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Please Sell My Products! How to Be the Perfect Supplier and Attract Quality Re-Sellers

December 18, 2007

Many, many thanks to Fairy Godmother Erika Wilde of StopDirt.com for sharing her magical wisdom yet again! Enjoy her 10 secrets to being a perfect supplier!!

erika2.JPGAs an internet reseller for eight different suppliers, I’ve had my share of good and bad experiences with suppliers. I am approached almost weekly by people who want me to sell their products on my websites. I turn many suppliers down because they did not have enough of the perfect supplier qualities.  If you are looking for resellers to sell a product that you produce, follow these ten tips to become the perfect supplier.

1. Drop Ship. You save your resellers time and money by drop shipping your product directly to their customers. Most resellers are willing to pay a nominal drop ship charge, usually $2-$5 per item. By drop shipping your product, you allow the reseller to enjoy ultimate cash flow by receiving payment from her customers before purchasing the item.

2. Offer Branding. Put your reseller’s contact information on the product. Can you offer a custom tag or sticker on the product? This leads to repeat business for your reseller.

3. Ship Blind. Do not include your contact information or the purchase price. Instead, make sure all the contact information will point customers to your reseller, not you.

4. Allow Resellers to Pay You By Credit Card. This saves accounting time and lets the reseller earn miles or rewards.

5. Ship Quickly. Make sure your product gets out the door within a couple of days. Slow shipments are the kiss of death for resellers. Immediately inform resellers about backorders or delays.

6. Ship Correctly. Send the right product to the right person.

7. Provide Internet-Ready Images. Resellers will be much more likely to add your products to their website if the reseller does not have to take her own pictures. Provide as many quality images as you possibly can.

8. Load ‘Em Up with Info. FAQ’s, tech or ingredients lists. Detailed product descriptions. Provide as much information as possible in a cut-and-paste format that makes for easy uploading to a website. Remember, your reseller needs to be able to answer all customer questions and she needs to know everything about your product. Make yourself available to answer questions and provide product updates.

9. Send Samples. It is hard for a reseller to sell something that she hasn’t actually seen. If your product is too expensive to send out for free, you can request that the products are returned to you after the reseller checks them out.

10. Don’t Compete. If you plan to sell the product yourself also, sell it at full retail so you aren’t undercutting your reseller’s profit. Feel free to set at MAP price (minimum advertised price) to protect your brand image, but make it low enough for reseller promotions and profit.

Written by startupprincess · Filed Under Feature, Startup & Grow 

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