We import tools from abroad (not China!), to sell online & we've secured exclusivity on one manufacturer's portfolio (we buy enough from them each year & are dynamically growing year on year to keep them happy!) Most of the tools in their range are 'bread & butter' type offerings, however a couple of the tools in their range are very innovative...one product in particular has real mass market appeal (think Argos, B&Q, Wickes, Screwfix etc).
the thing is....it's nigh on impossible to get the 'movers & shakers' in such large retail outlets to take notice (can't say I blame them - it must be a nightmare having everyone trying to sell you something!) ...so for now we intend adopting a different approach. That is to try & 'get the product out there' into smaller independent DIY & trade related 'bricks & mortar' shops...we're confident that the product will soon start getting noticed & then it'll be far easier to get the large chains to listen! (for example - this particular product sells 50,000 units per month in Japan alone!).
We sell the product online (& move a fair few units) & the product gets very good reviews (bordering on Evangelistic with some customers!) ...but such is the product type, you'd not know search for it, because you don't know it exists (chicken & the egg situation I guess), therefore from a sales perspective the product is better suited to physically getting in front of buyers 'in the flesh' so to speak.
Here's the thing...we don't have a nationwide sales force (we're an online business with a very small team) & it'd be time consuming (& costly - for just one product!) to put such a salesforce in place...so we're looking at a quicker (& more cost effective) way of getting the product 'out there'.
Therefore if you're a travelling salesman (or know of one) that travels from shop to shop (diy stores, plumbers merchants, builders merchants, electrical supplies etc), please PM me....the product really does sell itself - one 60 second demo & 'they're in'!
Or perhaps you are (or know of) a distributor who already supplies the likes of independent tool shops, plumbers merchants etc - drop me a PM!
Or indeed if you own a shop that has tools on show (or if you have the ear of someone that does) & fancy stocking a new, innovative DIY product that solves a real problem that *all* DIY'ers & tradesman face ...then please also drop us a PM.
If anyone has any tips for a young small company such as ours to break a product with proven mass market appeal into a mainstream market...we're all ears
Many thanks
the thing is....it's nigh on impossible to get the 'movers & shakers' in such large retail outlets to take notice (can't say I blame them - it must be a nightmare having everyone trying to sell you something!) ...so for now we intend adopting a different approach. That is to try & 'get the product out there' into smaller independent DIY & trade related 'bricks & mortar' shops...we're confident that the product will soon start getting noticed & then it'll be far easier to get the large chains to listen! (for example - this particular product sells 50,000 units per month in Japan alone!).
We sell the product online (& move a fair few units) & the product gets very good reviews (bordering on Evangelistic with some customers!) ...but such is the product type, you'd not know search for it, because you don't know it exists (chicken & the egg situation I guess), therefore from a sales perspective the product is better suited to physically getting in front of buyers 'in the flesh' so to speak.
Here's the thing...we don't have a nationwide sales force (we're an online business with a very small team) & it'd be time consuming (& costly - for just one product!) to put such a salesforce in place...so we're looking at a quicker (& more cost effective) way of getting the product 'out there'.
Therefore if you're a travelling salesman (or know of one) that travels from shop to shop (diy stores, plumbers merchants, builders merchants, electrical supplies etc), please PM me....the product really does sell itself - one 60 second demo & 'they're in'!
Or perhaps you are (or know of) a distributor who already supplies the likes of independent tool shops, plumbers merchants etc - drop me a PM!
Or indeed if you own a shop that has tools on show (or if you have the ear of someone that does) & fancy stocking a new, innovative DIY product that solves a real problem that *all* DIY'ers & tradesman face ...then please also drop us a PM.
If anyone has any tips for a young small company such as ours to break a product with proven mass market appeal into a mainstream market...we're all ears
Many thanks