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Despite the presence today of a huge army of businessmen conducting business with Chinese suppliers, there are newcomers who are just starting their business in this direction and wish to occupy their niche with this well-established mechanism. Beginning businessmen at first make a lot of elementary mistakes, which significantly harms the development of their business. But after all, there are such frequently recurring mistakes that can be avoided by following the example of other entrepreneurs, and not spending time and energy to overcome them. When planning the first order from a Chinese supplier and placing it, novice entrepreneurs make the following typical mistakes:
1. The specific target consumer is not defined
The first task of a beginning businessman is to find a market for his product, and for this it is necessary to clearly define for which target category of consumers this product is intended, namely: the gender of the person interested in your product, his age, occupation and what hobbies he has , how he spends his free time and where he gets his information from, and much more, so that it is possible to better understand the requests of a potential buyer and successfully manage sales.
2. Loss of opportunities due to delays in delivery of goods
This error is relevant if the entrepreneur did not manage to deliver the goods on time and his competitors were ahead of him or missed the start of the season. In order not to become a victim of such a mistake, one should carefully monitor the terms of demand for this or that product and pay attention to their expiration date. Delay in business is akin to failure, so try to react quickly to any market fluctuations.
3. Non-observance of proportions in the assortment selection
According to the Pareto rule in the application to the trading business, it follows that the most popular and trending positions, which give 80% of the turnover, occupy only 20% of the entire assortment. Having identified such positions and organized their uninterrupted supply, you will provide your business with comfortable conditions and high profits. The rest of the items can be ordered in minimum quantities.
4. Quick sale of the first shipment and a long period before the arrival of the next batch of goods
When starting trade, you need to carefully calculate the delivery cycle, especially with sea delivery, which lasts three to four months. If the calculations are incorrect, after the sale of the first income, there will be a period of downtime until the arrival of the new income, which will not bring profit during this period and may drive you into losses. You can also use it express delivery, which on average lasts 5 working days.
5. Volume first order
According to container regulations and supplier restrictions, a 20-foot container is considered the minimum order. However, a novice businessman should approach this issue very carefully, since the larger the order, the more he will have to pay for its storage and transportation. There is no need to go to the supplier and place a large order for a long period of sale, do it taking into account your capabilities and financial condition. When compiling the assortment, do not be guided by the norms of the minimum order, but carefully evaluate each item included in the assortment from the point of view of its perspective, otherwise you can stock the warehouse with unsold products.
6. Lack of complete information about competitors
When starting trade, you should first collect information about competitors and determine the minimum price offer in order to form your prices taking into account similar products available on the market and your commercial benefit.
7. Unsystematized sales channels
In trade, it is important to have reliable sales channels. So that your product does not depend on the warehouse, conduct a preliminary study. Where your product is best sold is on the market, in stores, on the Internet, and promote it there as much as possible.
8. Insufficient information about the product
For the successful sale of a product, it is important to launch effective advertising, which requires maximum information about its features and advantages. The product must have informative packaging, appropriate labeling, instructions for use, a description of its advantages and other important attributes that will encourage the buyer to purchase your product.
9. Insufficient product presentation
In order for the product to be in demand, advertising must precede its appearance on sale. For this, it is necessary to establish a wide system of notification by means of a special Internet site, advertising booklets, POS-materials for trade networks, competent presentations and other advertising tools.
10. Excessive trust in the supplier when making an order
You should not rely too much on the supplier when placing the first order - although he is interested in the survival of your business, he also has his own mercantile interests, which do not always coincide with yours. Especially since the supplier from China does not focus on our market and does not understand the mentality of your future customers. Such cooperation can lead to the accumulation of a large number of illiquid items in your warehouse.
11. Lack of quality control of the manufactured product before its shipment
If the product purchase format requires the presence of the customer during its production, do not neglect this opportunity. Quality control at the batch production stage will allow you to avoid receiving defective or second-rate products. It is better and more reliable than spending time and nerves on discussions with suppliers, not having the opportunity to put the product on sale for the entire period.
12. Failure to provide product samples by the supplier
For the first order, it is very important to receive samples of the ordered product from the supplier, because by them you can judge the quality of the future batch and compare it with the pilot product, as with the standard.
