selling a product to shops?

[adamb]

Hi all,

I'm new here...looking for some advice! I have just rather rashly invested quite a lot of money shipping a certain brand of coffee from Vietnam with the aim of selling it here in London in shops and cafes. Unfortunately I don't know the first thing about marketing etc!

My plan was to print off some business cards, design some kind of flyer/leaflet, and just go round small deli's, cafes, independent shops etc giving out samples. The coffee is absolutely delicious - there's nothing like it. I truly believe that when people taste it they will want to sell it! Also there is currently nowhere else in the UK you can get it as far as I can see....

But I'm a bit worried about how it's all going to work. Here's some questions I've been pondering:

- do I need to set up some kind of a company? Will shops be happy to put in orders otherwise?
- what sort of sales techniques should I be using? I don't know the first thing about selling stuff...
- what about, eg. receipts, financial records, that kind of thing? How professional do I need to be?

Really I'm just looking for any advice whatsoever! Has anyone here done anything like this before?

[Encrypted]

You will most likely need a company. Shops aren't going to buy coffee off some random guy trying to sell it. You definitely need to push the products as hard as possible.. offer bulk order discounts, etc. I think offering a free sample is a good idea. You DEFINITELY need to keep track of all of your sales, costs, expenses, etc. This is a business, so you will need all of that information for tax purposes.

[Mega B]

A couple questions,what made you buy this coffee in the 1st place is it a popular leading brand in Vietnam or was it at the time just a good cheap price ??? the reason being that if it is say a branded name you may have a better chance of off loading it if its just any old coffee i feel you are going to struggle with it.
Once we can clarify the type and quality of the product then we could move to the next step of moving it on untill then it would be in my opinion a waste of time helping you trying to sell a product that no one wants.I could well be wrong.

And yes i am based out of the UK near London.

[adamb]

Thanks for the replies. I do plan to start a "company"...in that I will give myself a name (Viet Coffe co. or somesuch) and generally act as though I am not just some guy who has got hold of a bunch of coffee. Which I am. I suppose I was wondering about the logistics of it...do I need to get registered somewhere or something? Or can I just use a company name on a wesbite, business cards etc?

Mega B: This coffee is huge in Vietnam, but for some reason does not seem to have been exported, apart from a bit to the US. It is the most wonderful stuff you can imagine...everyone who has tried it has said so. It is very different to other coffees.

Plus I got a good price. But that took a bit of searching for: the idea came up purely because of the quality of the product and the fact that no-one sells it here.

[nate_f2]

Just be a generous gentleman when exposing your coffee. Def read a little bit about getting a company registered and get yourself a name and logo, something to represent who you are. Now do a little price research and see how much other coffees are selling for and what weights and just match yours similar to the competition. Make sure you have your prices broken and memorized in your head so when asked for a certain you have the answer or can do a quick break down of math to give them their price. Just know that even though you may be the only one who has it some coffee shop might already know what the pricing is on that stuff if they were to buy it directly from the country. So just be cautious and price fairly. Good luck.

PS stay updated on this site, you will learn about marketing and a ton of other valuable information.

[generationy]

Great question! Seems like you are well on your way to making it BIG. Watch out Starbucks, someone is here out to get you!

Seriously, one of the biggest things that a business, especially a startup, have to do is build a social media following. Get on Facebook, Twitter etc. and begin advertising, marketing, branding yourself and the company. Validate your position with some successes or some big customers. See if you can get some cheap marketing stuff from sites like Vista Print and others. BE FRUGAL!!! Don't waste your time on getting so many materials, go out there, put yourself at the front so that people see you. I am telling you, you have hundreds of competitors but the one thing that can set you apart is customer relationships. Reach out to them, offer a free sample, gift box, etc. or perhaps hold a contest and have a bag of coffee as a prize etc. Think creatively and be innovative. Don't be afraid to collaborate with others, perhaps a chocolate company might want to bundle your coffee etc. THINK!!!!

Good luck!