Contacting retailers and resellers

[TraceyM]

Can anyone please suggest the best way to go about contacting retailers and designers in order to get our business up and running. We are prodcung outdoor art hangings and cushions and want to establish a line of resellers. I had thought of creating a flyer and sending this along with a letter to a selection of appopriate retailers asking for them to view our website and requesting a face to face visit with samples of our work. Can anyone tell me some ways they have been successful?

[AdvancedPetSitting]

Like any other business you need a sales rep (if you cannot afford one now - you'll have to be your own rep) to start cold calling. This is probably the easiest and quickest way to get your name around. Print out catalogs, and business cards, maybe a flyer with some discounts (to get the first orders) and start door knocking.

[Avatar Consulting]

Hi

I would recommend that you first identify the stores that would be able to resell your products and target them directly by personal visit or at least a phone call. A broadside flyer launch will waste your money as a large number of blind targeted prospects will not be able to stock your products anyway.

Ask yourself these questions to find your best possible stockists more effectively;

1) Will my product compete with any of their existing products or breach any existing reseller agreements they already hold?

2) What is the commission price they will earn for reselling my products? Average fees range from 20-40% of your sale price.

3) How many of their customers would be likely to buy my products or am I taking up valuable retail space for slow moving products and making their store look dead?