Wholesale trade business. Trading business

Many entrepreneurs view the wholesale business as an opportunity to earn good money without much effort, and they are absolutely right.

You will learn:

• What is a wholesale business
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of a wholesale business?
• What are the different types of wholesale sales?
• How to organize a wholesale business
• Do you need investments to start a wholesale business?
• What mistakes are most often made when starting a wholesale business?
• How to increase sales in wholesale business

Wholesale business is a special field of activity with its own unique specifics. To achieve excellent results and receive a stable income, you need to know this specificity perfectly.

What is a wholesale business

Wholesale as a business is the purchase of products in large quantities from a supplier or manufacturer (less often) for their subsequent sale in small quantities. That is, the product is bought not by the end consumer, but by a business representative in order to subsequently resell it or use it for production needs. Of course, the wholesale business occupies far from the last place in the issue of economic relations between production sectors, goods manufacturers and companies engaged in retail trade.

Ambitious start-up entrepreneurs often face the problem of choosing between wholesale and retail trade. Each industry has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice can be made only after carefully analyzing each of them.

To achieve heights in retail trade, you need:

• To find the appropriate premises, in order to ensure the competitiveness of the enterprise, the location must be "profitable", passable.
• Have sufficient cash to buy out/pay the rent and purchase goods.
• Have the necessary financial resources to adequately pay staff.
• Allocate funds for advertising and further promotion of the enterprise.

To organize a wholesale business you should:

• Select one or more reliable suppliers.
• Conclude agreements with stores in which the goods will be sold.
• Choose a method of transporting goods (you can rent or purchase trucks in the required quantity).
• Find staff.

How to increase profits for a wholesale business

Wholesale companies are "sandwiched" between suppliers and buyers, who themselves face all the problems of the crisis period. How to build sales so that counterparties are satisfied, and this only benefits the company? Check out seven solutions that have helped wholesalers not only maintain, but raise the bar. You will find them in the article in the “Commercial Director” magazine.

What to trade in the wholesale business: types of trade

Two main forms of wholesale trade:

• No need to advertise the enterprise - enough create a client base retail partners.
• The ability not to focus on the location of the wholesale warehouse or enterprise, unlike retail stores. The wholesale base can be located in any place convenient for you.
• The amounts of wholesale transactions and contracts are significantly higher than retail ones.
• Wide area for selling goods.
• Opportunity to enter into many contracts with large manufacturers, including regional ones, since they often resort to the services of wholesalers.
• The chance to sell the most profitable types of products, such as tobacco products, alcohol, semi-finished products; Retailers must create an extensive range of products, seeking to satisfy all consumer needs.
• Savings on the purchase of wholesale goods - this allows you to set the retail price of your products.
• Strict regulation of the conditions for the sale of goods by an agreement between wholesalers and retailers; thanks to the drawn up agreement, the possibility of disagreements and conflicts between organizations is practically excluded.
• Receive payment for the goods immediately after delivery - the wholesale supplier does not wait until it is sold.
• Taxation rules for wholesale trade, according to the legislation of the Russian Federation, are quite simple. Retail enterprises are subject to a Unified Tax on Temporary Income, while wholesale companies must pay contributions in accordance with the OSN or STS (General or Simplified Taxation System), which is much more convenient.
• Direct cooperation with experienced buyers who are interested in the low price of products and are constantly trying to reduce the cost.
• Requests from buyers for maximum deferment of payments.
• Endless debts from buyers and, as a consequence, an increase in overdue accounts receivable.
• Competitors regularly sell goods at reduced prices, which affects the quality of products.
• Incoming demands from customers to fulfill their conditions (for example, sticking special labels on goods, delivering products at a certain time in small quantities, using Euro pallets for delivery, and many others).
• The lack of points of control over the work of managers in the sales department.
• Disruption of interaction in departments of the company, which causes disruptions and delays in deliveries.
• The absence of the effect of advertising that does not contribute to the promotion of products.
• Introduction of huge fines for failure to comply with certain conditions under supply contracts.
• Periodic “turnover” of clients, some of whom go bankrupt, others make a choice in favor of other suppliers.

