Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello everyone! I'm in the very early processes of a startup brick & mortar store. Everything is going well--great location, LLC and legalities on target, etc--except for one major factor.

My goal is to sell a particular niche item from specific high end companies along with a few extra items for good measure. The problem is I don't know where to begin in regards to contacting these companies. Right now most of the Names I want to contact only sell in NY, LA, Vegas and Dallas. I have a three page list of the companies I want to contact and am hoping maybe 1/4 of those will agree to a wholesale negotiation.

I'm located in a smaller city, but there is definitely money to be made here. It's a quirky environment full of people anticipating a very prominent international event in a couple of months. This will most likely put us on the map, drawing in even more people from around the world. We are also a city with a low unemployment rate and, for the most part, unaffected by the economy.

My problem is this: there are many articles on saying "no" to vendors, as well as articles for vendors on how to reach a "yes." I've found nothing on how a small startup begins an introduction letter to high end companies and convinces said companies to supply them or inform them of who their suppliers are. Is anyone familiar with this? Any suggestions or success stories? All advice is welcome. Thank you. 

What kind of high-end products are looking for?

Clothes, furniture or ?

How about just calling the company up and asking for wholesale info and tell them you want to be come a distributor..?

You should either call these companies and asking for their purchase manager or it may be worthwhile hiring a consultant to do all the contacting.

hi dear,

my best wishes for your work.

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Call the companies on a non-consumer B2B line.  Just today I called a manufacturer and said "I am with xxxxx in xxxxx IL.  We are a distributor of xxxxx and are interested in the possibility of adding your product line.  Who would I speak with to get more information?"

They will most likely transfer you to a sales person or give you the name of a manufacturers rep.  You then address questions about purchasing and possible wholesalers to buy from to them.

Another option is to search out manufacturers representatives in the area you want to sell.  If you want to sell widgets search google for "widget manufacturers rep" or something like that.

Its a little easier for my company after 10 years to get them to say yes, especially when I have their competitors product in my showroom.  However I started out with one supplier who sold to me on credit who was then able to be used as a reference on other credit applications.