HOW TO FIND
A SELLER.

Reference

Where sellers are, what to ask, and the six terms to write down before the first order.

FIND SELLERS IN YOUR MARKET →

Guide

HOW TO FIND
A SELLER FOR YOUR BRAND.

An independent seller is the fastest way for a small brand to reach retail buyers it has no relationship with. The search for one fails in a predictable way: brands look for "a seller" instead of a seller who already calls on the stores they want, and they agree terms in a phone call that nobody wrote down. This is the order that works.

What to know

Decide what a seller is for before you look for one

A seller sells your line into accounts and gets paid a percentage of what ships. That is the whole job. If what you actually need is somebody to build your linesheet, run your social media or manage your shipping, a seller will not do it and will resent being asked. Write down the accounts you want opened, by name where you can, and the territory they sit in. A seller who already walks into those doors is worth ten who do not.

List the twenty stores you most want, by name and city
Decide the territory: a state, a metro, a channel like gift or grocery
Know your wholesale price, MOQ and case pack before the first conversation
Have a linesheet a buyer can order from, or the seller has nothing to sell

Where sellers actually are

Sellers cluster around the buyers they already sell to. Trade shows and merchandise marts are where most brands meet them, because a seller's showroom is in the mart and their buyers walk the show. Seller groups and agencies list their lines and territories publicly. And on GRAJ, a seller has a profile that says which brands they carry, which accounts they have opened and which market they work.

Merchandise marts: Atlanta, Dallas, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles
Trade shows in your category, where sellers walk the floor looking for lines
Seller groups and agencies, which publish their territories and current lines
Ask the buyers you already have who calls on them, and who they trust

What to ask, and what the answer tells you

Ask which accounts they call on, how often, and which of their current lines are closest to yours. A seller with a competing line will not push yours. Ask how they get paid on reorders they did not personally write, because that answer tells you whether they think in accounts or in orders. Ask for two brands they represent and call them.

Which accounts do you call on, and how often?
Which lines do you carry now, and is any of them competitive with mine?
How are you paid on reorders?
Who can I call who works with you today?

Put the terms in writing before the first order

Commission rate, what it is paid on, when it is paid, who owns the account, what happens on termination and how long a seller is paid on accounts they opened after they leave. Every seller dispute in wholesale is one of those six things, and every one of them is cheap to settle at the start and expensive to settle after money has arrived. On GRAJ the agreement is recorded, the commission is computed at settlement, and account ownership is a field rather than a memory.