Resellers ask me for wholesale catalog and never get back :(

[BlahBlahBlah]

Hi,

7 months ago I launched an e-Commerce site and the idea was direct selling to customers only (B2C), however in the past couple of months I have been contacted by about 15 companies interested in reselling my products (note that I don't manufacture them, I import them from Asia and resell) and so I put together a nice catalog that I share when asked. The catalog is well made, it contains all products available on the website and beside each product I set the retail price and the wholesale price, so for example:
If 1 pcs of my product cost me 20$ (on average), I sell it on my website for 100$ and wholesale for 60$. I set the standard wholesale price as as 60% of the retail price, which I believe is reasonable.

My problem is that out of those 15 companies only 2 actually ended up placing an order, and I can't understand why? the only thing that would make sense is that my wholesale price is too high but honestly I don't want to lower it further as I don't want to impact my margins too much and more important I don't want to cheapen my brand.

Any idea what I could be doing wrong?

At the moment, until Christmas, I am really focused on B2C with every sort of possible advertising, etc, however from January after the Christmas rush is over I want to try and target resellers more, so I am really interested in understanding how I can improve this.

Any advice is very welcomed! Thank you!

 

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[kkompoti]

you have a 13,33% b2b leads conversion rate. that is impressive.
read this. it may help you:
https://venturi-web-design.com/calculate-sales-conversion-rate/

edit: leads are not only for web businesses. the principles are the same for b&m businesses as well. do your math.

 

[Andy Black]

Hi,

7 months ago I launched an e-Commerce site and the idea was direct selling to customers only (B2C), however in the past couple of months I have been contacted by about 15 companies interested in reselling my products (note that I don't manufacture them, I import them from Asia and resell) and so I put together a nice catalog that I share when asked. The catalog is well made, it contains all products available on the website and beside each product I set the retail price and the wholesale price, so for example:
If 1 pcs of my product cost me 20$ (on average), I sell it on my website for 100$ and wholesale for 60$. I set the standard wholesale price as as 60% of the retail price, which I believe is reasonable.

My problem is that out of those 15 companies only 2 actually ended up placing an order, and I can't understand why? the only thing that would make sense is that my wholesale price is too high but honestly I don't want to lower it further as I don't want to impact my margins too much and more important I don't want to cheapen my brand.

Any idea what I could be doing wrong?

At the moment, until Christmas, I am really focused on B2C with every sort of possible advertising, etc, however from January after the Christmas rush is over I want to try and target resellers more, so I am really interested in understanding how I can improve this.

Any advice is very welcomed! Thank you!

Can you ask them?

 

[BlahBlahBlah]

Can you ask them?

Yeah I usually follow up after a week or so (don't like to be too pushy and chase them too often as it would look a bit desperate), but most of the time they just don't reply.

Of course sample size is still small and so it is hard to have reliable conclusions, but if I am doing something wrong (I don't think there is too much margin for error in emailing a catalog) i 'd need to stop doing it now.

From January 17 I was thinking to actively start contacting shops in my field, however I am not sure this is a good idea (I rarely respond when potential suppliers contact me to sell me something) or whether it is better to focus on digital marketing and keep attracting them rather than going after then. Any suggestion?

 

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[AllenCrawley]

Resellers typically want wholesale pricing to be 50% of retail. Also, what are your minimum order size? If unreasonably high that will also turn off prospective resellers.

 

[BlahBlahBlah]

Resellers typically want wholesale pricing to be 50% of retail. Also, what are your minimum order size? If unreasonably high that will also turn off prospective resellers.

Yeah, price is a bit higher than usual but on the other side once I see it is a genuine business contacting me I don't set any MOQ (if I am not 100% sure that I am dealing with a genuine business then I set a minimum spending of 300$, which is very reasonable).

 

[InformationH]

Resellers typically want wholesale pricing to be 50% of retail. Also, what are your minimum order size? If unreasonably high that will also turn off prospective resellers.

x2 this.

I've contacted close to 30 wholesalers in the last 2 weeks to get quotes for 5 different products. The majority of the quotes started around 50% and then decreased with quantity ordered.

Here are reasons why I've favored one dealer over the others

- Their product is better than the others. Even if they don't give me as good of a deal if I think I could sale more of their product to make up for the price difference it makes sense to go with them.

- They respond quickly and are easier to work with. Some dealers have gotten all the info to me within a day. Others it's taken almost 2 weeks and they are very unresponsive. Seeing as I'm going to be working with them I'll always choose the more responsive one

- The deal is better. Some deals are simply better deals. Whether it be the pricing, MOQ or some other aspect

 

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[BlahBlahBlah]

x2 this.

I've contacted close to 30 wholesalers in the last 2 weeks to get quotes for 5 different products. The majority of the quotes started around 50% and then decreased with quantity ordered.

Here are reasons why I've favored one dealer over the others

- Their product is better than the others. Even if they don't give me as good of a deal if I think I could sale more of their product to make up for the price difference it makes sense to go with them.

