Start up company - help!

Dylan young

Hi, Im currently in process starting up a company that works with retail stores. I believe i've found a niche in the market and think it will be well received. My only problem is that I dont know how to get the contact information for the owners or managers of the retail stores in town. Any advice or insight would be much appreciated.

duploelabs

Step one of any sales technique, learn to get to speak to the right person. Learn to chat, cold call, doorstep, whatever

meforever

Nobody will show you this procedure.


Too broad.... and will be different for every single one of us. .....


...Google is the obvious place to start........


Build your Pyramid from there


Best of luck with your new venture

Zen..

ironclaw

Dylan, have you validated your idea? As in, have you gone to a number of store owners, managers etc and explained your idea to them? Or do you have a significant background in the business sector you are targeting? I would not spend a single cent on set up until you have a group of them hounding you for your product or service. One is not enough. Starting a business without validation is a huge no-no as there may be one critical piece you have not thought about e.g. 'Great idea Dylan, but sadly we need sign off from corporate and they requite XYZ expensive process / insurance / do-hickey before they'll consider it'

To answer your question in the broadest sense, you should look at LinkedIn and start to see the org structure of your target market. Once again, this actually comes back to talking to the right people and the people who can make decisions. Your average shop manager may need to talk to a regional rep who in turn has to bounce it off a committee for sign off, which could take weeks and months if there is interest at all.

Validate the idea first!

mrawkward

I may be wrong but it looks to me like you are starting your new business without having done any proper market research. Clearly you have not approached your target market to find out the level of interest and validate your offering. Have you tested/trialled/proven your busines idea/concept?

Work up your sales pitch and walk though the front door at the lowest business volume time. Ask for their opinion/advice too, people are generally more than happy to help or at least showcase their own industry expertise!!

An idea does not a business make, the other 95% is blood sweat and tears.

jimmii

I've got a good bit of experience as a retailer and supplier the best way to contact the decision makers depends on how big the company is really. The bigger it is the harder it is to get seen by the right person! Even small retailers get approached by a load of people promising to changes their lives so don't be surprised if it proves tricky to get things going.

What is it you are going to be doing? There's not many things in the industry that haven't been done to death if you've found something then fair play! I'm always looking for new things for retail if you want to pm me some more details.

Websites4u

easiest and fastest way contact form on these websites, could be done in a day. or get them through cro.ie.

pedroeibar1

Websites4u wrote: »

easiest and fastest way contact form on these websites, could be done in a day. or get them through cro.ie.

Meaningless.

Websites4u

how are contact forms and the CRO.ie meaningless?

pedroeibar1

Regardless of the OP's obvious lack of homework (lots of "I think it will be well received " and "I believe" ) the OP is trying to sell into retailers. Many will not have websites (despite your self promotion). Most websites will not have the names of the appropriate people, nor will they appear in their CRO returns. The CRO returns also will be more than a year out of date. The answers before yours gave good advice. You should read them.

Websites4u

how is informing someone to email or visit the cro.ie self promotion? on the contrary, every retailer, bar a handful, will have websites. and if you label an email or contact form for FAO the relevant person, department it will get to them. I haven't seen you offer any solutions. i suppose you think the OP should spend weeks visiting retail outlets where the exact person they require will be waiting hand and foot? or would there be customer care / sales people there who will still, in the end, tell the OP to email the main company email address

pedroeibar1

Websites4u wrote: »

how is informing someone to email or visit the cro.ie self promotion? on the contrary, every retailer, bar a handful, will have websites. and if you label an email or contact form for FAO the relevant person, department it will get to them. I haven't seen you offer any solutions. i suppose you think the OP should spend weeks visiting retail outlets where the exact person they require will be waiting hand and foot? or would there be customer care / sales people there who will still, in the end, tell the OP to email the main company email address

The OP has not been online since his (single) post.

