Many retail brands start out by selling their products directly to customers. They might start a website, open stores, build a reputation and a brand that people come to recognize and trust.
Once you decide it’s time for growth, there are multiple avenues you can explore, including expanding your product range or selling your products in different countries.
But what about expanding into wholesale? From boutique stores to major stockists, selling your products to other retailers could help put your brand in front of a completely new audience, and help you build a more consistent revenue stream.
While this could be a big change from how you normally run your business, it can become a key part of your strategy. From pricing and packaging to forming strong relationships, there are several elements needed for wholesale success. Explore some of the ways you can grow your business by turning to wholesale.
Are you ready to step into wholesale?
Wholesale essentially means selling your products to other businesses, not just your customers. Many retailers sell products exclusively made by other brands, from department stores to grocery stores, providing customers with multiple brands in one space.
There are several reasons why stepping into wholesale is a good idea:
- Wholesalers tend to place larger orders, boosting your profits.
- It can offer a predictable income, especially if you have fixed order amounts in place.
- You can boost the visibility of your brand, reaching different markets.
If you’re ready to reap the benefits, then you also need to be prepared to work hard. With a clear plan and the drive to succeed, you can make the step into wholesale and bring a whole new revenue stream to your business.
How does B2B differ from retail sales?
You can make the leap into wholesale simpler by putting time and effort into understanding business-to-business sales. This will not only help you become more confident in this area, but it can also help you learn how to build long-term value, as well as the importance of profit margins and maintaining effective supply chains.
With direct-to-customer sales, you often rely on selling emotions or impulse buys, whereas selling to other businesses requires you to focus on ongoing partnerships and deliver reliable, quality products.
Finding the right wholesale partners
Selling your products to wholesalers isn’t just about finding anyone who will take your product. You need to be strategic in your decisions to help you protect your brand and find markets that will be receptive to your products. Finding the right fit for your business could include:
- Retailers with similar values
- Audiences that align with your target market
- Established reputation
It’s worth looking at established online B2B marketplaces or making contact with stores. Create a strategy for selling to wholesalers, including your initial communications, product sample packs, and presentations. While those initial pitches can be intimidating, you’ll soon learn what wholesalers respond to and can tailor your outreach accordingly.
Getting the price right
One of the most important things you’ll learn about selling your products wholesale is pricing. Unlike direct-to-customer sales, where you take more of the profit by balancing the cost price and the RRP, you’ll have to adopt a different strategy for wholesale. Fortunately, there are some existing wholesale pricing strategies you can follow to help keep things simple. Most retail partners will expect 50-60% off the retail price, to allow them to make a worthwhile profit. This means you’ll need to factor in your manufacturing, packaging and shipping costs when setting prices that work for you. Setting minimum ordering quantities (MOQs) can help you negotiate better deals with your suppliers to bring your own costs down.
Work on your sales pitch
If you’ve watched Shark Tank, you’ll know that the pitches the investors respond to often have a good story alongside a great product. Your pitch should focus on the things that make your brand stand out. From quality to the story behind your product, you’ll want to present the entire package.
It helps to create a wholesale catalogue or line sheet that can tell wholesalers everything they need to know. Focus on building partnerships instead of just selling a product - you want to create long-lasting relationships that help take your respective businesses further.
Build up strong relationships with stockists
Once you’ve secured a wholesaler, you need to work on building an ongoing partnership. Set expectations for communication on both sides, and terms for when orders are expected to be fulfilled, delivered, invoiced, etc. Follow up after orders and ask for feedback to help make continuous improvements.
Where possible, try to reward loyalty through discounts, early access to new products and offering exclusives. Building trust with your wholesalers is what’s important here, helping you build stronger, longer-lasting relationships.
Make sure operations run smoothly
Maintaining strong wholesaler relationships isn’t just about the communication, it’s about what happens behind the scenes. This means ensuring that your inventory is carefully managed and that you can forecast demand accordingly. Use inventory management tools, spreadsheets and ERP tools to help you keep on top of things.
Over time, you’ll learn more about wholesaler ordering patterns to help you establish demand so you can meet their needs.
Marketing your wholesale brand
As your confidence with wholesalers grows, you can focus on marketing your brand to others. Tradeshows, online marketplaces, and direct outreach with brands can help you secure further wholesale clients.
Email marketing is a good way to engage with potential wholesalers. Planning a marketing campaign can help you think about your objectives and ensure you’re targeting the right businesses. Keep up your existing marketing techniques to help share the successes of your brand, helping to not only sell your products to your customers, but to other businesses too.
Expanding into wholesale can be an exciting step forward for your business. Taking the time to plan your strategy, price your products effectively and nurture strong relationships can help create a foundation for long-term growth. Think of wholesale as an extension of your brand, introducing your products to new audiences and boosting your market share, ready to build on your business’s success.
