how to get started selling B2B?

[Ultralite]

I've been selling on amazon for a little while and noticed that some sellers on amazon have their products listed on other websites, which makes me think they sold in bulk to those stores. I have some products that are not quite revolutionary, but I modified them from what's available on the market so I know no one else has a product exactly like mine.

I'd like to learn more about how they are able to sell B2B, can anyone point me in the right direction?

I've read some threads here about drumming up business by cold calling and wondered how I can start doing this or how can I get my products onto the shelves of other online retailers. I searched for B2B and related phrases on the forum but the search terms were too short, it didn't work.

I've never cold called anyone before, but it that's what it takes to succeed then I'll learn how to do it and call up a bunch of store owners everyday until I get consistent sales. I just need a little more help to bridge the gap like: do I ask for the manager? What should I say? Where do I find businesses to call up?

My first thoughts are to find a bunch of businesses in my niche, ask for the manager and ask them straight up if they want some free products to carry in their store to see if there is a demand and then offer them wholesale prices. I'm not sure if that wouldn't get me hung up on 90% of the time, so perhaps I should talk more circuitously.

If anyone can give me a bit of advice, I'd really appreciate it.

 

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[jon.a]

I've been selling on amazon for a little while and noticed that some sellers on amazon have their products listed on other websites, which makes me think they sold in bulk to those stores. I have some products that are not quite revolutionary, but I modified them from what's available on the market so I know no one else has a product exactly like mine.

I'd like to learn more about how they are able to sell B2B, can anyone point me in the right direction?

I've read some threads here about drumming up business by cold calling and wondered how I can start doing this or how can I get my products onto the shelves of other online retailers. I searched for B2B and related phrases on the forum but the search terms were too short, it didn't work.

I've never cold called anyone before, but it that's what it takes to succeed then I'll learn how to do it and call up a bunch of store owners everyday until I get consistent sales. I just need a little more help to bridge the gap like: do I ask for the manager? What should I say? Where do I find businesses to call up?

My first thoughts are to find a bunch of businesses in my niche, ask for the manager and ask them straight up if they want some free products to carry in their store to see if there is a demand and then offer them wholesale prices. I'm not sure if that wouldn't get me hung up on 90% of the time, so perhaps I should talk more circuitously.

If anyone can give me a bit of advice, I'd really appreciate it.

We have a guy here that did this. His story is on "The Inside." I think he knocked on local doors to get started.

 

[Ultralite]

We have a guy here that did this. His story is on "The Inside." I think he knocked on local doors to get started.

can you tell me what his username is? I'll try to find it.

 

[jon.a]

can you tell me what his username is? I'll try to find it.

@Likwid24

 

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[Ramble On]

Are you wanting to sell just to online retailers or also brick and mortar stores?

 

[Ultralite]

Are you wanting to sell just to online retailers or also brick and mortar stores?

Both if possible, I've never done this before so I'm not yet sure of the pros and cons of each. But
I don't see why it can't be both.

Do you have some experience in this?

 

[Ramble On]

Yes. We sell to online and brick and mortar stores. We got into most of our outline stores by simply emailing them. We would point them to our site for a look and then offer to send them a wholesale catalog if interested.

We got into most of our brick and mortar stores by advertising in industry magazines they subscribe to.

 

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[Ultralite]

Yes. We sell to online and brick and mortar stores. We got into most of our outline stores by simply emailing them. We would point them to our site for a look and then offer to send them a wholesale catalog if interested.

We got into most of our brick and mortar stores by advertising in industry magazines they subscribe to.

Ok, great! This is definitely info I can use.

Was your site just a regular b2c ecommerce site? I don't have one up yet but I'll build one before my next shipment gets here.

As far as what you emailed them, did you offer any free products to start with or just told them to browse the catalog and pick what they wanted to buy?

In your experience what do people usually pay for wholesale (how much below retail)?

Thanks for taking time out of your day to reply to my question, this forum is awesome!

 

[Ramble On]

No problem. Welcome to the forum.

We did start as a B2C ecommerce site with plans to expand to stores. We did not offer any free products to start with. Some of them requested to see samples which we gladly sent at no charge. I am sure this would depend on what you are selling. I doubt if your product costs $1,000 each you would want to send a lot of freebies out. Our products are a much lower price point.

Retail pricing vs. wholesale pricing is also going to vary depending on the market you are in. Margins differ depending on if you are selling clothing, cosmetics, electronics, etc. Google is your friend for this research.

 

[Ultralite]

Is there a special Google tool you use to do pricing research or do you mean just google around for the info?

My products are between $30-100 retail but they cost a lot less to manufacture so I don't mind giving some samples.

I think I'll get someone off fiverr to do a product pamphlet and send that pdf as my "catalog". I don't have that many items yet.

How fast do they expect to receive the items? I have an idea about preselling but I don't know if they would pay, and then wait a month or so for the goods?