1. transit. Provides for the delivery of products to retail outlets directly without removal to a wholesale warehouse. The main advantage of this form is the higher speed of trade turnover and product safety.
2. Warehouse. Products are sold from stock. The form, which is by far the most common, allows you to prepare goods before sale and supply retail outlets with small quantities of the products that are currently required

Wholesale points are also differentiated by the breadth of the range of goods:

• A specialized (narrow) assortment implies the presence of less than 200 items.
• A “limited” assortment is considered to be items with quantities of less than 1,000.
• A wide assortment is from 1 to 100 thousand items.

In terms of turnover, wholesalers are small, medium and large.

By delivery method: goods are delivered to points by company vehicles or company employees. Products can also be issued directly from the warehouse.

There are several marketing systems - exclusive, selective and intensive. On one of these systems your business will be organized.

If the activity is based on an exclusive system, the manufacturer must issue a trading license according to the conditions franchising. The number of intermediaries is minimal. In a selective system, which also includes a wholesale business, the organization and the manufacturer enter into distribution agreements. In this case, technically complex goods are usually subject to sale. An intensive distribution system implies the presence of a large number of intermediaries and wholesalers.

How to start a wholesale business from scratch without investment

Wholesale business without investment is real. Entrance to it is possible in the absence of funds. All that a person who wants to work and earn money needs is a telephone connection, open access to the Internet and a focus on results. One can treat the issue with a share of skepticism, saying that all niches are already occupied, but there is no start-up capital. But the advantage of the wholesale business lies in the fact that it does not require financial injections. You need to be a sociable, confident and quick-witted person.

This option will appeal to those new to business.

3 myths about the wholesale business

1. “The retail buyer can find the supplier himself.” It is not uncommon for an enterprise to not receive profit in full with sufficiently efficient operation. The reason may lie in the inability or unwillingness of the supplier to self-advertise. Most of the category of people who deny the Internet, Yandex.Direct and other advertising channels are men over the age of 50 who started their business back in the 90s. The buyer, of course, can find a supplier himself. But it is worth considering the large territory of our country and the large volumes of consumed wholesale products. In any case, not every entrepreneur manages to sell the maximum amount of products. The main task of the wholesale business is to help suppliers sell goods on a huge scale.
2. “If I bring the supplier and the client together, they will do everything themselves, and they will throw me.” You can eliminate such an unpleasant situation by concluding an agency agreement. The probability that you will be "thrown" will be reduced to zero. The essence of the agreement is that when you find customers for the supplier, you will receive a percentage of the volume of goods sold. In this scenario, it is unprofitable for the supplier to terminate business relations with you, since it is in his interests to regularly sell products, in which you help him.
3. “Getting customers for wholesale is very difficult.” Entrepreneurs in the wholesale business often find customers through online classifieds. Contextual advertising Yandex.Direct is also a very effective business tool. Thanks to a simple algorithm, even a novice businessman can create a good sales ad that will help attract customers. At the moment, a number of holdings and large companies are searching for suppliers on the Internet. However, many entrepreneurs dismiss this option, which is very "handy" for novice savvy intermediaries. Not the last role in the issue of attracting customers is played by cold calls and the work of high-class sales managers.

How to open a wholesale business

Stage 1. Market analysis and identification of the most liquid (fast selling) goods. To identify and predict the most popular wholesale options, it is absolutely not necessary to dive into a deep study of all existing offers. Pay attention to food products: flour, granulated sugar, butter, baby food, canned food. All these products allow you to start a wholesale business without investment. Just agree on cooperation with an inexpensive manufacturer, and the matter is small.

Stage 2. Niche selection. Think about what niche you would like to occupy. The easiest option is to work with small wholesale batches. If you decide to open a wholesale business from scratch, this will allow you to gain valuable skills in concluding contracts and determining how to make a profit.

Stage 3. Selecting a product group. When choosing products to sell, consider several important components:

• Give preference to the product group in which you are well versed. For example, if you received your education at a forestry institute, focus on products in the field of woodworking. At the same time, for a person who has a great desire to develop, there are no boundaries. Even without the appropriate education, it is quite possible to understand the products of any industry.
• Analyze what products are presented on the local market, what products are in the greatest demand, pay attention to the pricing process, find out which regions act as suppliers. Next, find a manufacturer where you can sell similar products at reduced prices and offer potential consumers their wholesale.
• When selecting products by category, make a choice in favor of those products whose sales do not depend on the time of year, weather conditions and other similar factors. It is also not worth purchasing perishable products. Starting a business, do not take into account exclusive products that are popular in a limited circle of buyers.

Stage 4. Selection of storage space. Before setting up a wholesale business, select storage space. Its absence can be a significant problem. Many entrepreneurs are now talking about the shortage of warehouses both in megacities and small towns and villages. That is why rent costs a large sum, especially if the area is large and the location of the premises is good. When organizing a wholesale business, remember that you need to rent or purchase warehouses after you have chosen products for sale. This is due to the fact that the storage conditions, for example, of household appliances differ significantly from the principles of storing dairy products.

Consider buying and renting a space. Perhaps building a warehouse will be a much more profitable undertaking than paying monthly rent. The construction of a prefabricated warehouse has long ceased to be a difficult task - all the conditions for organizing such a premises exist. Also consider purchasing or renting shelving, refrigerators, and other equipment to keep your warehouse running smoothly.

Stage 5. The search for a supplier is a key moment in the organization of wholesale trade. Of course, it is better if the manufacturer works in close proximity to you. Find people who make products and are interested in selling them quickly. Such an enterprise or company could be a furniture factory or a dairy plant with reasonable prices. In this case, you should not have any difficulties with delivery - and this is also a huge plus.

Often, large-scale federal-level manufacturers work with many wholesalers or regional dealers. As a result, a long "chain" of sales goes through several wholesale outlets. It all depends on the number of competing companies in the trading industry, the level of demand for the product and the volume of the retail market. Products always reach retail outlets through wholesale, and only then sales begin.

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When choosing a group of products for wholesale distribution, remember that a wide range of products always helps generate income. The increase in the volume of deliveries and contracts with partners is a gradual process.

Finding a manufacturer who does not currently have a company through which you can purchase goods in bulk is not an easy task. But it is in the interests of manufacturers and large suppliers to have long-term cooperation with the wholesale business, and therefore its representatives are always offered bonuses and discounts. Direct cooperation with manufacturers without intermediaries allows you to significantly save money.

Stage 6. Recruitment. An important role in organizing a wholesale business is played by interaction with sales representatives. The main task of the representatives is to find the largest number of retail outlets that will undertake the sale of certain products. You usually need to pay for goods either immediately or after they are sold in the store. Sometimes sales representatives also act as forwarders, delivering products to points of sale, doing paperwork and issuing goods. A sales representative is a key link in any chain, since it is he who finds potential customers, concludes supply contracts and works directly with store employees.

In the work of a wholesale organization, not only the sales representative is important. You should establish cooperation with a PC operator who will process applications, an accountant, a storekeeper, a cashier and a driver.

Stage 7. Purchase of transport. Ideally, you should buy a car. But if you don’t have such an opportunity yet, you can rent a vehicle or find drivers who already have a personal truck. If you plan to sell products in large quantities, buy a forklift.

How to open a wholesale business branch in the region

Before each wholesaler, sooner or later, the question arises of building a sales system in the regions. How to most effectively promote your products hundreds of kilometers from the head office? How to minimize the risks and costs of logistics? How to keep brand reputation under control? The Commercial Director magazine answers all these questions in its article.

What contract to conclude with the supplier

An agency agreement is concluded between a businessman engaged in wholesale trade and a supplier. It provides for the responsibilities of each of the parties and ensures their mutually beneficial relationship. According to the agreement, the wholesale businessman is looking for customers for the supplier, and the latter, in turn, pays interest for each of the completed transactions.

When concluding a contract, pay attention to several aspects:

• The main function of an agent is to look for buyers.
• The contract is signed by the agent and the supplier.
• The signature can be put by an individual who does not have an LLC or individual entrepreneur.
• The document must contain the percentage that you receive for the transaction.
• The contract may contain sales volumes, payment methods (bank transfer, cash), work schedule and other details.
• The contract prescribes the information available in the Civil Code. It says that the contract obliges the agent, for a fee, to legally act on behalf of the principal on his own behalf, but at the expense of the other party, either at his own expense or on behalf of the principal.

There are a number of options to consider here:

• You, that is, the agent, act on behalf of the supplier and at his expense.
• You are acting on behalf of the supplier, but at your own expense.
• You are acting in your own name and at your own expense.

Of course, the presence of an agency agreement does not give a 100% guarantee in case of cooperation with a dishonest supplier. This document is intended to provide you with emotional peace and confidence that you are acting in accordance with the law. The presence of an agency agreement is a reason for the supplier to be confident in your decency and legal literacy. It is much more important, of course, to agree with the other party on a humane basis, establish good relations and let the supplier understand that by working with you, he will always be afloat.

1. Before implementing a wholesale business plan, choose the niche you want to fill and analyze the market.
2. Study the properties of the product you would like to work with, learn more about the sales market and do not lose sight of the seasonality of the product.
3. At the beginning of work, always focus on accumulation (money, customers, product leftovers).
4. In the process of developing activities, the staff will expand, and therefore carefully calculate each step, think about the advisability of hiring new specialists.
5. The beginning is always the most difficult, and therefore there will be a lot of work; for an indefinite period, you can forget about holidays, weekends and vacations.
6. If you can avoid taking out a loan and incurring other financial obligations, refuse them, at least until you are sure that you are not at risk.

Typical mistakes of beginners in the wholesale business

1) There is no clear action plan. There are no improvisations in business, and this, unfortunately, is forgotten by many novice businessmen. The difference between business and everyday life lies in the fact that things left to chance turn out to be insoluble and do not bring good results. Many entrepreneurs do not have an action plan, a project. A business plan (wholesale sales) should accompany you from the very beginning of the activity. Subsequently, there simply will not be time to compile it.

If you want to make a profit from your work, write down each action and compile it for a year. Think about what you need to expand your customer base, how to turn random customers into regular ones, write down the actions on paper. Work on a personnel search system, recruit employees, find suppliers. Developing a clear plan will take you a minimum amount of time, but will save you maximum time in the future.

2) Incorrectly distributed start-up capital. Most beginners who ask the question: “How to open a wholesale business?” Want everything at once, and therefore waste their start-up funds irrationally. Irrational expenses include the purchase of ultra-modern equipment, high rent for a warehouse and high salaries for specialists. Remember that the money business brings, first of all, sales. Therefore, it is better to direct the funds to the development of sales, supply chains and distribution.

When drawing up a business plan, pay attention to the most costly items. Analyze them and understand that at the very beginning of the work you will not need. You can cross off the list of new expensive office equipment, the creation of a modern personal website - you will deal with these issues later. If you can work not in the office, but in any other room, refuse to rent. You will always have time to move into a new office.

3. Misunderstanding the importance of the target audience. Beginning businessmen often have no idea about the target audience and market segmentation. And, at the same time, these are key values ​​in business. If you don't identify your target audience and understand who your product is intended for even before you start selling it, it will be very difficult to create an effective plan for its implementation.

An advertising campaign is effective when it is clear for whom it is designed. Think about who your product is for? What age are these people? How much, on average, do they receive per month? Being sure that your concept is interesting to any category of the population, you should not direct advertising to everyone - you will lose time. The success of your business depends on how accurately you represent a potential client.

4. Lack of understanding of the difference between sales and marketing. A number of entrepreneurs do not understand how sales differs from marketing, and are confident that these concepts are practically synonymous. But that's not true. Let's give an example. The seller generates and implements wholesale business ideas and takes a number of actions to ensure that a person purchases products. These are sales. Actions on the part of a marketer aimed at getting the buyer to contact you - marketing.

If you know exactly about your target audience, there will be no problem with advertising. You will clearly understand how and where it is best to give it. There are a million ways to attract a client. One business is effectively promoted using one advertising campaign, while the promotion of another is based on a completely different concept.

5. Expectation of instant profit. Many entrepreneurs do not understand: there is no instant income in business. This is especially true for those who have not previously conducted such cases. And if it is not possible to make a profit during the first months, people quit the business. You just have to be patient.

When calculating any business plan, one takes into account the fact that the first year of operation does not provide almost any profit. Moreover, it can be very expensive. And only then the losses become minimal, then they are reduced to zero, and after a couple of years the ready-made wholesale business begins to generate income. Patience is the foundation of any business project.

How to increase sales in a wholesale business: ideas

There are ways you can use to attract clients and increase sales. For example:

• Streamlining the sales management system.
• Interaction of regular customers and their involvement in the work.
• Creation and implementation of a high-quality advertising campaign.
• Increase in client base.
• Converting potential customers into real ones.
• Increase in marginal profit.
• Competent system of motivation of sales specialists.
• Efficient work with receivables.

All these manipulations can be carried out within a small enterprise using special business technologies.

How to turn wholesale business customers from potential to regular

How the wholesale business is organized, and what are its specifics, is completely unimportant. The main thing is systematic and continuous sales. In this regard, the key point in the system is the development of a sales funnel. Moreover, it is not so much the presentation of this funnel that is important, but rather the effective work with it. Basically, wholesalers go through 6 stages of sales, at each of which it is important to negotiate with clients.

The first block is the number of clients called by managers.

The second block is the number of interested clients who received a commercial offer.

The third block is the number of clients to meet.

The fourth block is the number of people with whom meetings have already taken place.

The fifth block is the number of buyers who signed the contract.

The sixth block is the number of buyers who received the goods from the first shipment.

Who can be trusted to do this work? Commercial department of the company. If we talk about a three-level sales department, then the department located on the first level creates a flow and makes cold calls. He is not engaged in negotiating and paperwork.

More qualified managers close sales. At the same time, high-class professionals, as a rule, do not want to deal with "cold calls", they are more willing to talk with regular customers, draw up documents and take orders. This leads to a cessation of the influx of new faces into the wholesale business. Therefore, the best option is to create a three-level sales department, in which responsibilities will be clearly distributed among employees.

After visualizing the funnel, you need to describe the indicators that exist at each level. If there is no systematic measurement of indicators, start measuring right now, and then at any time you will be able to assess the reasons why revenue does not increase and sales do not increase.

How to identify the "weak points" of the sales funnel

Galina Kostina,

Head of the consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting"

Having cut the funnel, you will understand how many potential customers move to the next level. For example, at a certain stage, a narrowing of the funnel is observed. This means that it makes sense to talk about a weak point in the overall system, and you can quickly intervene and correct the situation.

Example 1 The daily duties of managers include 50 cold calls, which is reflected in the checklist. However, there is no influx of new buyers. The reason may be the ineffectiveness of the cold call, the inability of the manager to negotiate at the proper level, or the initial incorrect drawing up of the buyer's portrait.

Example 2 Through cold calls, many customers are interested in your company. You sent them a commercial offer (due to this, moving to the second block). And here the funnel suddenly narrowed because the client did not want to meet. The reason is the incorrect preparation of the commercial offer, which the potential consumer simply was not interested in. The fact is that the buyers in this case are experienced buyers who pay attention only to the numbers, and not to the goods, which may be of the highest quality. Therefore, think about how to make the most attractive commercial offer.

Example 3. Your employees regularly have meetings, you send specialists on business trips, but all to no avail - contracts are not concluded. Review the negotiation model, organize seminars or courses for employees where they could acquire the necessary skills. After training, evaluate the situation.

Example 4. Contracts are concluded, but at this stage the buyer stops working with you: he does not make orders, and no shipments are made. You will need the help of qualified managers who know how to work with objections and who are fluent in communication skills.

Information about experts and company

Galina Kostina, head of the consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting". Business Consultant, expert in increasing sales and profits for small and medium-sized businesses. He has 18 years of experience as a top manager in large manufacturing companies. Worked her way up from Chief Accountant (including at Wimm-Bill-Dann) and Director for Economics and Development to founding her own Consulting Agency. Has successful experience in implementing internal development projects, strategic planning, production expansion, and attracting investment financing. Author of articles for professional federal publications, presenter of trainings and master classes.

Consulting agency "ProfBusinessConsulting" is a team of professionals dedicated to technologies for growth and achievement of results for small and medium-sized businesses.

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Wholesale business from scratch (intermediary model)

I will very briefly tell you how you can create a wholesale business from scratch and earn your first serious money.

Generally speaking, a wholesale business can help you earn good money without even leaving your own home. Starting a wholesale business can make you money fast and big.

The standard scheme by which the wholesale business operates is known: due to the fact that you buy goods in bulk, these goods cost you much less. Then you can sell these goods in bulk, but at a higher price. Or you can sell these products at retail and at a much higher price.

You might think that to start a wholesale business you will definitely need money, at least for the first batch of goods. And since we buy in bulk, this means that this will require a whole mountain, or maybe several carloads of money. No! The beauty of a wholesale business is that it can be done with absolutely no start-up capital (not counting minor expenses).

To be honest, wholesale is a relatively simple business, its huge advantage is that success in this business can be completely copied from another wholesale business.

What are the advantages of a wholesale business in general?

1. Wholesale business is serious business. Large volumes are involved here, which means big money. But the coolest thing is that the wholesale business scheme is simple for beginners.
Simply, beginners start with small volumes, and when they realize that they are ready for a big swim (primarily psychologically), they increase their momentum. A pleasant surprise awaits wholesalers when they realize that in order to get 10 times more money they need to sell not 1 bag of potatoes, but 10. But the amount of time spent on 1 bag and 10 bags is approximately the same. This is how people turn from beginners into entrepreneurs with money.

