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Deleted member 1779
We would like some reps but the problem is that our product is so niche that its really difficult to get any return on investment.
In the tile industry (tile shops) they tend to prefer "one stop shop" companies who go in and sell a whole raft of products like trowels, buckets, sponges, tile spacers etc etc. And they load up a single merchant point. It seems Tile retailers tend not to want to bother with multiple companies supplying them. I believe (from 5 years experience) thats "Just the way it is..."
In the plumbing industry our distibutor Arctic products go into plumbers mechants and offer a full catalogue range of other wares - not just our products - for sale so they fare much better with our product.
Good news we have early stange tentative interest from a \uk National retailer (300 branches) and that lead came in via our distributor so fingers crossed for that.
International sales: Got some great work from people who are looking at our product for sale to 600 branches in Germany and 200 branches in Belgium. This bloke seems to be S**** Hot and knows his stuff so we really want to ramp up the exports and do our bit for bringing export money into the UK. Good for Jobs and economy and all that....
So keep your fingers crossed for us.
Also (and prepare to laugh....) I pitched for an award from the UKTI exports dept and went to the reginal heats. But when i got there and met the competition I went a bit red. Up against a team developing a new wing for the Euro Fighter and a team developing a DNA testing kit for murder scenes. I think with the calibre of other companies not sure my chances of "wowing" the judges BUT and as the Judges said themselves its not about the sexiness of the product but if it can be exported and make money for the UK. Still not holding my breath tho.... Finals are on March 28th.
But if anyone can tell retail outlets about us we ALWAYS appreciate it as word of mouth is still our strongest marketing tool. There will be a beer in it for anyone!
In the tile industry (tile shops) they tend to prefer "one stop shop" companies who go in and sell a whole raft of products like trowels, buckets, sponges, tile spacers etc etc. And they load up a single merchant point. It seems Tile retailers tend not to want to bother with multiple companies supplying them. I believe (from 5 years experience) thats "Just the way it is..."
In the plumbing industry our distibutor Arctic products go into plumbers mechants and offer a full catalogue range of other wares - not just our products - for sale so they fare much better with our product.
Good news we have early stange tentative interest from a \uk National retailer (300 branches) and that lead came in via our distributor so fingers crossed for that.
International sales: Got some great work from people who are looking at our product for sale to 600 branches in Germany and 200 branches in Belgium. This bloke seems to be S**** Hot and knows his stuff so we really want to ramp up the exports and do our bit for bringing export money into the UK. Good for Jobs and economy and all that....
So keep your fingers crossed for us.
Also (and prepare to laugh....) I pitched for an award from the UKTI exports dept and went to the reginal heats. But when i got there and met the competition I went a bit red. Up against a team developing a new wing for the Euro Fighter and a team developing a DNA testing kit for murder scenes. I think with the calibre of other companies not sure my chances of "wowing" the judges BUT and as the Judges said themselves its not about the sexiness of the product but if it can be exported and make money for the UK. Still not holding my breath tho.... Finals are on March 28th.
But if anyone can tell retail outlets about us we ALWAYS appreciate it as word of mouth is still our strongest marketing tool. There will be a beer in it for anyone!
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