholesale Forums

[Anthony]

Can I deal with wholesalers;

If you have a proof of trading, which can be as little as a letterhead or your business card, you as an individual or group are entitled to deal with a wholesaler. Even if you don't have that, most wholesalers realise the fact that everybody has to start somewhere. Remember that wholesalers need the business just as much as you need the products, so it is doubtful that you will be turned away if you have a real interest in their products.

First Contact;

So when contacting them, be confident and purposeful when approaching them, and focus on finding exactly what the wholesaler has to offer.

If possible I would always suggest going and visiting the wholesaler in person unless of course they are a serious, and well known wholesaler that has been in business for a good length of time. Telephone calls and emails are generally thought of as a substitute to visiting them in person but they give you a good idea of what the wholesaler is like, and if the wholesaler is not located near you might be the only way of communicating witht them.

Speaking of doing business over the phone there are limitations to what you can actually do over the phone, your supplier should happily send you a list of stock and relevant prices, but to gain good understanding of the product in question, visiting your supplier is an invaluable experience. Remember that a good wholesaler won’t object to you visiting them as they should have nothing to hide, so be careful if a supplier is very against you meeting them.

The issue of stock;

You have to remember that stock changes usually everyday for most wholesalers, so if you enquire about one product one day, it may not be available the next, so it is important to keep an open mind and not get frustrated when things don’t go your way.

The important first impression;

The first impression to a supplier is very important, and if you intend to build a good business relationship with the supplier, it is important not to request too much or push the supplier too far, too early. An example of this would be asking for further discount off the prices that the wholesaler has suggested. It would be better for your case if you waited until you have been using the supplier for a while and then request such discounts.

I am not going to go too in-depth with this, so the guide above is just to help out a few people that may be new to the world of business!

Hope this helps,

Anthony

[MustHaveMobiles]

Anthony's point about building a working relationship is spot on, working together to grow both your business's is vital and a good supplier will always want to do this. Once you have established the relationship then you will find that they tend to offer you different prices or 'extras' as they know you are a known entity.

My supplier recently rang me up and offerred me 100 motorola t192's for £500 which we gladly took and are using them as a promotional tool, ie. giving them away to charities etc in return for a bit of free advertising.

Focus on developing this relationship as in the long term it will benefit you, we regularly go to lunch with suppliers and customers alike (in particular B2B customers) as it builds the 'relationship' between the two entities.

[James]

Great article Anthony

Agree with Mike about the whole 'relationship' thing.

When I was wholesaling, I would get so many introductory emails which were pretty poor, along the lines of.

'I want 50 units of Item X. What price will it be'

No Dear..., or signing off. Justs gives a bad impression, to me at least. Keep it professional, and however much you may feel like it, do not get petty and personal if you disagree with something, should it be the companies pricing or policy regarding shipping etc.

With email, being the limited communication medium that it is, you need to put more effort in coming across as well as possible. Small things such as grammar and spelling can make a difference. Put in that extra time, and put it right.

[MustHaveMobiles]

Agreed, it similar to some of the posts that are made on here offerring items for sale. Its got to be professional to make an impact.

[James]

Another 'favorite' of mine... Starting an email with

'alright m8'

They often do not warrent a reply! Don't get me started on 'text' language

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by James

Another 'favorite' of mine... Starting an email with

'alright m8'

They often do not warrent a reply! Don't get me started on 'text' language

Quite... those sorts of people don't even deserve a response in my eyes..

I might have to dig out an email I got from a buyer the other day..because the whole email was written in this text jargon... seriously it was..

[venus de milo]

i heard two young guys talking in a shop the other day and one of them told a joke and the other one replied LOL he actually said L.O.L. i burst out laughing and it wasnt at the joke

[Tag_2k5]

Originally Posted by venus de milo

i heard two young guys talking in a shop the other day and one of them told a joke and the other one replied LOL he actually said L.O.L. i burst out laughing and it wasnt at the joke

Hahaha. he actually said lol? LOL. What a fool?

[marc williams]

Originally Posted by James

Another 'favorite' of mine... Starting an email with

'alright m8'

They often do not warrent a reply! Don't get me started on 'text' language

lol !! my understanding on wholesalers is they don't seam to like EMAIL... All the ones i use always reply with a phone number and tell me to phone them...And don't give prices over the internet due to scammers using the info to make there price lists.

[blobert]

Very useful tips there, thanks for the info.