2. When doing a wholesale business, you can concentrate entirely on one product or one niche. This is much easier than dealing with the huge assortment of a retail outlet, for example. The more expertise you have, the better you do.

3. The wholesale business scheme is simple and accessible to everyone, even those who have no experience.

4. It’s quite easy to copy a successful wholesale business model. All for the same reason - the scheme is simple and transparent.

5. No large initial investment required.

6. Initially, a wholesale business does not require much time investment, so until you are sure that your business will bring you money, you can remain in your hired job without risking anything.

How to start wholesale trading

Starting a wholesale business is much easier than you think!

Here are two main scenarios:

1. You buy or sell a product and sell it at a higher price, making a profit from it.
2. You find a buyer for the product and organize the purchase and sale process. After this, the supplier pays you a commission for the completed transaction. But you need to agree on this in advance with the supplier and conclude an agency agreement with him.

The first option is the classic model, which is used by large players in the wholesale market. As you understand, to start you need quite serious financial resources, warehouse space and personnel.

The second option is the so-called intermediary model, widely used in small businesses. This is where I recommend starting.

Here are its advantages:

• No initial investment is required to purchase the product.
• There is no need to open an individual entrepreneur or LLC. You can work as a physical worker. person under the contract.
• You don't need a warehouse or employees.

A wholesale business can be launched entirely online, without having an office, employees, or even ever meeting your suppliers and customers. This means you can start a wholesale business quickly, easily and with virtually no investment.

As commerce flourished in our country, many entrepreneurs simply forgot various methods of making money, including the wholesale business without investments. At the dawn of the emergence of a market economy, the country was flooded with lively young people who called themselves brokers. Many exchanges appeared where you could buy whatever your heart desired, but only in large quantities.

The broker's job was to bring the buyer and seller together, for which he received his honestly earned commissions. This type of business is undeservedly forgotten today. Meanwhile, a wholesale business without investments is quite capable of providing a decent income to anyone who wants to engage in such financial transactions.

How to start a wholesale business without investment

How does the business scheme work? Very simple. You advertise on the Internet (for free) that you have a large batch of any product at an attractive price. Almost immediately there will be interested people ready to make a purchase. Your task is to quickly find a supplier, agree on prices, cargo transportation issues, and prepayments.

Price negotiation is an issue that should not be discounted. After all, it is based on the supplier’s price that you increase the margin (the difference in cost that will be used to pay for your services). You can sell a variety of things in bulk from scratch, from timber to caviar or fruit.

First steps to take

Before starting a wholesale business from scratch, you need to analyze the market and identify the most liquid (quickly selling) products. How to determine which wholesale options will be the most popular? Here it is not at all necessary to deeply study the market of various offers. At first, you should focus on food products: sugar, flour, butter, canned food, baby food. You can make good money on all of these products from scratch if you find an inexpensive manufacturer.

Niche selection

Then you need to decide in which niche you will start your work. There are several types of business:

1. Work with wholesale quantities of goods, mainly small wholesale. Roughly speaking, the job is to bring the seller and buyer together and control the transfer of the acquisition and mutual settlements. If you work according to this scheme, then it is quite possible to run a wholesale business without investment.
2. The next type of wholesale is practically no different from the first option, except that you are engaged in the sale of specific products. For example, you are looking for sellers and buyers only in the field of baby food or canned meat. The advantage is that you will be able to thoroughly study the market for certain goods and will not waste your energy.
3. Medium and large wholesale quantities are supplied directly by manufacturers and at fairly low prices. In this segment, it is necessary not only to look for a buyer, but also to coordinate issues of transportation and prepayment. It is best to enter into an agency agreement with the company that produces the product.

The easiest way is to start working with small wholesale parties: starting work from scratch, this will give you the opportunity to acquire negotiation skills with both parties to the transaction and determine for yourself an algorithm for receiving remuneration.

