Tweet



.
Close


  • 2. Find a Supplier for Your Store
  • Contacting Manufacturers

Contacting Manufacturers


If you're nervous about this step of the process, you're not alone! That's why we're offering the Supplier Outreach Service (S.O.S.), where we call up potential suppliers for you. (Note: We are NOT leaving anything out of this training; we use the exact approach and techniques that what we teach you here. We're simply offering S.O.S. for those who are uncomfortable calling up suppliers and would rather have us do it for them.)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • The principles taught in this video apply to calling any potential supplier (not just manufacturers)

  • Whenever possible, CALL the manufacturer on the PHONE (don't e-mail)

  • Make sure to review the First Contact DOs and DON'Ts article before calling

  • Introduce yourself as a representative of a company (your company, or DBA)

  • We recommend telling the supplier something like this: "I'm the owner and operator of xxxxx.com. Take a look at my site and see how professional it is! Up until now, I've been using my site to promote others' products as an affiliate. But a lot of my visitors have specifically asked about your products, and I'd like to convert my site into a traditional ecommerce store that exclusively features your brand and products!"

  • If they say they'll only work with "brick and mortar" stores, use the techniques we teach in the Getting Around the 'No Online-Only Policy article

  • If they are not willing to dropship, ask for the contact information of their distributors

  • If you're having a hard time getting anyone to dropship for you, take a look at the suggestions in the Finding a Supplier Roadblocks article

  • After they've confirmed that they will dropship, you may want to ask them these Questions to Ask Dropshippers

  • Fill out the dealer application ASAP and follow up if you don't hear back within the expected time frame

  • The manufacturer should give you a price list and product information as soon as your account is approved & set up

Video Q&A

  Login or create a free account to ask a question
Is it a good idea to bring up my website's traffic stats during the conversation?
If you have an established website that gets a decent amount of traffic (i.e. visitors), yes, you should definitely tell the potential supplier how much traffic you're getting... and how that will lead to more sales of their products. Manufacturers are in business to make money, just like you are. Traffic translates into sales, so if you're fortunate enough to already be getting traffic, that gives the supplier more confidence that taking the time to set you up with a dealer account will result in more sales & profits for them.
clear