Starting a Wholesale Promotional Product Business

It is common nowadays for businesses to distribute promotional products to employees and clients. If you have an experience procuring these giveaways to some businesses, why not make it big by starting a wholesale promotional products business?

You don’t have to be a manufacturer to do so. Learn how from our basic guide.

Giving promotional products is now a major tool used by companies to smoothen relationships with employees, partners and customers. Employers may distribute baskets of goodies on holidays to impart good cheers to staff. Suppliers may give complimentary calendars to retailers as an incentive for their sticking with them. Some businesses may give customers tote bags with their company name imprinted on it as gifts.

Think of Selling Promotional Products Wholesale

If you have an interest or experience in advertising or being a specialty item salesperson, you could upgrade your career by becoming an owner of a wholesale promotional product business. Small companies may need only a few items of giveaways, but larger ones could need hundreds and thousands of items to give as freebies to employees, vendors and customers. As a wholesale supplier of promotional products, this is where you come in.

Should You be a Manufacturer to be a Wholesaler?

You don’t have to be a manufacturer or a do-it-all company in order to supply companies with custom-printed t-shirts, memory sticks, and mouse pads. It would be a super feat if you are not serious in learning the ropes of the trade and lack the funding to acquire the equipment. What you need are several contacts with manufacturers and print specialists who can make and do the designing for you.

In finding suppliers, it is advisable to study the distribution scheme of the promotional products you want to specialize in. Some products can be obtained direct from the manufacturer. Others can only be acquired wholesale through authorized dealers. Distribute only a select type of promotional products at the start. Only once you’ve mastered these few, should you move to other specialty items.

Aside from reliable suppliers, you’d also need excellent salespersons to pitch in the products you are selling wholesale to other businesses. You’d have to come up with a compensation scheme for your salespeople. Would you give a retainer fee, a commission or both?

Get Help in Starting a Wholesale Promotional Product Business

To pursue this business, you can either start on your own or affiliate with groups and programs hat specialize in helping others become a promotional products wholesaler. Choose only to start on your own if you have considerable experience in this field. If not, get a membership with groups like the Promotional Products Association International to make startup tasks, finding suppliers for example, easier. Also, find programs designed to help companies start and grow this kind of business.

1 Comment

  • nagesh vigam said on September 25, 2010
    i am planning to start marketing and advertisement company, what will be government subsidiary and loan facilities available for this category

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