- They respond quickly and are easier to work with. Some dealers have gotten all the info to me within a day. Others it's taken almost 2 weeks and they are very unresponsive. Seeing as I'm going to be working with them I'll always choose the more responsive one

- The deal is better. Some deals are simply better deals. Whether it be the pricing, MOQ or some other aspect

Thanks. There are not many resellers of the specific product I sell here in Europe, or at least I don't see so many resellers with the same type of products (unless the buyers find out that they can find the original supplier on Alibaba and get it for cheaper there, but I am pretty sure most don't or else they wouldn't contact me in first place).
I answer literally 90% of the emails I receive within 1 hour and every order is shipped within 24h, I am a bit of a freak when it comes to quick turn-around and get very frustrated when I don't get an update from my suppliers within a few hours. And as I mentioned above have no MOQ. In January I will review my offering anyway and see what I can do do improve.

Regarding my other question, do you guys think is a good idea for me to start actively contacting potential resellers with the catalog, or it is better to attract them to me and use a passive line, which probably would look less needy and better for the brand in the long run? Companies usually find me via Facebook/Instagram/Twitter as I am pretty active on Social Networks. I also use Adwords but it is pricey and may decrease usage after Christmas time.

Thank you again!

 

[amp0193]

you have a 13,33% b2b leads conversion rate. that is impressive.
edit: leads are not only for web businesses. the principles are the same for b&m businesses as well. do your math.

It's not impressive, when you take into consideration that these leads were contacting him, not vice versa. They are already in the door, you just gotta close em. Percentage should be higher.

I set the standard wholesale price as as 60% of the retail price, which I believe is reasonable.

Standard wholesale price is 50% of Retail. This will help. Also, your MOQ needs to be reasonable. What is reasonable is totally niche/product dependent. Retailers are not going to want to be stuck with inventory they can't sell. It's less risky to have a low MOQ.

Yeah I usually follow up after a week or so (don't like to be too pushy and chase them too often as it would look a bit desperate), but most of the time they just don't reply.

You aren't going to look desperate man, THEY contacted YOU. The fact is, small-store owners and B&M managers are incredibly busy. More than likely, they just forgot about you, or it's sitting in a pile of stuff on their desk.

A week is too long for first follow up. Give them 48 hours, then ask them what they thought. If no response, CALL them in another 2-3 days. Then follow up another 2 times, maybe a week apart on those. If they don't respond by the 4th follow up, then add them to a marketing list that you send out whenever you have new products/specials.

If you aren't following up 4 times, you're doing it wrong. I close many deals after the 3rd or 4th follow up. Never once has a warm lead been annoyed... they are usually thankful actually at my persistence. Cold email leads will sometimes get annoyed at all the follow-ups... but never warm/hot leads.

Selling directly to wholesalers brings to mind the phrase "herding cats". You really have to work to get these customers. AND to get them to re-order. I use Pipedrive to manage my follow-up schedule and keep track of where everyone is at in the sales process.

From January 17 I was thinking to actively start contacting shops in my field, however I am not sure this is a good idea (I rarely respond when potential suppliers contact me to sell me something) or whether it is better to focus on digital marketing and keep attracting them rather than going after then. Any suggestion?

Do both. Is every shop going to see your digital marketing? No.

Get an email list of shop owners. Add them to a 4-follow up funnel, using Quickmail.io. When they respond, it automatically stops sending follow up emails. Using quickmail, these were my stats on recent COLD campaigns to shop owners:

Campaign 1 - 71.3% open rate. 35.8% response rate (meaning, they sent me an email).
Campaign 2 - 60.4% open rate. 39% response rate.
Campaign 3 - 60.7% open rate. 46.1% response rate <--- this one is inflated, because this list had more auto-responders (bigger chains).
Campaign 4 - 72.6% open rate. 35.1% response rate


So, my point is, if you are not even getting a response, then you can improve what you're doing. The goal would be to get 100% response. Keep going until you get either a "Tell me more" or a "F*ck off". If no response, then you literally have no idea which one it would be, so keep asking them until they give you one or the other.


Extra credit: Get a distributor, and let them do all the hard work for you!

 

[Fran_Montoya]

I will like to place orders for some of your products, I will like to know if i can place orders with my credit card and if i can arrange pick up from your store/warehouse by a private freight company.

 

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[BlahBlahBlah]

It's not impressive, when you take into consideration that these leads were contacting him, not vice versa. They are already in the door, you just gotta close em. Percentage should be higher.




Standard wholesale price is 50% of Retail. This will help. Also, your MOQ needs to be reasonable. What is reasonable is totally niche/product dependent. Retailers are not going to want to be stuck with inventory they can't sell. It's less risky to have a low MOQ.



You aren't going to look desperate man, THEY contacted YOU. The fact is, small-store owners and B&M managers are incredibly busy. More than likely, they just forgot about you, or it's sitting in a pile of stuff on their desk.

A week is too long for first follow up. Give them 48 hours, then ask them what they thought. If no response, CALL them in another 2-3 days. Then follow up another 2 times, maybe a week apart on those. If they don't respond by the 4th follow up, then add them to a marketing list that you send out whenever you have new products/specials.

If you aren't following up 4 times, you're doing it wrong. I close many deals after the 3rd or 4th follow up. Never once has a warm lead been annoyed... they are usually thankful actually at my persistence. Cold email leads will sometimes get annoyed at all the follow-ups... but never warm/hot leads.

Selling directly to wholesalers brings to mind the phrase "herding cats". You really have to work to get these customers. AND to get them to re-order. I use Pipedrive to manage my follow-up schedule and keep track of where everyone is at in the sales process.




Do both. Is every shop going to see your digital marketing? No.

Get an email list of shop owners. Add them to a 4-follow up funnel, using Quickmail.io. When they respond, it automatically stops sending follow up emails. Using quickmail, these were my stats on recent COLD campaigns to shop owners:

Campaign 1 - 71.3% open rate. 35.8% response rate (meaning, they sent me an email).
Campaign 2 - 60.4% open rate. 39% response rate.
Campaign 3 - 60.7% open rate. 46.1% response rate <--- this one is inflated, because this list had more auto-responders (bigger chains).
Campaign 4 - 72.6% open rate. 35.1% response rate


So, my point is, if you are not even getting a response, then you can improve what you're doing. The goal would be to get 100% response. Keep going until you get either a "Tell me more" or a "F*ck off". If no response, then you literally have no idea which one it would be, so keep asking them until they give you one or the other.


Extra credit: Get a distributor, and let them do all the hard work for you!

Thank you so much for your feedback, I have taken note! I don't have a huge stock at the moment and will sell what I have to retail customers for Christmas, however as soon as I get the next shipment (early January) I will start contacting businesses. Will be a busy January!
Will be a busy January!

 

[BlahBlahBlah]

I will like to place orders for some of your products, I will like to know if i can place orders with my credit card and if i can arrange pick up from your store/warehouse by a private freight company.

Won't sell any product or disclose the nature of the business to anyone on this forum, sorry

 

[amp0193]

Won't sell any product or disclose the nature of the business to anyone on this forum, sorry

He was making a bad joke. What he said is exactly what a scammer will say to you. I've gotten variations of that email many times, usually from "Shops" overseas.

 

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[Jon L]

Instead of putting together a whole catalog, can you just discount through your website? Also, make it as easy as possible for them:

• Set up a plan where you give them a month or two (or whatever makes sense) to ramp up to a reasonable order quantity...say $1000/month, or whatever). You could also create pricing tiers based on monthly order volume. (All new resellers get 40% off, $1000/month get 50%, $5000/month get 55%, etc.)
  
• Set a MOQ of 1
• Make them log in to your site to get a discount, or give them a coupon that is set up just for them that gives them 50% off. (That way, you can disable it later, if necessary)
• Keep responding like you're currently doing (fast, and friendly)
• Let new resellers know that if they don't meet the minimum dollar amount within 2 months, they're out of the program.

 

[devine]

It could be anything.
Until I don't see your pricelist, products and exactly what you say in your emails, it's a purely hypothetical and meaningless talk, which you waste your and our time on.

you have a 13,33% b2b leads conversion rate. that is impressive.

Some pople have 90%+ conversion rate in b2b.
13% success rate means 87% failure rate. Selling b2b is not a game of numbers and probabilities.

 

[BlahBlahBlah]

Instead of putting together a whole catalog, can you just discount through your website? Also, make it as easy as possible for them:

• Set up a plan where you give them a month or two (or whatever makes sense) to ramp up to a reasonable order quantity...say $1000/month, or whatever). You could also create pricing tiers based on monthly order volume. (All new resellers get 40% off, $1000/month get 50%, $5000/month get 55%, etc.)
  
• Set a MOQ of 1
• Make them log in to your site to get a discount, or give them a coupon that is set up just for them that gives them 50% off. (That way, you can disable it later, if necessary)
• Keep responding like you're currently doing (fast, and friendly)
• Let new resellers know that if they don't meet the minimum dollar amount within 2 months, they're out of the program.

This is actually a great idea, my only issue here is that on some products I have smaller margin that on others and wouldn't want to go under a certain % of discount. Ie. on Product A I may be willing to give 40% discount, but on Product B max 30%. I am sure I can find a way around that though, it will also save me time updating the catalog everytime I have a new item (and I add new items quite often as I am expanding quite quickly). Thanks for the tip!

 

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[BlahBlahBlah]

He was making a bad joke. What he said is exactly what a scammer will say to you. I've gotten variations of that email many times, usually from "Shops" overseas.

I am naive. How would that work?

 

[Jon L]

This is actually a great idea, my only issue here is that on some products I have smaller margin that on others and wouldn't want to go under a certain % of discount. Ie. on Product A I may be willing to give 40% discount, but on Product B max 30%. I am sure I can find a way around that though, it will also save me time updating the catalog everytime I have a new item (and I add new items quite often as I am expanding quite quickly). Thanks for the tip!

Depending on the software you're using for your site, you might be able to automate that...set up pricing tiers and assign your reseller customers to those tiers. Then, configure each item for a particular tier. but that really depends on the software you're using.

The key, though, is to make it as easy for your resellers as possible...

 

[amp0193]

I am naive. How would that work?

Their "Private freight company", which is just someone working for the scammer picks up your goods. Then after they have the goods the credit card is charged back.

 

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