The advice/suggestions posted before your ‘advice’ say what is necessary. They were written by retailers or manufacturers. Go read their posts elsewhere on this forum. Not much point in adding to their comments.

If you believe that an email to or a comment/message left on a website is the solution it shows you have no experience in how to sell product to retail. It's just meaningless and should be challenged.

Websites4u

I'm sure they have all the experience and hopefully the OP learns from them and sells to them. I still note you have not made any suggestions. I never said leave a comment or message on a website i said contact the retailer through the website and or label it for the relevant person. Your last post makes out that you want to challenge emails, comments on websites, why are you and i then both posting comments on boards.ie. are all comments, messages on boards.ie and other websites irrelevant?

mirecart

Congrats for taking the huge step in opening your own company, its not for everyone.

In the retail sector, I can only offer two pieces of advice:

1. Visit them in person first as it is always the best, but treat it like an elevator pitch. Short, Sweet and the important point is whats in it for them. They need a reason to support you, and given you have taken the time to visit them in person your not going to be treated like spam emails etc.

2. Community Support, any new company should try to become apart of the local community. its not only your future staff may come from the area, but your consumers certainly will. Repeat and Referral business works amazingly well when you give back.

All the best in your new venture.

Websites4u

Apparently it takes 5 contacts before you make a sale (pitch, email, call, visit, whatever). But I wouldn't know much about that @pedroeibar1

jimmii

Good luck if you're doing 1/5 that's a superb conversion rate! You're looking more 1 in 20 typically. Having said this is something a bit different so it could do better than normal. If this hit my email it would definitely be one I would be looking to get more information about and not just ignore.

Websites4u

Hi @Jimmii 1/20 5%, 1/5: 20%. So to get to 20% from 5%, you could contact 4 times as many people. and an easier way to do this is via emails, contact forms and the internet. That was the point i was trying to get across initially. 1/20 ain't bad!

mrawkward

Websites4u wrote: »

Hi @Jimmii 1/20 5%, 1/5: 20%. So to get to 20% from 5%, you could contact 4 times as many people. and an easier way to do this is via emails, contact forms and the internet. That was the point i was trying to get across initially. 1/20 ain't bad!

Interesting take on the mathematical machinations of some versions of statistics. Increase the sample size to magically arive at the required answer. Was never that easy in my day.

Websites4u

The more doors you knock on @mrawkward

ironclaw

@Websites4u, is your website very similar to the last part of your display name with a .ie?

Websites4u

Hi @ironclaw. i have a few domain names, i've sent you a PM with my domain name

Graham

Websites4u wrote: »

1/20 5%, 1/5: 20%. So to get to 20% from 5%, you could contact 4 times as many people.

One of us has a fairly confused understanding of how percentages work. I don't think it's me.

1 out of 20 = 5%
4 out of 80 = 5%

Websites4u

I think you get the point im trying to make @Graham. If you get a 5% return from 80 people, its a lot better than a 5% return from 20 people.

mrawkward

Aahh, communication rather than mathematical problen!

Websites4u

Correct @mrawkward i apologise to all if i did not communicate my point accross.

meforever

As Pedro correctly observed .......OP has not been online since.

Many here have taken time to compose, articulate, and reply to this guy.

I sent him tactical advice to gain traction in his marketplace via PM....not even a reply.

It appears we have all wasted our time........

It's quite irritating from a contributers point of view........

pedroeibar1

meforever wrote: »

It appears we have all wasted our time........

Not quite. One 'expert' (not Graham) was taught about percentages. And MrAwkward, a sales veteran of some decades (judging by his posting history) I'm sure 'welcomed' the advice on banging on more doors.
Anyway, what would I know about the reality of a 1 in 5 success rate, I've only managed a max of 40 salespeople at any one time. I must have been doing something wrong............

Websites4u

huh? still goin on about percentages... read my last post!

dbran

Hi All

I think that this thread has run its course.

OP has enough useful (and useless) information at this point. I am locking it or the sake of sanity!!

dbran