After this, you need to decide which group of products you will work with. To do this, you need to take into account the following subtleties:

1. It is preferable to focus on the industry or product in which you are best versed. For example, if you graduated from a forestry engineering institute, then there is a reason to pay attention to the products of the woodworking industry. However, nothing is impossible for an interested person. And without professional training, from scratch, you can learn to navigate the nuances of a particular product.
2. The second option is to study the local market. Determine the demand for a particular product. Pay attention to the pricing process, ask from which region everything comes to the local market. Then everything is simple: you are looking for a manufacturer who would sell similar products cheaper, and offer these options for wholesale to potential buyers.
3. When choosing groups of products with which you will work, you should not focus on exclusive products that will certainly be in demand among a limited number of consumers. Perishable and seasonal goods will also require a more careful approach, so when choosing products for sale and business development from scratch, it is best to choose those that are in demand at any time of the year.

Do you need initial capital to start a wholesale business?

In order to enter the wholesale business from scratch, absolutely no financial investment is required. All you need at first is the Internet, a telephone and the desire to work and earn money. Skeptics can moan as much as they want about the availability of a website, occupied niches and lack of start-up capital. The good thing about a wholesale business is that it doesn’t require any financial investment to operate. It all depends only on your ingenuity and ability to conduct dialogues with people.

Buy cheaper, sell more expensive. This is what a wholesale business looks like from the outside. It is often called the easiest and most profitable. However, a superficial glance cannot always give a correct idea of ​​reality, and very often, when starting a wholesale business from scratch, businessmen lose a lot of money and become financially dependent. To prevent this from happening, you need to be careful and gradually master the wisdom of wholesale trade.

Legal support

Wholesale - . In the best case scenario, the wholesaler acts as a link between the manufacturer and the final buyer (or retail chain); in the worst case scenario, the wholesaler buys the reseller’s goods.

What's wrong with the second scheme? The number of intermediary markups, which greatly affects the possible markup for each intermediary. The buyer will receive a high price, which will result from the fact that the goods will pass through the hands of several wholesalers.

To start conducting intermediary activities you will not need large amounts of money:

• will cost several thousand rubles;
• office rental;
• an accountant and manager who knows how to negotiate professionally with both sellers and buyers;
• hiring a law firm for subscription services.

This necessary minimum will be needed by a wholesaler who is not going to take care of cargo delivery, warehousing and storage.

If a wholesaler plans to provide transportation and storage services to his clients as part of wholesale trade, he will need to enter into an agreement with a transport company and rent a warehouse suitable for a particular product.

There is an opinion that starting a wholesale business without investment is a better decision than immediately making large bets on a certain product. After all, until a wholesaler has thoroughly studied the market from his own experience, he is not able to correctly calculate the economic result of a particular intermediary operation.

Sources of financing

Those entrepreneurs who are thinking about how to open a wholesale business and make money quickly from it, first of all need to solve financing issues - where to get money for the purchase of large quantities of goods.

There is a certain difficulty in finding funds for such projects:

1. related exclusively to intermediary activities, on conditions unfavorable to the entrepreneur.
2. also cannot be calculated, since, according to the current SME support program, the priorities are agriculture, innovation, and the activities of social structures. Wholesale trade cannot be considered as a priority area of ​​business.
3. can provide the capital necessary for the transaction, but most often such investors require a fabulous percentage of revenue, and not every entrepreneur is able to cope with such a financial burden.

This attitude of financial structures is explained by the fact that the business associated with wholesale trade is very risky in itself:

As you can see, the risks are quite high and it is very difficult to mitigate them at the stage of preliminary preparation of the transaction.

To obtain finance for the implementation of his business ideas in wholesale trade, the entrepreneur will need to convince creditors that the listed risks are controlled and will not greatly affect the profitability of the entire transaction.

What to work with

One of the most profitable areas in wholesale trade is the wholesale purchase of food products from a manufacturer and their further sale either directly to retail chains or small wholesale enterprises.

Many entrepreneurs are afraid to deal with food products, since this item of purchase complicates the wholesale trade business process due to the fact that:

• is perishable;
• inspection authorities place increased demands on the conditions of storage and transportation of food products;
• The wholesaler, as one of the chain of traders, is responsible for possible harm to the consumer due to the consumption of low-quality products.

However, fears disappear after the first successful transactions and gaining experience in working with food products.

One of the operating schemes for a wholesaler selling food products is the following algorithm:

It must be said that many manufacturers do not immediately demand full payment of the cost of the goods from the wholesaler. To increase sales volumes, manufacturers are ready to defer payment, up to one calendar month. However, to obtain such a deferment, the wholesaler must establish confidence in the manufacturer's business.