It’s important to constantly add more sales to your bottom line. But with so many tasks to manage, it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start. That’s why we’ve put together a checklist of the top things you need to consider when becoming a wholesaler!
From optimizing your pricing strategy to finding the right suppliers, this guide will help you navigate the ins and outs of the wholesale industry and take your business to the next level.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale your existing operation, following these tips will help you streamline your processes, attract new customers, and ultimately increase your sales. So, let’s dive in and explore what it takes to become a successful wholesaler!
11 Ways To Add Wholesale Sales To Your E-Commerce Business
There are so many factors to consider before you make the leap… so where do you exactly begin?
Here’s a checklist to help you navigate the process and add more sales almost instantly:
1. Set your wholesale prices.
The first thing that you need to do is to set wholesale prices for your products and services. You can set wholesale prices in two ways: Value-Based Pricing or Cost-Based Pricing.
The Cost Based Pricing uses this formula in setting wholesale prices: Materials Cost + (Labour Invested x How Much You Value Time) + Other Overheads (Rent, Fixed Costs, Electricity, etc) + Profit Margin = Wholesale Price. Or some just take 40 percent of retail prices, and that’s the wholesale price.
On the other hand, Value Based Pricing wherein takes into account how the market perceived your products are worth, and there is a 40% off retail price point which gives you up to 30% off retail for you and your wholesale customers for promotional offers.
To ensure that you’re not incurring losses, set a minimum order quantity to cover the low wholesale prices for wholesale buyers and let them agree with the minimum retail prices.
To start on the right track, add the free WooCommerce Wholesale Prices Extension. Our extensions let you enter wholesale prices, provide a streamlined wholesale order form, and register and manage wholesale customers.
Additionally, Wholesale Prices Premium lets wholesalers easily access and avail the wholesale prices of the products, tiered discounts, payment methods, and shipping. It also shows them the minimum order quantity, and applicable taxes if any.
What’s great about this plugin is that it lets you adjust the role of registered customers between retail and wholesale. By doing so, the wholesale prices, discounts, free shipping, and minimum order quantity are only visible to those registered wholesale buyers.
For more details on the power-packed features of the Wholesale prices plugin, you can check it here.
While this post will walk you through how to set up basic wholesale pricing here. If you’re not sure if you can sell your products wholesale, check out our post here.
2. Make a list of initial retailers to approach.
Having wholesale customers is a must if you want your online business to stay afloat and succeed. To get more wholesale buyers, you need to make a list of the names of target wholesalers and start approaching them.
Aside from direct contact, you can also capture leads from your online store. Increase conversions by adding the Wholesale Lead Capture plugin that captures leads on autopilot. This plugin automatically creates wholesale registration and login forms.
Check out our article about the different types of authorized retailers. and 4 Tips For Finding Retail Companies To Invite To Your Wholesale Program.
To land your first wholesale deal, you can incorporate these 7 tips to find wholesale buyers:
- Search for prospective wholesale buyers;
- Attend Networking Events;
- Look at your Existing Customers;
- Introduce your business and products;
- Join tradeshows and exhibits;
- Online Promotions.
To know how to approach wholesale buyers, read our post here.
3. Add a Quick Ordering Method.
To automatically do this in your online store, you can try our Wholesale Order Form plugin.
Wholesale Order Form provides an easy-to-use ordering interface for bulk or volume purchases of wholesale buyers. Read our post on how to set up an amazing wholesale ordering form.
4. Make a Terms Sheet.
Before negotiating with wholesale buyers, you need to have a terms sheet to express the terms and conditions of doing business with you.
The major terms and conditions that your wholesale terms sheet must include are the following:
- Minimum Order Quantity or MOQ- The minimum purchase in order to receive wholesale pricing. By setting a minimum wholesale order, you will be able to give the lowest price possible for your wholesale customers;
- Wholesale Pricing– It is lower than the retail prices but still allows you to make a significant profit since buyers are purchasing in large volumes;
- Ordering Process– It is a guide on how they will place orders for your products;
- Payment Terms– This is to inform buyers of the allowable payment period. You can set whether wholesale buyers need to pay before the delivery of goods or services. Or, you can give them credit for a specified time frame. You can different payment methods such as via credit card, cheque, Paypal, or bank deposit. It should be clear whether you allow net payment after 30, 60, or 90 days for wholesale purchases. And only offer net terms to repeat wholesale buyers;
- Minimum Retail Prices– Have a set retail price so that the markup between the original wholesale price and the retail price will not be large. It also ensures that wholesale buyers will not slash prices too low;
- Return and Exchange Policies– Set your return and exchange policies, money-back guarantee, replacement, and warranty terms;
- Shipping– Specify the shipping terms, shipping method, packaging, shipping costs, shipping window, and turnaround time. It must also be clear whether the shipping costs will be shouldered by you or the wholesale buyer.
