Email Advertising And Not Trying To Sound Like A Scammer??

[Pucca_hime]

Hi everyone,

I'm not an official business, I'm pretty much just a freelance distributor/middleman nor do I officially work for the manufacturer but.....

I contacted a business here in my country, they have a few shops in different cities and they are interested in buying some sample products I showed them from a manufacturer I usually buy from.

I'm selling the products to them for $2 more than I would buy from the manufacturer so I would be able to get a little profit from it.


This is where I need help please!


The client said to make out an Invoice to their company.

I know, when I order for the client from the manufacturer, that I have to pay through online straight away.

I think the client expects me to order from the manufacturer first, and after they receive the goods, they will pay me so I can pay the manufacturer.


But if I try to explain this to the client, I will sound like a total scammer!! and then they would not want to buy any goods.


I'm only a student and this is my first time selling like this so I'm not sure about Invoice or Tax as I'm not a business....


.....and I thought it would be simple....

[imagodev]

How about requesting your parents to help you? They can register a business and let you run it.

Or better yet, contact the source of the product. Request for a partnership to resell their products formally. Then, request them to help you with the invoice.

As a customer, I would appreciate that the person I'm dealing with is honest. You can lay down your card and tell them honestly what is happening.

I wish you well.

[mktgbiz]

Assuming you've been doing this for a while, I'd tell the client, there is no billing or invoicing at this time in this situation.

I'd tell them the situation, how you're essentially repping for the manufacturer, trying to make a little extra money, and if they like the service they are receiving then you'd prefer things just stay as they are.

You'd be surprised how we concoct something in our own heads that doesn't exist. They may be totally fine with the way you're currently doing things if you just explain it to 'em.

Good luck!

[barbaragriffith]

I completely agree, you can try telling them that you are new in the business, and that invoicing and other formal procedures are not yet followed by you. They may completely understand. In fact they should. There are always start ups and no one is professionally equipped from Day1 with every tool a workplace needs. So it is completely fine to tell them. Be honest and work with sincerity, you will definitely succeed and be satisfied.

[printnstyle]

I'm not sure how to properly approach your dilemma, but the bad news is that if I were your client and found out that I could just eliminate the middle man entirely from the equation, I'd certainly try my best to look for the details of your manufacturer.

[seyandrab2b]

I have been in this situation myself. I used one of the templates from Microsoft Excel to create an invoice for the client from myself. He never got to see my suppliers.

Try to get a solid commitment from him before you go ahead and order. You could present him with a proforma invoice which he has to sign if he agrees to your terms.

A proforma invoice is an invoice which list the goods, the prices and the terms (it is like a quotation) except that his signature on it agreeing to those terms makes it a contract.

[deniseoberry]

This sounds similar to drop shipping. It is not unusual in that type of situation to collect payment from the customer at the time of the sale.

[seyandrab2b]

Yes it is very much like drop shipping and yes you are right.He gets paid upon delivery, but he must make sure that the supplier's invoices come to him are not sent with the shipment to his Customer.

[callie50]

Originally Posted by Pucca_hime

The client said to make out an Invoice to their company.

I know, when I order for the client from the manufacturer, that I have to pay through online straight away.

I think the client expects me to order from the manufacturer first, and after they receive the goods, they will pay me so I can pay the manufacturer.

But if I try to explain this to the client, I will sound like a total scammer!! and then they would not want to buy any goods.

I'm only a student and this is my first time selling like this so I'm not sure about Invoice or Tax as I'm not a business....
.....and I thought it would be simple....

Not sure if you received an answer or not, but here's my suggestion:
Take the step to Actually register as a small business and choose a business name. Once you have a business number, go on your computer and use the "New Office Document" tool from your start menu and develop an Invoice template to use with customers.

You may be just starting to sell using your enterprising spirit, however why not take the step to actually become a small business. It doesn't really cost that much to register, you would receive tax benefits, and then you would have the freedom and the credibility to deal with other businesses. Remember, Those businesses need to have authentic invoices etc for their bookkeeping records. Being a student and having your own small business will work in your favour for sales. They'll see you as an enterprising individual and that's very attractive to a lot of small business owners. You may actually get more orders because of that!!

Most cities have a government office that you can go to and register right there. You fill out a couple of forms, pay the registration fee and then your business # will be mailed to you along with information on how to fill out your tax forms as a small business. In most cases it's not much different than submitting your personal tax return... an accounting student would be able to do it for you if you only have a few sales a year.

[David Sell]

Callie50 is right. If you want to run a small business, then set it up as a small business. As well as registering, you should write up a business plan. This is not as scary as it sounds, but it will take some time and research. There are serious advantages to doing this.

1. You will have to work out the taxation and ALL other costs, and determine whether you are making money.

2. You will have to get your head around the money in/money out cycle. Know this: the one thing that kills small business more than any other is cashflow (or lack of cashflow). If you are owed lots of money through invoicing but you haven't got enough cash to pay for the stock you need you are in trouble. And if you haven't factored in enough profit, the cost of borrowing will send you to the wall.

3. You will probably uncover more products you can add to your inventory (have a look at www.alibaba.com)

4. You will be more serious because you have put some serious research into it.

Yes, you can run a business without a business plan, but you are a student and not afraid of a little research and thinking about things.

There are a lot of other benefits to creating a sound business plan, not least of which is that it becomes a powerful asset if you ever decide to sell your business and start a new one. It also helps if you ever need finance (banks will usually require that you have one).

If this is the first time you have ever created a business plan, expect to spend a good 20 hours or so on it, maybe a little more. Don't stress, it is the BEST investment you can make in your business.

And if, through your planning, you decide your business idea is not viable, and you can't change it to become viable in a way that the market will accept, WALK AWAY.

You are obviously smart and entrepreneurial, there are a gazillion business opportunities out there, with more coming up every day as business gets more digital.

I hope this helps.

Good luck.
David