 

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[Ramble On]

Yep. Just Google around for the info and you will get a pretty good idea. I am not really sure how fast they expect to receive the samples but we have them on hand before we offer them up. Given that, we can get them to them in a couple of days.

 

[Ultralite]

Awesome, thanks again for your advice. This is more than enough to get started.

I set a goal that I was going to quit my job by the end of the year but I didn't really know how to do it. But I think with this method I can greatly increase my sales to supplement b2c.

 

[Ramble On]

Read all of the threads on this Forum that you can. There is a TON of useful information. There are also a lot of people that know a lot more than I do.

 

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[Ultralite]

Read all of the threads on this Forum that you can. There is a TON of useful information. There are also a lot of people that know a lot more than I do.

are you kidding? This forum is the first thing I read when I eat my breakfast in the morning before work, I read it on breaks at work, I read it when I come home from work on my pc, then I migrate to my phone and it's probably the last thing I see before I go to sleep at night.

Can you tell how much I really want this to work out? lol

 

[Ramble On]

Keep up the motivation! It took me 3 years of hard work before I could leave my 9 to 5. It's all about perseverance. You either have it or you don't.

 

[theag]

test

 

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[Likwid24]

My advice would be to start with your local stores. Forget about calling them. You need to actually walk into the store with your product and pitch them. Go to as many local stores as you can. By doing this, you build a foundation and you can figure out if your product is something that is needed, or wanted. Then when you get to the point of calling stores, you can list how many stores your product is in, and have actual sales info.

We were literally in over 100 stores before we started making phone calls. When we went on Shark Tank, that was the one thing that really WOWED the sharks. Lori Greiner still talks about it to this day, and even put it in her book.

 

[Ultralite]

My advice would be to start with your local stores. Forget about calling them. You need to actually walk into the store with your product and pitch them. Go to as many local stores as you can. By doing this, you build a foundation and you can figure out if your product is something that is needed, or wanted. Then when you get to the point of calling stores, you can list how many stores your product is in, and have actual sales info.

We were literally in over 100 stores before we started making phone calls. When we went on Shark Tank, that was the one thing that really WOWED the sharks. Lori Greiner still talks about it to this day, and even put it in her book.

Thanks for stopping by Likwid, great advice. I'm still in the process of reading through your entire thread but all the info in there is gold.
Maybe this has already been answered in your progress thread and I just haven't gotten to it yet but, did you get any success pitching your product in chain stores? For example, did you pitch your product to lowe's and who did you have to speak to at the store, to get them to carry your product?

 

[Likwid24]

Maybe this has already been answered in your progress thread and I just haven't gotten to it yet but, did you get any success pitching your product in chain stores? For example, did you pitch your product to lowe's and who did you have to speak to at the store, to get them to carry your product?

You're still a bit aways from this. Start by getting your product into local stores and smaller chain stores. None of the big boys are going to look at you until you have some sort of track record.

The best thing you can do for now to possibly garner interest from buyer for big box is to attend the top trade shows in your industry. For us, it was the National Hardware Show. We got a small both in the inventors section 2 years in a row. We met A LOT of people in the industry and made a little bit of a name for ourselves. Buyers started coming to us.

The Shark Tank thing didn't hurt either. Lol. Before that, we were speaking to buyers from Home Depot, Lowe's, Menard's and WalMart. Talks were slow, but really sped up after the show.

And trust me when I say to TAKE BABY STEPS. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into when it comes to Big Box Retail. It's scary. If you're not ready for it, you'll put your company under in no time.

You have a long way to go before you get into Big Box. For now, focus on smaller stores and internet sales and learn EVERYTHING about your industry.

BTW - Do you have a patent?

 

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[Ultralite]

You're still a bit aways from this. Start by getting your product into local stores and smaller chain stores. None of the big boys are going to look at you until you have some sort of track record.

The best thing you can do for now to possibly garner interest from buyer for big box is to attend the top trade shows in your industry. For us, it was the National Hardware Show. We got a small both in the inventors section 2 years in a row. We met A LOT of people in the industry and made a little bit of a name for ourselves. Buyers started coming to us.

The Shark Tank thing didn't hurt either. Lol. Before that, we were speaking to buyers from Home Depot, Lowe's, Menard's and WalMart. Talks were slow, but really sped up after the show.

And trust me when I say to TAKE BABY STEPS. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into when it comes to Big Box Retail. It's scary. If you're not ready for it, you'll put your company under in no time.

You have a long way to go before you get into Big Box. For now, focus on smaller stores and internet sales and learn EVERYTHING about your industry.

BTW - Do you have a patent?

Thanks Likwid, I've already spoken to some local businesses about sending them a catalog and they all were receptive to the idea. I'll get one made up and research wholesale prices to negotiate with them. I don't have a patent because I wasn't sure if my products satisfied the novelty part of filing a patent, but I will look into it.

In the meantime, I'll continue with my online B2C and try to make some headway into online and B&M B2B.

I'll be posting updates in my progress thread until I make it!