Check how to make an invoice easily by reading our post.
5. Try dropshipping.
Offering dropshipping to wholesale customers will give you an advantage over businesses that don’t.
Dropshipping is a trend wherein business owners directly ship the products to the customers of wholesale buyers or retailers.
By offering to drop ship, you can expand your market and indirectly reach more customers by partnering with more wholesale merchants. Merchants don’t end up with inventories that don’t get sold; on the other hand, manufacturers spend less effort in finding new customers to buy their products.
To find wholesale merchants who are interested in selling your products to their customers, you need to be found by them online and get their attention. We wrote a post on the 9 Dropship Directories where you can register your business so that more wholesale merchants can find your business.
Read our post about the 5 Benefits of Dropshipping and why you should offer it in your store.
6. Improve your marketing outreach to wholesale customers.
First, you need to know your target customers and have a basic customer profile. By doing so, you will narrow down the wholesale buyers who would most likely be interested in your products and have a market to sell your products to.
Generate sales leads via social media, customer referrals, blogging, and networking.
There are many ways to reach out to target wholesale customers ranging from emailing, cold calling, pay-per-click, sending product samples, networking, and attending trade shows and conferences. You can also research online before contacting these wholesale customers.
Read our post on the 5 Ways to Improve Your Marketing Outreach, 5 Amazingly Effective Ways to Find More Wholesale Customers, and How To Attract New Wholesale Customers.
You can also take a look at our Marketing Checklist to boost engagement with wholesale customers and 3 tips for increasing wholesale order frequency.
Download our all-in-one guide for Optimizing your Checkout Page on your e-commerce website.
7. Play with marketing techniques.
Employ marketing techniques to start selling more to wholesale buyers such as the following:
- Establish a connection with your prospective wholesale customer online
- Reach out to wholesale buyers with direct mail
- Ask for customer referrals
- Contact and meet prospective customers
- Printed marketing materials
- Make a catchy order form
- Advertisements in trade publications
- Get prominent industry bloggers to feature your products
- Employ a Sales Representative
- Update your online store
- Run wholesale promotions
- Email and social media posts
- Follow-up with Wholesale Buyers
You can read the full post on the 7 Marketing Techniques here, eCommerce hackers guide to acquiring more customers, and How to Promote Your Products to Wholesale Buyers.
8. Up-sell and cross-sell your products.
To increase sales, one of the most effective marketing techniques is up-selling and cross-selling where customers can see an upgraded version or add-ons. Learn more about how to create amazing automated up-sells and cross-sells in WooCommerce here. You can also recover abandoned carts in WooCommerce for free.
Want to reduce shopping cart abandonment?
Then, this post about how to minimize abandoned carts is a must-read!
9. Design your packaging.
People are visual, that’s why your packaging is also important in marketing your products.
Follow the 5 design tips to create an interesting package:
- Personalize the Box
- Make The Unboxing Special And Offer A Treat To Customers
- Pick A Color And Style That Resonates With Your Brand
- Use Packaging Materials With Style
- Package The Products Neatly
10. Provide a Positive Customer Experience
Your business needs to stand out among the competition by going the extra mile in giving a positive customer experience to customers. Not only will customers appreciate the effort and trust your brand, but also will buy from you repeatedly and share it with their friends.
There are a lot of negative online shopping experiences, and you certainly don’t want to have a bad reputation. Instead, provide excellent customer service that will amaze your clients and customers.
Offer live chat in your online store so customers can contact you for their questions, concerns, and feedback. You can also offer guarantees, surveys to get their feedback, and a loyalty-based program.
11. Shipping
To know how you can offer a free shipping incentive for wholesale customers, check out our post here. You can also set up a free shipping restriction in WooCommerce.
Conclusion
Are you considering becoming a wholesaler or looking to expand your existing wholesale business? With the right strategy and approach, wholesaling can be a lucrative and rewarding business venture.
But where do you start? With so many moving parts, it can be overwhelming to navigate the world of wholesale. That’s why we’ve put together a comprehensive checklist to help you add more sales to your wholesale business:
- Set your wholesale prices.
- Make a list of initial retailers to approach.
- Add a Quick Ordering Method.
- Make a Terms Sheet.
- Try dropshipping.
- Improve your marketing outreach to wholesale customers.
- Play with marketing techniques.
- Up-sell and cross-sell your products.
- Design your packaging.
