How to Communicate Effectively with your retailer in a wholesale business

Bad communication is an issue but not a new one. While the lack of communication skills might hinder ones chances of climbing up the ladder of power in the corporate world, it might prove to be horrendous for wholesalers. The use of modern technology like telephones, pagers, fax machines, emails etc may have provided the ease of communicating but all of these methods are prone to both mechanical and human error. It is very important to learn to minimize these small but ridiculous glitches in order to be able to communicate effectively, especially for wholesalers but a little slip of the tongue or pen can result in humongous loss of time and money.

Following are some of the tips wholesalers or distributors can use to communicate effectively with their suppliers or retailers.

Bookkeeping:

Wholesale business is all about facts, figures, subtraction and addition. It is very important for wholesalers to keep thorough dates, amount and order details of their dealings with their customers. Before making phone calls to the retailers, it is better to make points that need to be covered during the conversation. For example if you are calling your retailer to confirm an order, you must go through the details of the order once more so that both of you are clear as to what the order was for, the delivery time, the settled amount of money and the number of ordered item. Jotting it down neatly in your book may also prove helpful in future.

Repetition:

Since the most commonly used means of communication for wholesalers is a phone, it is advisable that you repeat the order details to make sure that the numbers, figures, and the amount has sunk in. While this method is no fail-safe technique but it can help you get your message across correctly. If you yourself are not so clear on any of the points, you can be frank and ask your retailer or suppliers over and over again until you are clear as to what the original message meant.
Written Communication:

Despite all the claims of the telecommunication companies, the networks are bound to get jammed sometimes. In case an error arises and effects the communication, it is best to resume via written form of communication like faxes, emails etc. The smartest idea would be to keep the written communication parallel with the verbal one just so both the parties are clear and on the same page.

All of the above mentioned techniques can come in handy in improving you’re the level of communications for wholesalers.