We’ve all seen businesses crowdfund or approach investors. We know of the hundreds of stories of companies who need money, and who either succeed or fail in obtaining it. But, what happens to a company once it is past that stage of development?
Your entrepreneurial story doesn’t simply end once you have a completed product. Rather, your story is just beginning! Armed with a product and some experience selling it, you are ready to move forward in the growth of your business. That is where big-box retailers come in.
Having a pop-up stand or an independent shop at which your products are sold is a great start. E-commerce is a wonderful thing as well. However, at some point, you will need to expand if you want to continue having success and growing your business. Welcome, Walmart.
Almost everyone has stepped foot inside of a Walmart store, and even more of the population has shopped on their Marketplace website. Because of the wide range of products and prices that Walmart’s Marketplace can offer, many shoppers love to find everything that they need on the Marketplace website.
Walmart is one of the most successful retailers in the world. Whatever item you’re in search of, you can most likely find it at Walmart for a reasonable price. This means that your item needs to be available there too! The question is, how can you get your product into Walmart, onto their Marketplace website? This is an interesting process, and today I will walk you through it.
Apply to Sell with Walmart
Before you can begin selling your product on Walmart Marketplace, you must first be accepted as a seller by their corporation. In order to start this process, go to the Walmart Marketplace website and click the button that says “Request to Sell.” Filling in the required fields should take about ten minutes if you have the information they request easily available. Be sure to save your progress as you move forward in the process and double-check your entered information for any possible errors. When you have finished filling out all of the information, click the “Apply Now” button.
Register
Once Walmart decides to accept you as a Marketplace seller, you will receive an email of approval. Follow the link in this email to register and create a Partner Profile.
There are five sections of questions that you will need to fill in the answers to, including a “Taxes” section which will require information from your most recent W-9 tax form.
Set up Your Items
Now you’re at the exciting stage: setting up your items! This is arguably the most detailed aspect of selling on Walmart Marketplace, taking the most time to fill in. Fill out the required fields with information about your product. Make sure that your product description is accurate and detailed, and keep it consistent with the most recent version of your product. Avoid overusing keywords that will simply frustrate your customers. Be sure that you list your product in the relevant categories so it is the most visible it can be to your customers. You don’t want shoppers finding your competitor’s product first!
Click “Validate Fields” when you are finished with this step and upload your file to the Seller Center. It’s as simple as that!
Account Launch
The last step in setting up your Walmart Marketplace account and the product page is launching your account. To do this, mark all of the items in your checklist as complete. A pop-up window will ask you to confirm your account launch. Confirm this, and then you’re ready to go. After a review (usually within about 24 hours) your products will be up and running on the website.
Tips and Recommendations
Getting accepted by Walmart to sell on Marketplace is probably the most difficult step in this process. There are a few ways to make this stage easier.
First, be sure to establish competitive prices. Walmart sells their items inexpensively, so be prepared for that. With easy access to the internet, customers can see all pricing options for products similar to yours, so you will need to have the lowest possible price that keeps a viable profit margin in front of you.
Also, you need to be regularly documenting your information. If there are discrepancies, Walmart will not approve you for a seller account.
Having trustworthy integration software is another must. Without this software, you will be doing your integration manually, which doesn’t show Walmart that you are able and willing to grow and advance.
Next, have a product that is needed. If your product is unoriginal and just like every other product other wannabe entrepreneurs are trying to sell, Walmart won’t want to accept you as a seller. However, if you have a unique and necessary product that helps people or fulfills a need, you will have a much higher likelihood of being accepted as a Marketplace seller.
Lastly, you need to have excellent customer service. The way you interact with your customer’s matters, especially when you’re trying to get into the big box retailers. Make sure that you have good reviews and happy customers.
Walmart will be looking for proof that you have these qualities before they will want to accept you as a seller on their Marketplace website. Do not go into this process with little or no business experience. Wait until you have built up a reputation and a customer base to really pursue selling on Marketplace. A good image needs to have been built up in order for Walmart to trust you.
Get Selling!
Congratulations! If you have been accepted by Walmart to sell on their online marketplace, you should see the money start rolling in quickly. With a great concept, excellent customer service, rave reviews, and happy customers there is no doubt that you will succeed. Have patience during the process and you will not be let down.
If you need a helping hand with the production needs of your product then reach out to My Product Today at https://myproduct.today/. They are a company which specializes in mass production for sellers and can take care of your manufacturing needs.
For more resources geared toward entrepreneurs like you, visit our Homepage today. Your business will thank you!
