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ONE OF OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL
strategies has been simply to
work with the people who work
with us. It is not an easy task
when you are first starting out, so
a new and small distributor will
need to find supplier partners
rather than waiting for them to
seek you out. There are two
pieces to this strategy: direct
supplier reps and multi-line reps.
Direct Supplier Reps
I would start out with a list
of the larger suppliers that offer
products in multiple categories
to keep my number of suppliers
to a minimum. Find out who
their rep is for your market and
set up a meeting. If you are in a
smaller market, chances are that
they seldom visit that market
and tend to only go to larger dis-
tributors. Let them know that
you want to meet with them to
learn about their line. Once you
have established a base relation-
ship, channel business their way,
even if you need to drop your
margin a few points to start to
show growth. Order samples and
take them to your clients and
start to get on the supplier’s
radar.
Multi-Line Reps
These reps can be a great
way to narrow your focus to a
few key suppliers. Most multi-
line reps will have a wide vari-
ety of product categories in
their lineup which should cover
a great part of your needs.
Finding them might take some
work as they also spend their
time and efforts with larger
22 •
PPB
• JUNE 2016
INNOVATE
QUEST
ION
A:
SECURING SUPPLIERS
A DISTRIBUTOR ASKS
:
As a small
distributor who is relatively new to the
industry, what’s the best way to go
about choosing promotional products
suppliers?
Q: